So, do they care about us, really?

[Eugene Neubronner]

http://f13.net/index.php?itemid=617#more

Interesting read over at F13 about who really gives a flying f--k about the people writing.

Does it bother you if no one knows who you are?

I actually find it surprising when I introduce myself and someone tells me "Oh! Hey I read your stuff!" as I don't really expect people to be reading the person's name. They may read the REVIEW, the FEATURE, or the _whatever_ but they may not read the NAME of the person writing it (Except maybe opinion pieces....)

What about you?

[Nadia Oxford]

Oh, people recognise your name fast enough if you give a bad review on a game they like.

[Eric Schild]

You mean NeoGAF and Gamefaqs, rite?

Who gives a shit? Really?

[John B]

It's true, nobody really cares about most of us unless we pull some strange stunt or release something truly unique. Yahtzee with his Zero Punctuation video reviews has a name, but that's mostly because he can talk for 4 minutes without taking a breath and has a snazzy non-American accent. It's the same story with any medium, I expect. The mass of little guys gets crunched by the mass of corporate names, and people are only interested in what's being done, not who's doing it.

[Ben Kuchera]

I can't name one writer for Newsweek, but I still read that. *shrugs*

This guy just sounds bitter.

[Adam Montgomery]

I believe Chris Buffa offered similar statements a while back.

It's certainly the case that many are not remembered. Partly, I believe this could be due to writers not being particularly memorable. I know David Jenkins from the UK, who most wont. I read Kyle Orland's work alot. I could recognise more then most.

Most however, offer re-hashed features and bland opinion in their pieces. A more striking individuality is needed, either in innovative thought or quality of writing (or ideally both).

[Kyle Orland]

"I read Kyle Orland's work alot."

*Head swells, explodes*

[Nadia Oxford]

Thinking about it, I guess a good way to gauge your popularity is to feed your ego and Google your name! If you see blogs, etc that talk about how "So and so from Game Site dot com wrote an article/opinion piece about the recent epidemic of d-pad syphilis," you're doing okay for yourself.

Personally, I'm most concerned with editors knowing my name. Heck, they can even address me as "Hey You" if the next words are, "Want some money?"

[Alexander Karls]

I feel pathetic then...my name returns more results for a german university than me...

[Nadia Oxford]

Seems I share a name with a porn star.

[Pat 'iTZKooPA' Mulhern]

Catholic Irish Singer for me!

I can do WHATEVER I WANT ON THE INTERNET and the only reputation I will ruin is his! :p

[Gregory Gay]

I get gay porn AND a famous Catholic priest. I think I win.

[Kyle Orland]

Obligatory Media Coverage link: http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/features/the-review-revue/70516/

Personally I think the danger of a cult of personality developing around a writer is a pretty good reason to stay largely invisible to the process. If a person really cares, they can read the bylines and follow you personally, but turning yourself into a "name" tends to distract people from the writing, I'd say. The masses will always be clueless, but keep your head and your ego down and just do good work, and you'll get noticed by the people who matter.