Marketing Roadmaps

Blogola and boycotts and burnout, oh my: Announcing the Blog with Integrity pledge

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BlogWithIntegrity.comIn last week’s post about Facebook fan pages for PR agencies and the Mom Dot PR blackout, I reiterated my strong opinion that the issue isn’t reviews or compensation. It isn’t even burnout or poor blogger outreach, although goodness knows we could stand more than a little improvement on that score.

The real issue facing the blogging community is integrity.

In her excellent post on the blackout at BlogHer, Liz Gumbinner also wrote about the importance of integrity. This didn’t come as a total surprise.

Over the past few months of sturm und drang over FTC guidelines, pay per post and blogola,  four of us — Liz, fellow bloggers and colleagues Kristen Chase and Julie Marsh, and I  — have had an ongoing conversation about the underlying issues of integrity, responsibility and disclosure.

The direct result of that conversation is the Blog with Integrity pledge we are announcing today.

Blog with Integrity was created to provide bloggers with a tangible and collective way to express our commitment to a simple code of blogging conduct. It recognizes that there’s no single right way to blog and more than enough room in the world for different approaches.

What matters is the relationship with our readers. Meeting our commitment to them and to our community. Clear disclosure of our interests so they can evaluate our words. Treating others with respect. Taking responsibility for our words and actions.

We hope you will join us. There’s no cost or complicated application process. Just take the pledge and display the badge.

Read the full pledge on the website, blogwithintegrity.com. You can also follow us on Twitter @BlogIntegrity and on Facebook.

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Oh, by the way, not a parent or personal blogger? Don’t kid yourself, integrity is not just a parent blogging issue. The ethical lapse displayed by TechCrunch when it published the stolen Twitter documents pretty much trumps any pay per post blogger who neglects to disclose.

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Credits: Blog with Integrity logo, badges and website designed by Christine Koh, Posh Peacock. Database code for the Pledge page by David Herrington, Active Oak. We could not have made this happen without their contributions.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  13. Dani — I’ve seen the previous efforts too 🙂 I think the difference here is that this isn’t a complex system, with layers and tiers nor is it a reaction to an event. We’ve been talking about these issues for a few months.

    It’s just a simple affirmation that you agree with the principles.

  14. Susan, great work as usual! I hope to see you at BlogHer — a few of your intended panels and mine are the same, so hopefully we will.

    I’ll post my planned agenda (along with the Integrity badge) tonight. Posting your agenda was another good idea.
    .-= Liza´s last blog ..BlogHer! Chicago! All! By! Myself! =-.

  16. Although my blog is nothing even close to as big as some, or read as many as others, I love this! I have seen too many copycats out there who take others ideas and feed them to the blog community as their own. I feel the fun of blogging is being able to write & share a little peek of your unique vision of life & the world around you. If you don’t do it with integrity then why do it at all? Totally adding the button to the side of my blog. Thanks ladies.
    .-= artfulife´s last blog ..Saturdays Are Filled With……… =-.

  18. i signed up and added the badge…I really am not sure what prompted this-but I am all for supporting something I believe in…Integrity…it just doesnt get any stronger than that
    .-= georgie´s last blog ..Friday Fragments =-.