Be a Good Blogger

Blogger's Note: This article is a reminder to current bloggers, including me, on how to blog properly. 8-)

Blog responsibly
By Alexander M. Osias Newsbreak Contributing Writer

WHAT if something you wrote for yourself and a few friends were easily accessible to millions of people across the world? In the past, this may have been a fleeting concern. But things have changed with the advent of the blog.

Blogs function like diaries and journals, often containing the observations and opinions of their authors on topics ranging from embarrassingly private thoughts and experiences to well-researched and written articles. What sets them apart from normal diaries and journals lies in the origin of the term.

Blog is a contraction of “web log,” meaning that the entirety of these writings can be found on the World Wide Web as websites. They are accessible to the Internet community, and can range from a dreary recounting of the day’s events to angst-ridden tales of heartbreak or venom-filled diatribes on work.

Barriers to blogging during the infancy of the Web included:
· The ability to secure a domain name.
· The ability to procure a web server that your blog would be hosted on.
· Some measure of skill in writing both prose and HTML code.
· Some way to let everyone on the web know about your blog.

Even today, getting all four items separately would entail cash and no mean amount of time.

In recent years, however, sites such as Blogger and LiveJournal have emerged, offering the services that address the first three listed barriers -- for free. Search engines such as Google have reduced the fourth barrier to a trivial concern because if you’re writing on a topic of interest, chances are that readers can and will find you.

Today, more than eight million blogs can be found on the Web. Technorati reports that approximately 12,000 new blogs are born every day. Even celebrities and professional writers blog these days, providing unique insight into the minds of some of the most influential and entertaining people of our time.

So where’s the harm in writing down your view of the world and recording your experiences for posterity?

Blog authors may find themselves the targets of lawsuits if the individuals and corporations tackled in these short journal entries construe some of the content as defamatory. In addition, blog authors writing about the shortcomings of the companies they work for may be fired from their jobs.

In September 2004, a Delta Airlines employee was suspended without pay for posting a picture of herself in an airline uniform on her blog (apparently a violation of company policy). More recently, a Google employee was let go of due to comments made on his blog concerning Google’s compensation practices and policies. This last incident is significant given that Google is the same company behind Blogger, one of the biggest blog service providers on the Web.

In all cases, the blog owners seem to have been unsure or unaware of the policies governing what should and should not be posted on their blogs concerning their respective workplaces.

While it could be argued that common sense would dictate that any company policies concerning verbal or printed disclosure would apply to anything published on the Web, the reality is that blogs have one foot in the realm of private journals and the other in the realm of public journalism.

Authors sometimes forget that while they may write for a specific target audience (friends and co-workers), their sites are accessible to countless people beyond their immediate social circles.

So here’s some advice for bloggers:
1. Write your blog for your target audience; edit your blog for strangers.
One of the most powerful aspects of the blog is the unique voice that each blogger brings to it. It’s the personal touch and unique worldview that make blogs so fascinating and informative. However, keep in mind that complete strangers and even malicious individuals may view your blog, so adjust your detail and vitriol accordingly. Don’t record anything that you wouldn’t want to spread beyond your immediate circle of friends.

2. Separate objective facts from subjective speculation.
If a statement is a fact, cite your source. If possible, link to it. If a statement is speculation or personal opinion, say so.

3. Be ready to correct or clarify your entries.
If you discover errors in your stated facts, correct them. If you wish, you may let the original error stand, add a statement that you were in error, and then append the corrected information. If a statement proves to be ambiguous, append a statement to clarify it while acknowledging what possible misinterpretations may have arisen.

4. Disclose any personal biases.
If there is anything you think your readers should take into consideration when reading your entries, post that information to the level of detail that you feel necessary. If you work for a particular company, or have a running rivalry with someone figuring prominently in your blog, say so.

5. Question any dubious sources.
If you have any suspicions concerning the validity of an information source, or believe that they may have cause for prejudice against another party, qualify any information imparted in your blog. On the Web, we often find wonderful and intriguing anecdotes and stories that are partially or totally false. And yet we still would like to share them with others. Do so, while noting your suspicions.

These may not guarantee immunity from lawsuits or actions against you by your employers or co-workers; common sense and awareness of corporate policies will have to supplement these guidelines.

They should, however, remind you that while blogs can be a way to express your life’s experiences to a larger audience, you can never control who reads them, or how they may react to your electronic scribbling.

The author is group head of the information technology services division of K2 Interactive (Asia) Inc.
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