The benefit of using my real name is how what I say ties into other people that know me through other channels. Someone might read a post I made about a multiprocessor Arduino design, and recognize my name as it related to Subaru stuff. These connections, in the real world, are the primary benefit of social media in the first place.
There is a downside.. if I had something negative to say I have to give it some consideration given the easy linking. I'm not sure that is always a bad thing, but it isn't always a good thing either.