Yes, "Beth Roberts" is really the name I'm using now. Yes, I used to have the name "Beth Werbick". (if there are any other Beth Werbicks, current or former, I don't know of them).
And you do have a point - how do you know? I could scan in my birth certificate, social security card, marriage and divorce certificates, and you still might not believe me.
Keep in mind that often only a small portion of an interview actually makes it into a news story.
I had several reasons for changing my name back. Partly, I was sick of having to spell out "W-E-R-B-I-C-K", I was sick of having my ex-husband's name (it was mostly laziness that resulted in a delay in changing back to my maiden name), and I wanted to use my family name again. The relative anonymity thing was just one facet.
Also, consider this: some time after the name change, I decided to have a more prominent presence on the web, and snatched up bethroberts.com before anyone else got it.
So really, it was actually a good thing that she interviewed me about that particular aspect of online privacy, since I'm now much more overt and open about my identity.
This means that "unmasking" me doesn't do any damage - I'm already out there, and a friend of mine already has a page that links the names "Beth Werbick" and "Beth Roberts" (he specifically created it as search engine bait).
If the reporter had used another person as an example, it might have caused them distress / strain / angst, but for me it's a wash since I decided I didn't mind being non-anonymous anymore.
To give you an idea, on my weblog I have talked openly about my battle with mental illness, including a hospitalization. So I'm not exactly super-private anymore. I'm much more on the exhibitionist side at this point, really.
Slashdot Mirror
And you do have a point - how do you know? I could scan in my birth certificate, social security card, marriage and divorce certificates, and you still might not believe me.
Stuff is easy to Photoshop, right?
I had several reasons for changing my name back. Partly, I was sick of having to spell out "W-E-R-B-I-C-K", I was sick of having my ex-husband's name (it was mostly laziness that resulted in a delay in changing back to my maiden name), and I wanted to use my family name again. The relative anonymity thing was just one facet.
Also, consider this: some time after the name change, I decided to have a more prominent presence on the web, and snatched up bethroberts.com before anyone else got it.
So really, it was actually a good thing that she interviewed me about that particular aspect of online privacy, since I'm now much more overt and open about my identity.
This means that "unmasking" me doesn't do any damage - I'm already out there, and a friend of mine already has a page that links the names "Beth Werbick" and "Beth Roberts" (he specifically created it as search engine bait).
If the reporter had used another person as an example, it might have caused them distress / strain / angst, but for me it's a wash since I decided I didn't mind being non-anonymous anymore.
To give you an idea, on my weblog I have talked openly about my battle with mental illness, including a hospitalization. So I'm not exactly super-private anymore. I'm much more on the exhibitionist side at this point, really.
-Beth