With the tenacity of a rigid schoolmarm, Facebook insisted Salman Rushdie use his first given name on his account, never mind that his public identity is tied to the use of his middle name. His given name might be Ahmed Rushdie, he protested, but everyone knows him as Salman. He's not alone; some 20 million people in America use a name other than their first given name as their identity.
After Rushdie launched a public humiliation campaign against Facebook on Twitter on Monday, the social networking company caved. Facebook says its names policy is designed to ensure accountability. While that's a given, how is the use of an unfamiliar name for a public figure going to achieve accountability?
Here are some famous folks you'd never recognize if they used their first names on Facebook:
* James McCartney. Who? You know, one of Beatles.
* Charles Redford. Didn't he star in some movie?
* Keith Murdoch. Most people know this media giant as "Rupert."
* Willard Romney. He's that guy running for President.
* Troyal Brooks. A country music legend better known by the name "Garth."
* Eleanor Carter. Ever heard of her? She's a former first lady.
* Arthur Chamberlain. This former British prime minister is better known as 'Neville.'
* Aaron Ward. Who the heck was he? You probably knew him as Montgomery Ward.
* Marvin Simon. He's a playwright and screenwriter, but you'd never know that from 'Marvin,' would you?
* Stephen Cleveland. He that U.S. president you never heard of… except by the colorful middle name he shares with a loveable Sesame Street character.
It's not only middle-name users who take umbrage with Facebook's real name policy. People other than Rushdie wish to carry over noms de plume into their social networking. Imagine Dr. Seuss having to social network under the name Theodor Geisel were he alive today.
There are also folks who want to use pseudonyms for safety's sake. Victims of stalking and domestic violence often choose to create alternate public personas online rather than use their given names. Even those who haven't been victimized may want to use a pseudonym as a precaution against online stalkers.
With employers, educational institutions, police, courts, and creditors increasingly using casual comments posted on social networking sites as "evidence," there's seemingly no end to legitimate concerns about divulging real names online.
Accountability is a two-way street.
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