Comments on: Integrity in the Blogosphere

By: Laura Scott Wade

Laura Scott Wade — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:04:48 +0000

THanks so much for this article, this was on my mind long before BLogHer but I naively assumed that MOST people felt the same as I (and Liz, et al) do, but I was dismayed to find at one session that some people think it’s all stupid and we shoudl be able to do and say what we want and take free stuff and that to disclose would be INSULTING to our readers (???!?!) because they are smart enough to figure it out. Huh. Mindboggling, the strategies people can come up with when they want to justify keeping doing something. When a marketer give syou something for free, there is a subtle contract there that leads you to feel biased toward the company, that you subconsciously owe them something. If it didn’t, THEY WOULD NOT DO IT.
THere’s a quote from the 19th century bioethics debate that goes something like, “It’s impossible to convince a man to understand the truth about something he has been paid to believe.”

By: Julie @ The Mom Slant

Julie @ The Mom Slant — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:24:59 +0000

Jessica, thanks so much for this piece. While PR and marketing relationships do factor into Blog With Integrity, the other point you highlighted – taking responsibility for words and actions – is just as key. We hope the pledge will serve as a reminder to consider our words before we publish them.

By: Liz Gumbinner

Liz Gumbinner — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:49:24 +0000

Thanks so much, Jessica, for a really thorough account of what it is we’re trying to achieve. We hope that soon, with enough people on board, we can get back to blogging instead of talking about blogging!