Hi, I was reading a book about blogging to earn money, where it is suggested that you take on a persona that applies to the market you are trying to get in to. He also suggests that you use an image of this person. So my question is, is it legal to pretend to be someone else on your blog ? And what picture could you pick, I mean is it really legal to just pick a picture off of google and pretend to be that person ? Thanks
If you are not doing it for illegal purposes, adopting a pen name is an old and recognized custom. Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) did it. Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) did it. Ben Franklin did it. C.S. Lewis did it. Some historians think that William Shakespeare was a pen name. Some men have written romance novels under a female pen name to make their books more appealing to the mostly-women constituency who buy those books. One question I would ask, though, is whether the blog readers would feel cheated or lied to if they knew the truth? If so, then you should rethink whether that is a good way to build readership.
No, you need express permission to use any photograph you didn't take. Using someone else's picture without permission is a good way to get sued. Use your own photo with a pseudonym.
Of course you can use an alternate identity. It's been done since the beginning of writing. Using someone else's picture and representing your self as them, could get you..will get you sued if you get caught. I don't think the author meant for you to steal someones identity, and if he did, I would follow any other advice in that book.
One reason to use a pseudonym might be that you are writing on a topic that is specific to one gender. For example, if you are writing about pregnancy and are a man, you might choose to use a female pen name so as to avoid having your credibility called into question based on your gender. I have done this in the past, although today I prefer to stamp my own name on my writing, knowing that I may lose some more close-minded readers.