How to stay ethical in the blogging world (Part II)

In part I I discussed and gave some examples of real world situations that have happened to people I know. Joel & Felicia have both had their content, photos and blogs reproduced by someone claiming their content as their own.  Read it here.

In Part II, I will give you some tools and guidelines to keeping it Ethical. We all have amazing gifts to give this world. We all have talents and abilities that we can offer to others to make life easier. Tap into these resources that live within YOU!

Blogging is really about sharing real-life stories and experiences. It can be about how you’ve grown or transformed. How you’ve learned or taught. How you’ve experienced something for the first time or shared your gift with someone else. It can be a way to share a passion or project. Or what you believe in and why. It can be the story of how you got to TODAY, or what your goals are for tomorrow. It can be about how marshmallows look like clouds or how many eyes flies have! As long as it comes from YOU.

We all want the world to see our words. But the key to successful Blogging and Storytelling, is that the ideas, words, emotions, opinions and experiences be yours and yours alone. 

Sharing your world with others will open the door to others sharing their world with you. This is how we connect, communicate and support each other. This is how we share each other’s stories, through connections and establishing trust. 

Write your story today! We all want to hear it. But keep it Ethical, please. Here are some guidelines to help you:

I like to believe most of us have a pretty good handle on what is right and wrong, And we know when we are doing something we shouldn’t, let me outline some simple things to keep in mind when blogging: 

• Don’t use Google Images, ever! You don’t own the copyright to these and it will at some point catch up with you! In my blogging class that I teach at CFU, I tell my students that we all have a smartphone. Use it to take your own pictures! Then you can upload it to Canva, and create something amazing in 10 minutes or less!
• Don’t copy anyone else’s work, ever! It is great to quote someone, but give credit where credit is due. If you are not the original author, then this is stealing. Are you a thief? 
• Don’t use photos of people you have not gained permission from! If you want to add in pictures into your Blog post, ask first! No one likes to suddenly come across a picture taken of them on the internet that they didn’t know would be posted. Be respectful of others’ privacy!
• Always state when you are sharing your personal opinion.
• Always double check your sources for accuracy.
• Always disclose if you are an Affiliate marketer or if the company has asked you to write an opinion or review of a product.
• DO quote someone you like or admire following these guidelines:
• When doing this, make sure you reach out to them with the exact quote you would like to use. If for any reason you vary it, let them know! 
• Link back to their website, FB, etc 
• Put their words in quotation marks (“...”) and bold or italicize adds a nice touch as well.
• Show them that you value their opinion, that you respect their thoughts, comments, content and in general who they are by opening lines of communication! 
• An article in Mashable also mentions:
• Accountability
• Accuracy
• Some other things to consider according to ProBlogService:
• You cannot ask for money to write about a product.
• You cannot accept money or goods in exchange for a POSITIVE review.
• You cannot ask for money to undo something you did.

This is definitely not an exhaustive list. There are some sites that have written about this using the Journalists Code of Ethics and you can find those resources below.

Blogging is a fun activity and can lead to a lucrative business if that’s the way you want to go. But keep in mind that the internet is very unforgiving. If you mess up and put content out there that is not yours, and you market it as yours, you will get found out. And once you burn that bridge, you can not rebuild it. If ever you doubt that you’re doing the right thing, perhaps ask for an opinion from someone or cover your a… (CYA) by not doing it!

Did you miss Part I of this article? Find it here.

Do you have a tip or story to share? I want to hear it, share it below.

https://mor10.com/code-of-ethics-for-bloggers-social-media-and-content-creators/

https://fromtheleft.wordpress.com/bloggers-code-of-ethics/

ABOUT Social Media Languages: We help companies stay consistent and ethical in the Social Media space. We are experts in building Strategies and Policies through training and consulting to help keep your Brand protected in Social Media and avoid pitfalls or blunders. #DoTheRightThing