The Blog Etiquette Your Mom Didn’t Teach You
“The bottom line for me has always been be nice,” says Melanie Nelson, mom blogger behind Blogging Basics 101 and Bloggy Giveaways. Sounds a lot like what your mom might have told you but there are some tips that can help you navigate the blogosphere with grace that would make Miss Manners proud
Nelson says, “those who have been doing this a while tend to evolve seamlessly without thinking of how things are changing–they go with the flow. New bloggers are faced with jumping in where everyone else is and trying to determine what is acceptable behavior.”
It is easy for disagreements to degrade quickly with the anonymity of the Internet so remember to consider what you are writing when you leave a comment. “It’s important to remember that, just because the person isn’t sitting right across from you, they still have feelings and what you say matters. Be kind,” says Nelson.
Tips to help you be nice in the blogosphere:
Do Remember Lurking is Not Rude
“Many people who read your blog don’t feel comfortable commenting or they just don’t have anything to add to the conversation. Don’t shun these readers, be happy they are coming and embrace them,” says Nelson.
Melanie Nelson
Do Respond to Comments When You Can
“It’s always a good idea to respond to comments. However, as your comments grow, it can be impossible to keep up. Readers must understand that not every comment will be answered and bloggers must understand that answering comments will encourage community growth. The more interactivity you provide at your blog, the more people are drawn to you,” says Nelson
“Regarding where to respond (via e-mail or in the comments section itself), there are many plug-ins available now for most platforms (WordPress and TypePad for sure) that allow you to respond to the person in the comments and it automatically sends the message in an e-mail to that person as well.”
Do Link to Others
You don’t need to ask a blogger’s permission to link to them. “However, if you are going to quote them or link to them, it’s always nice to let the blogger know so they can come read what you’ve written,” says Nelson.
Do Let Readers Know if You Got Product for Free
If a company sends you something to review then let your readers know you did not pay for the item. “You don’t want to damage that credibility because you didn’t disclose that you were paid for something or received something for free. I’d like to point out, though, that I’ve seen precious few bloggers who did not disclose things properly. In almost every case, a blogger will tell you that Company X sent product Y for review,” says Nelson.
Do Use Permalinks
Nelson says if you are linking to a particular article it is important to remember to use a permalink instead of linking to the front page of the blog. That way it will be easy to find the article you were referring to as you add new entries.
Do have a Policy
Nelson suggests having a policy on how you will deal with issues and make it easily available on your blog. If you have a policy in place then when someone makes a rude comment or asks for a reciprocal link you can refer to that policy and it keeps it from becoming personal.
Don’t Post About the Children of Others
“In my opinion, it is absolutely never OK to post about someone else’s children without the parent’s express consent. This includes family and friends. Regardless of how well you know the children, you have to remember that posting information or pictures on a blog isn’t just whipping out your brag book at the hair salon; this is global and there are some real creeps out there,” says Nelson.
Don’t Leave a Link to Your Own Blog
Unless you have a relevant post don’t leave a link to your own blog in another blog’s comments section. “It looks like you’re trying to draw attention to yourself and poach traffic,” says Nelson.
Don’t Hotlink
It’s a bad idea to “hotlink” instead of linking to those items from your own server, says Nelson. If you are hotlinking then you are using someone else’s bandwidth and costing them money, which isn’t very nice.
Don’t ask for reciprocal links
“Asking for reciprocal links puts the other blogger in an awkward position because they want to say no, but they don’t want to offend you,” says Nelson. “Reciprocal links are rarely advantageous for both parties; it’s usually a good deal for the blog with lesser traffic because there’s a chance they’ll receive a few click-throughs from the higher-trafficked blog. The blog with the higher traffic gets very little, if anything, out of the deal. When you’re trying to build community, you have to remember that things are give and take.”
Don’t Steal
Nelson says if you use a photograph, icon or picture that doesn’t belong to you then you need to ask permission. Also make sure you’re within Fair Use parameters if you are quoting someone. If you are unsure if you are stealing, read more about copyright at http://www.copyright.gov/.
Marketers and Mom Bloggers Working Together
Nelson says both sides should relax but be considerate of each other as everyone is learning about the dynamics of these relationships. Marketers should do their research on the bloggers they contact.
“They really want you to do your homework and contact them only if your product is a fit with them,” Nelson says. “On the other hand, bloggers need to realize that in order to reach out to as many bloggers as possible, marketers have to read hundreds of blogs every day to try to find a match. It’s impossible to read more than a post or two of each blog–it would simply take too long. Both sides need to work harder in this relationship.”
She also says marketers need to remember blogs are not like traditional media so don’t send your press releases to bloggers. If they posted your press release it would be an advertisement and advertisements should be paid for.
Its Easy to Be Nice
Nelson says she started blogging thinking it would be a place to put her thoughts and no one would read them or care. “As we all know, you can’t be alone on the Internet and I quickly learned that blogging was actually about community and I jumped in with both feet to discuss my daily life as a mom with other moms all over the country.”
That community keeps the dialogue going. Even though it is easy to overstep boundaries when you don’t know what the common practice is or can’t see how the other person reacted the fact that many wonder about blog etiquette suggests how important the community is to them. So be nice even if someone else forgets once in awhile. Your Mom would want you to.
Post by Dawn Miller
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Graduated Cum Laude from University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in spring of 2008. While there, as nonfiction editor of The Sheepshead Review, she was able to secure an interview with nationally-acclaimed author, Aimee Bender. She's been honored with the "Rising Phoenix Award" for her nonfiction piece, "Heel Story" and the opportunity to read at the 32nd Annual UW-System Women's Conference. As a new mom, she's excited to explore topics considering moms active in social media. Dawn.Miller@momswhoblog.com |
