April 23, 2007

Canadian Financial Blogs

You ain't been around
You ain't seen nothin' yet, that's what she told me

She said, I need an education, go to school
--- Bachman Turner Overdrive, You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

Have you visited Canadian financial blogs (besides this one)?

For whatever reason, I didn't think they existed. They do. I found a list of Canadian financial blogs at CanadianCapitalist.com while searching for something else. What's especially nice is the brief summary of the blogs shown. I visited some and was pleased with what I found.

I'm surprised at how many authors don't give out their identities. What do they think will happen to them? Maybe it's our renowned Canadian modesty. Unless we lost it with The Trailer Park Boys. Unless you're doing something wicked (a word which here means "something you'd get in serious trouble for doing"), then hiding your identity means that you can't get credit for your work.

If you're looking for more to read, take a peek. Support Canadian content before the regulators step in :)

17 comments:

  1. I mostly don't give out my real name because I don't need unsolicited bull-poop about how I can make a million on the internet and such (yeh right).

    Like your blog, will be adding it to my list!

    I will make a shameless plug here for my site too Canadian Financial Rants

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  2. I understand the concern for privacy. I only become "public" two months ago after reading a book by Seth Godin. He said that anonymity brings out bad behaviour and makes the Internet worse. You wouldn't wear a mask to work would you?

    After reflection, I realized that I don't need a veil of privacy. Most people want recognition for the good they do and understanding in case of mistakes.

    When the fans and papparazzi show up to see this "rock star" I may crave privacy :)

    Thanks for posting a comment. Good luck with your blog.

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  3. I personally never give out my real name. Why? I write a lot on my personal life and I don't want people I know getting pissed off about how they appear in the blog.

    So I take two steps to ensure this does not happen. One, I don't tell anyone besides my wife about the blog and two I don't give out my real name or too many details that could identify me.

    I might change this down the road, but for now the system seems to be working fine.

    CD

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  4. Thanks for commenting, Canadian Dream.

    Given your content, I understand your concerns. In my "angry young man" phase I would definitely have used psuedonymns ;)

    I also have a personal blog which I share primarily with friends. I am careful in what I say as a result. You don't have the burden of self-censorship.

    If I wrote a blog that only my family read, I'd have no readers. I have trouble getting them to even listen to me!

    My big concern is using www.zookoda.com to send out email notifications of new posts. As a spam safeguard, they show my home address at the bottom. I've asked them if there's a way to suppress that. That information is not relevant.

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  5. Hey Promod,
    Thanks for signing up for the Canadian Tour of Personal Finance blogs.

    I approved your site.

    Please visit
    themoneydiva.blogspot.com as she is hosting the next Tour on May 7 2007.

    BTW... try to post something regarding the next tour, and point them as well to:
    Tour Registration

    Cajun,
    I do give out my real name, just because..

    Thanks again Promod..

    Monty Loree

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  6. Thanks, Monty.

    It's nice to come across another "real" person :)

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  7. Hi Promod,
    I don't give out my real name because it's either me or my net worth, you can't know both! :)
    The Money Diva

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  8. Thanks for posting, The Money Diva.

    I agree that privacy is prudent in your case :)

    Since you're a consultant, I wonder if you'd have been further ahead by using your real name (good for marketing) and making the net worth anonymous (e.g., my goal is to increase it by x% this year, my net worth is y times by annual expenses, etc). You write well and there could have been ways to get credit for your efforts.

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  9. Hmmm..
    I have to disagree with Cajun, Canadian Dream, and Money Diva on this one.

    I use my real name because it's important for me to be real with people...

    In the real world you call your friends by name.. I'm sure that Cajun, MoneyDiva, and CD don't go to a christmas party using their nicknames!!

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  10. Yeah, but for a hallowe'en party you can wear a costume ;)

    I just figure that who I am is no one's business. What are the chances of you knowing me anyway. I bet fewer people would leave comments if they had to say who they are.

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  11. I bet if we asked all of the bloggers in the world, about 75%+ of bloggers would wish to remain anonymous.

    It's really a strong personal choice.

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  12. Civility is more important than identity. I'd rather get comments anonymously or under pseudonyms than get none at all.

    This topic has certainly spawned discussion and different points of view.

    Thanks for all the posts.

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  13. Hey what happened to the comment I left here a couple of days ago?

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  14. Hi Mike. Thanks for taking the time to visit, comment and then follow up. I didn't get your original comment :(

    When you leave a comment, I get an email on my Blackberry and at another account. I smile and think "Hey, a comment!". When I'm at my computer, I go to the blog (which shows there's a comment awaiting moderation) and publish it. Exactly what I'm doing now :)

    I can't find a trace of your comment :(

    I reserve the right to reject comments which are rude or profane but have never needed to do that. I won't reject a comment because of a contrary point of view.

    So Mike, maybe you can resubmit your comment?

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  15. I'll try again.

    It seems from some of your comments that you feel everyone should be using their real names, identities etc. I think that you have to consider the fact that a lot of personal finance blogs use themselves as case studies and publish their own data such as income, investments, worth, debt etc which they may not want anyone else to know. In your case it looks like you don't publish this kind of info so for you it might not be an issue.
    Another reason for being anonymous is for the career - people have been fired for their blogs in the past. Someone who works in the investment industry might not feel comfortable with their bosses knowing they have a blog that promotes diy low cost investing for example.

    Good luck with the blog!

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  16. You make good points, Mike.

    I agree that anonymity has its place. My experiences have been primarily with people in financial services who give their real names and appear in magazines and newsletters, etc. They want to be known. I'm entering a new world here and the norms are different.

    Thanks for taking the time to resubmit your comments.

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  17. It depends what your goals are.
    As your blog gets better and better known, people want to know the person behind the blog.

    Some / most of the largest bloggers use their real names. At the higher levels people want to identify with real people.

    For these blogs however, it's more like a business. It's not casual blogging any longer.

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