Google+ Wants Real Names

Dave Winer’s take:

There’s a very simple business reason why Google cares if they have your real name. It means it’s possible to cross-relate your account with your buying behavior with their partners, who might be banks, retailers, supermarkets, hospitals, airlines. To connect with your use of cell phones that might be running their mobile operating system. To provide identity in a commerce-ready way. And to give them information about what you do on the Internet, without obfuscation of pseudonyms.

Simply put, a real name is worth more than a fake one.

I don’t see the conspiracy theory others seem to see. I see a decision made by people involved in a project who wanted the project work a certain way.¹ I’d rather see people’s real names. I prefer real names on Twitter, also.

Then again, I’ve disagreed with much of what Dave suggests recently.

I might be naive. Where I’ve worked, we just kick around ideas about how to make the product the best. ↩