When Jasmine Crowe and I soft launched Hip Hop PR Wire, they were on my list of possible launch/media/publicity partners for when we push for a wider look (next month, I guess, my how time flies!).

That may not be a problem for them at all. But in the midst of a recession in a world in which people are launching new projects left and right, transparency remains an important tool for the true professional who’s in it for the long haul.

I’ve had bloggers contact me who wanted to “collaborate” or whatever but they had a pseudonym online and were using it in their communication with me and that’s where it ended.

And at least one of these bloggers was later griping about not getting support from other bloggers, though I was one of many who had written something about the blog, but we didn’t know who he was. And he hadn’t done anything substantial yet.

And now that blog’s mostly dead.

It’s one thing to be a gossip blogger and to live off snark. A pseudonym makes sense in that position. It might even be a good protective device and if you get really big, then unveiling one’s identity can become part of the show.

It’s another to be reaching out and attempting to form business relationships beyond link exchanges and tips o’ the hat when your fake name is something like JoJo Dinero and you make big claims about what you do in your real life.

Ooh, yeah, let’s partner up! Not.

I think overall using your real name helps you build a personal relationship with your audience, something people have come to expect from blogs.

The anonymous thing was cool at first but now as we start to get more media attention it’s time to step out.