The talk generated an interesting discussion about anonymity and ethics which could be explored further.

It is hard to decide when blogging just how much you want to be out in the open, how much are you writing for yourself, how much for others to comment.

You might be using your blog as a form of self catering counselling or to put across an opinion you feel stongly about. You might be letting off steam about work or family and not want them to know it's you. Being obliged to say who you are might therefore restrict you too much and make your blog lukewarm.

Taking Tom's blog as an example. Because he is an ambulance driver people started to read his blog just the same way they would watch ER or Casualty.

It is obviously essential that he maintains patient confidentiality and it must be difficult at times to word stories in such a way as to do that. Surely if everyone knew who he was at the outset, where he lived etc., it would be much easier for someone to put two and two together and to spot something familiar in a story. This might have cramped his style.

Now that he has such a large following he can blog about all sorts of subjects and sometimes scores of people comment which produces lively debate.