My favorite pastime is cycling. My second favorite pastime is reading anything that has to deal with cycling, and since we can only bike for about half of the year around here, I have a lot of time to read. I would usually read magazines or blogs on the internet, my favorite blog was BikeSnobNYC on blogspot. BikeSnobNYC took a very fresh look at the world of cycling that is very seldom taken by magazines or other publications that have advertisers to keep happy. BikeSnob was a blog that had new posts on it daily by an anonymous poster that lived in New York City. The posts were very amusing as well as informative, sometimes taking a satirical look at the world of cycling. No groups or individuals were safe from healthy criticism or ridicule from the BikeSnob. The world of cycling can be very stuffy at times and this blog was at the forefront of putting fun back into the game. It helped all cyclists take a step back and look at ourselves and learn from some of our missteps, helping the sport to grow as a whole.
This blog got so popular that the author eventually agreed to a book deal, and therefore had to give up his anonymity. It was a rather dramatic event when the blogger revealed his identity after keeping it a secret for years. The book that he wrote was pretty decent, I purchased it and read it. It did not capture the wit and creativity that he would normally write with on his blog, but it was still good. He still has the blog and posts on it daily, but in my opinion, it has never been the same since his identity was revealed. He has taken a big step into the mainstream and given up what made him so unique. He was every cyclist embodied into one, but now he is just himself. I miss having a little mystery involved in the cycling world, now it is back to the old stuffy ways. This is one prime example of where anonymity can be beneficial to cyberspace, at least from the entertainment standpoint.
Cool post, Alex! The cool part about his anonymity was that he could be a little something to each and every biker that followed his blog. Now with his identity revealed, he is limited to only being himself.
ReplyDeleteAlthough initially that may seem a little sad, I can also see it being a big moment of relief for him knowing that he can only be himself and his anonymity cannot longer make him any bigger than his own person. (I am sure the money from the book deal, didn't hurt either, but I am trying to be somewhat philosophical here!)
Oh, that sucks! Why did he disclose! He should have either rejected the book deal or published under an a pen name or something like that. Aside from the cool cycling blog he had, his annonymity is probably what makes him popular. I like to bike too, but I also love to run and read about running. Runner's World magazine has an "Ask Miles" section. I don't know who exactly writes the tips in the section, but it's fun to read. People can write and ask Miles anything and Miles will respond. I love it. The annonymity of a blog, magazine etc is what makes the material even more fun and interesting to read. That's too bad about your cycling blog. I wonder if he lost followers once he revealed his identity. Good post. Thanks for sharing.
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