In 10`1 published a piece in the American Anthropologist in about “activist anthropology” in which I called out some of my fellow anthropologists for their seeming disdain and pretensions relating to the “Occupy” protests that were going on in Montreal in 2011. I also built my case from many of the comments I heard from anthropologists in the convention center regarding what they viewed as “displaced aggression” or a “waste of effort.”. I even quoted some of them (without identifying) them, and thus “called them out”. Sometimes folks need to be signified upon, and I make no apologies for my article.

The bigger questions regarding privacy are pertinent to the post-modern world in which we live. However, the bottom line is that we ALL have to be responsible for our words and actions, no matter the context. Eyes, ears, microphones, cameras, and informants are everywhere, all the time. This is the Brave New World in which we live, and as Clay Shirkey asserted “here comes everybody.”. Like it or not, privacy is fleeting at best. And the humility to say “I was wrong”, or “this is what I meant” is all the more necessary.

I also find the use of “power” slightly exaggerated; “influence” would seem to be a more realistic term, I think, for the kind of effect anthro-blogs have or do not have. That seems like a minor thing, but framing this in terms of “power” might also raise the stakes in a communicative situation more than strictly necessary.