As you all know, Heinz Chapel Choir member Tim Parenti has been tearing up the blogosphere with his amazing posts about the China tour. I've talked to a lot of people who are very excited about Tim's blog entries and the tour, but express some hesitancy to actually leave a comment, so I thought I'd share a little trick that might increase your comfort level, especially if you are new to the blogosphere. Use a nickname.
When you've registered for the blog you have the option to post under a nickname rather than your full name (or your nickname can be a variation of your full name). Just log in and click your name just above the comment box.
This will take you to your profile where you'll see several options like this.
As you can see, I've typed in a clever nickname. Once I update my profile (not pictured, but in the lower right hand corner of the window) my new, oh, so clever nickname will appear in the "Display name publicly as:" drop-down menu. Then when I leave a comment, it will be as Mr. McGoo. And of course, I can change it back (which I've done before actually posting this).
Anonymity in the blogosphere is certainly something that can be be abused, but that's why we have moderators. If posting under a nickname helps you feel comfortable taking part in the discussion, then go for it. We value your feedback and your ideas!