Personal vs. logo Twitter accounts: Must they be mutually exclusive?

Not every branded logo would be better if it contained a real person’s name.

Not every branded logo would be better if it contained a real person’s name

A debate several years ago—during blogging’s heyday—centered on the wisdom of introducing “character blogs.” These aren’t fake blogs.

They’re very transparent in their use of a fictional character as the blogger. Some experts defended the practice while others insisted that it could never be a good idea. I fell somewhere in the middle, advising against them in nearly all instances but acknowledging there might be a time when they could work.

An example would be Dwight Schrute’s blog. Schrute is the character played by Rainn Wilson on “The Office” (a show I don’t watch, by the way). Posts are written in character. None of the readers of the blog actually believe a fictitious character is actually writing it. (At least, that’s my fervent hope.)

The argument against the character blog is simple: Wouldn’t it be better if Rainn Wilson blogged?

The fact is, he does. He has a Posterous blog and a Twitter account (with nearly 2 million followers). If it’s authenticity you’re after, Wilson makes plenty of it available.

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