Why I left Secret

For the last couple months I’ve been trying out Secret, the popular app that allows you to post anonymously and, as the name would imply, then safely share secrets you wouldn’t post to Twitter or otherwise say publicly. But about a week ago I decided I was done with it and deleted it from my iPhone. Here’s why:

To some extent I was getting zero value out of what I was reading. Occasionally there was something funny someone shared, but overall nothing there was all that interesting to me. I agreed with some of the comments people made about tech or PR industry culture, but that was about it.

But the primary reason I left is that I felt little to no need to actually be anonymous. I found the things I was posting there were just kind of…dumb. Yeah, they were things I couldn’t say on Twitter because they were likely to be found politically incorrect (either societally or within my industry) and would just cause problems if I said them publicly. Some were mean. Some were said out of frustration at one thing or another. None were exactly secrets, but they were all some level of rant.

And I realized that participation on Secret went against a principle I’ve maintained since I first started getting involved online 15+ years ago: That when I say something and take a stand I put my damn name on it. There’s a good case to be made for anonymity online in a number of situations, but if I’m going to state an opinion I should have the courage to stand behind it, and putting my name next to it is the most solid way to do that.

It comes down to a mix of having the courage of my convictions and the basic concept that if I don’t anything nice to say, then maybe I just shouldn’t say it.

I’m not questioning the value of Secret or other apps/networks based on anonymity. I’m just saying it wasn’t for me because, while it may sound a tad pretentious, I fancy myself a bit better than what it offers.

One thought on “Why I left Secret

  1. Amen! Stand up for what you say online. I totally agree.

    I also carry this into the world of street art. As a street artist myself, I stand behind my work, and that’s why I never damage people’s property. Other street artists have to work in anonymity because of the destruction they leave behind. Is that something people really want to do? Destroy the world? If a street artist can’t stand up behind his work, then I have a hard time supporting that artist’s work. +cough+ Banksy +cough+

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