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Blogging Ethics

Michi Beck is professional author and editor based in Stuttgart, Germany.

Ethics do not seem to be talked about much in the blogging world, but yet they are of the utmost importance. Those who blog for business purposes are not just typing to share their exciting life with the world. These people have a responsibility to their readers, and they should try to avoid steering them wrong. Even people who blog only for their personal enjoyment have readers who pay attention to recommendations that are made or comments that are given about a product or service. This could lead blog readers to make choices that they would not otherwise make, and these choices may not always have great consequences.

While not going so far as to say that blogging can be dangerous to one's readers, there is certainly an expected degree of safety when it comes to how readers feel about the posts they read. They believe that their 'friends' who write these blogs have their best interests at heart - and they should. However, there are some bloggers who do not share the upstanding ethics of most of those in the blogging community. These individuals can cause problems for many people - not because they are out to get anyone, but simply because they were careless in what they said and did, leading others to believe untruths to be facts.

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Right now, there is no committee to handle blogging ethics, and there is no governing body to punish or sanction bloggers for writing which others may find inflammatory or that might lead others to form an opinion on something that might ultimately be to their detriment. There are individuals who feel this should be changed, and there are other individuals who feel that 'big brother' is already into enough American business and does not need to be in any more.

The main issue, basically, is whether bloggers should be policing themselves - and whether they will be willing to do so. A secondary issue deals with the 'rules' that they should follow. It begs the question 'what is ethics?' There is no easy answer to this type of question. Ethics is something that seems to be unique to every person, and being ethical is not the same as following the rules. What one person thinks is completely ethical might seriously offend another person. Any attempt to look closely at blogging ethics leads right back around to this issue without solving anything.

Most bloggers who consider themselves to be ethical, however, do follow several 'rules' on their blogs: they let people know when they are endorsing a product or getting paid to post something; they only allow ads on their site from reputable companies that do not offer dangerous or offensive products; and they are honest about what they say and clear that their opinions are only their opinions. Until blogging ethics are more widely acknowledged, though, the chances remain high that there will be unethical bloggers out there. Bloggers who want their businesses or blogs to grow and their customers or readers to trust them understand, however, that ethics in blogging are important, and they are relatively easy to address. It is simple, really. Treat others as you would be treated, do not lie, and always tell people that it is all right if what they think is not what you think. Remaining ethical in blogging will benefit both the bloggers and the readers in the long run.