Free Speech and Adapting Anonymity

As the playing fields are levelled and information barriers are torn down, the power of free speech that it vests on individuals is so overarching, that it can create mighty reprisals from powerful entities like the Corporates and Governments.

I have closely followed Pradyuman Maheshwari's plight and the premature demise of his blog due to his tussle with the elite and "pristine" in the media world. So, its very important that each of us understand the rules of the game well, before we get on the field. Its no accident that I hide my real identity in all my public blogs, that would be one good way to start.

Most of us are naive about the repercussions our candor can invite, and I am happy to see that at least some steps are being taken to spread this awareness and also find social/technological solutions to protect all such free speech bloggers and this may well be applied to podcasters too.

While I am by no means a journalist and know nothing at all about laws protecting individuals against such backlash from biggies, I am thinking anonymous and community blogging (with groups of bloggers) may be a simple way to avoid such slander. As I write this, it seems more pertinent for me to do some digging to learn about some important ideas in this regard.