I respect the ideas behind this new idea titled Blogging with Integrity. I’m fans of the four women behind the concept, and met two of them at BlogHer, so I a bit nervous to talk about it, but as most of my long-time readers know, I always have issues with blog badges, and this one is particularly powerful. It quickly appeared on the blogs of hundreds of women and got media attention just as BlogHer ended. I would love to talk about it further in a civilized manner, analyzing the pros and cons, and whether this is the correct approach to the problem.
This is the copy on the BLOG with INTEGRITY webpage:
By displaying the Blog with Integrity badge or signing the pledge, I assert that the trust of my readers and the blogging community is important to me.
I treat others respectfully, attacking ideas and not people. I also welcome respectful disagreement with my own ideas.
I believe in intellectual property rights, providing links, citing sources, and crediting inspiration where appropriate.
I disclose my material relationships, policies and business practices. My readers will know the difference between editorial, advertorial, and advertising, should I choose to have it. If I do sponsored or paid posts, they are clearly marked.
When collaborating with marketers and PR professionals, I handle myself professionally and abide by basic journalistic standards.
I always present my honest opinions to the best of my ability.
I own my words. Even if I occasionally have to eat them.
Sounds good and decent. Who would disagree with that?
What is the real issue here? Unless I am wrong, I am guessing this is primarily about the new FTC ethics guidelines, product reviews, and proper disclosure, with the swag-fighting at BlogHer only adding fuel to the fire. Something must be done to show that bloggers are serious folk!
Are we talking only about mommybloggers? The press seems to say so –
Now a group of “mommy bloggers” is banding together to promote a group called Blog With Integrity. The self-organised, self-policing group aims to instill a new measure of credibility in the blogosphere by encouraging bloggers to come out and proclaim their incorruptibility. (Financial Times of London)
One of the promoters, Susan Getgood, explains it like this: Blog With Intergity is “a tangible and collective way to express our commitment to a simple code of blogging conduct.”
First off, it would be nice for an issue as big as this one would move beyond the mommyblogging world. What about daddybloggers? Are daddybloggers completely honest in their dealings online, while mothers need overseeing? Why not include a daddy blogger on the “editorial board,” giving a signal to corporations that men will abide by the same rules as women? This is one of the few issues that I believe should not be segregated by sex. If we are going to start a blogging union with blogging rules, let’s open it up to everyone.
So, what is the problem? Everyone wants to create a better relationship between bloggers, the readership of blogs, and the corporations and PR firms who want to sell things. This badge would be sort of a Blogging Good Housekeeping Seal of approval, announcing to others that this blogger who displays it acts honorably.
Or as my blogging friend Teensygreen says on her blog –
By signing the pledge and putting a button on your blog, you’re aligning yourself with wonderful people who truly care about the content they’re putting out there.
My biggest issue with the words in the pledge are these:
I always present my honest opinions to the best of my ability.
I’m pretty honest. I am being honest right now. But the very IDEA of pledging to be honest goes so against the grain of everything I believe, that I am rather shocked that more of you don’t have a problem signing this pledge.
As much as I respect the sentiments, I hope this badge doesn’t become too popular. I would hate to see a two tier system on the blogosphere, where one person displays a badge of integrity, like a preacher carrying the Holy Book for all to see, while the rest of us are branded as lying heathens in Sodom, fucking goats. Isn’t the logical conclusion — the hope of the promoters — that marketers will notice this badge and work with those displaying it? Do we really want that to happen? Ask Sophia’s parents about life in the Soviet Union, when people had to take pledges before getting jobs and apartments.
Am I overreacting? Probably? Maybe this is all a clever PR campaign to get some buzz. But I am taking what is given to me — at face value – and see some problems with it.
Think about what this pledge really means. When you pimp a book, are you going to say that it was written by your blogging buddy and that you never really got past page one? Will you stop stumbling your friends on Stumbleupon as a “you scratch my back” gesture and only link to posts of high quality? We all do disingenuous things online.
I think these women have done a great service to get the ball rolling, so we call all discuss the issue of honesty and integrity online.
I understand the FTC issue and the disclosure issue. The women who created this badge are funny, creative women. I just want to play devil’s advocate, so we remember that sometimes the best intentions can have negative consequences.
I blog so I can be creative. Hopefully, I will win your trust with my actions, not with a pledge.
AND, I choose to leave the badge on my sidebar BECAUSE of the good intentions behind it. And because I want to support the cause and the good peeps behind it. It might not be the perfect solution to the problems at large, but it’s something.
I blog with integrity – absolutely. I don’t need a badge to speak that truth for me. BUT, I hate to think that when I mention some of my favoUrite brands in my blog posts, for example, people MIGHT think I’m pimping these brands, secretly getting paid for the placement. Because I fear that sometimes.
So, the badge stays. But, I applaud you, and thank you, for reminding me to THINK before acting. To not be so RASH. A big life lesson for me.
I tell stories on my blog, and they’re all true. I don’t sell stuff. If I did, no one would buy the stuff anyway.
So, I don’t need a badge.
I don’t quite understand the point of all this. Isn’t disclosure, respecting the opinions of others, crediting your sources, kind of a given? Is the blogosphere so broken we’re forgetting to do those things? And we need a badge to remind us who is?
I think starting the integrity group was a really good PR move and got lots of attention for the people involved. And I think the group good in theory, being honest in your writing is a good idea, something I look for in a writer.
I don’t know that it actually does anything though. I agree with Jennster above that integrity is personal. I also agree with whoever commented above that I don’t know why I should be concerned about whether someone else blogs with integrity or not. Other people’s blogs will succeed or fail, and other people will get marketing pitches or not. I don’t think marketing pitches will only start going to people who are willing to lie on their blogs, and if they do, then someone with “integrity” shouldn’t want to work with those companies anyway.
I have a problem with simply putting a square button on my blog and apparently that is supposed to mean something about my blogging. Yes, I’m always honest, yes, I am communicative about reviews, advertising and other forms of sponsorship. No, I won’t stop attacking people.
I think, if someone has to look for a blue button that says the writer is blogging with integrity to know that, they’re not really reading it.
I’ve been trying for a while now to figure out why I’m squicked out by the badge, and I think you just summed it up quite nicely.
I’m pretty sure the four or so people who read my site know that what’s there is honest and devoid of corporate sponsorship. That’s probably precisely why I get a few kajillion PR pitches per day, which I delete because I kinda like those four or so people.
As a journalist, I’ve signed and agreed to innumerable codes of ethics. I think this “badge” is a way for some bloggers to show that they, too, write with a code of ethics. While admirable, it’s powerless if there are no repercussions to plagiarism or lying on-line. I mean, you could put this badge up and still lie about what you had for breakfast, right?
Like you, Neil, I’m already open and honest on my blog, and my long-time readers know and trust me, so what’s the point of a badge?
I’m using the badge, and I think it’s a step in the right direction. But it’s not perfect and I ADORE the points you’ve made here. For what it’s worth, I’m totally going to continue fucking goats.
This is like only buying food because it has “all-natural” on the package but not looking at the ingredients. The label is worthless if someone puts it on a blog where they don’t actually uphold those standards since it isn’t monitored by anyone.
That being said, I appreciate their efforts and I could see how they would think it was a good idea. I think that at the least, it gets people to flesh these ideas out.
Ok, so let me get this straight…….y’all don’t want to be judged by these badge-rs so in retaliation you’re judging them and insulting them and calling them names?
Yeah. Ok.
What about just, oh, I dunno, trying to understand that these women who created this idea are probably a lot like you or me and just have a different POV, that’s all.
I’m not gonna be putting the badge on my page and I agree with a lot of what Neil is saying. Heck, I even agree with the idea that it will just create another sub-clique
But, I also understand why the women who created it did it. It would be nice if you could trust everyone. There are too many bloggers out there who are basically lying to us to make money off of us and I think that stinks. I get why someone felt there was a “need” for this movement.
I agree with Cara…….the really dishonest ones will just slap that badge on their page and pretend it erases their sins and lie and lie and lie some more to us and we’ll never know. And some people might be duped by it.
Personally? I am suspicious of people who react to this idea with such vitriol. It’s just a badge. Don’t put it on if you don’t like it.
The whole point of my blog is ‘whatever I feel like writing at the time.’ And with a name like Snotty McSnotterson, ‘treating others respectfully’ and ‘attacking ideas, not people’ goes against everything I stand for. What if I WANT to attack someone? What about political pundits/bloggers who exist solely on pointing the finger and being total douchebags? Sometimes I need to vent about the people who voted ‘Yes’ on Prop 8, or my stupid ex-husband; that’s why I started my blog, so I had a place to put my thoughts, feelings and ideas – a lot of which aren’t always respectful. They’re just my truth at the time. I welcome the idea of blogging with integrity, but reject the idea that Group A or B can define what integrity means for all of us. I certainly agree with some of the practices written in this badge, if not MOST of them – but that doesn’t mean this is the end-all solution. It’s a beginning, which is good. But the day my readers start ‘respectfully disagreeing with my own ideas’ is the day I eat my own legs. If I can’t control what my readers say, then I don’t want my content to be controlled, either. Great blog post.
“Hopefully, I will win your trust with my actions, not with a pledge.”
Exactly.
Why did they have to drag integrity into the picture? What if I blog about my lack of integrity?
But seriously, no need to turn this into badge-thumping (a la bible thumping…see what I did just there?). I don’t do badges, nor do I need one to discredit any concern that my blog is anything but my own thoughts and creative work.
Just as the Oprah Book Club Seal does nothing to make me want to read a book, the badge is equally as irrelevant to me.
I read something the other day on a blog…I’m paraphrasing here as to not offend.
“I really need a new camera because the pictures on this blog are fuzzy. *cough Kodak cough*”
Seriously? Gag me. But I have this lovely thing on my computer, a mouse. So I can click the little x on the corner and I don’t have to go back if I don’t want to. I don’t need a badge to tell me if I should read something or not.
That being said I like the idea of it and will post the badge.
The badges seem kind of like having to use your turn signal in a right-turn-only lane.
“When you pimp a book, are you going to say that it was written by your blogging buddy and that you never really got past page one? Will you stop stumbling your friends on Stumbleupon as a “you scratch my back” gesture and only link to posts of high quality? We all do disingenuous things online.”
I don’t get it? Maybe I’m slow, but are you saying you do these things? Perhaps I don’t have enough friends/readers to have to be worried about this stuff, but I guess some of us aspire to not do disingenuous things on line. Or have I missed the point?
Having been to BlogHer, and having read much of the after-posting, I’ll say that I like the badge, because I agree with the sentiment. I put the badge on my own blog primarily to remind ME of why I’m writing. It’s uplifting. Since I don’t do product reviews or pimp books, perhaps it’s somewhat irrelevant. Whatever. I find it an inspiration: to be a better person and a better writer.
I was at BlogHer, and meant to meet you actually, but didn’t darn it. Oh well, next year.
First off, I have said this many times but I’ll repeat it again. I saw nothing bad at Blogher in regards to swag or attendee’s actions. Nothing remotely problematic and I’ve been to too many conventions to count over the last twenty years. I’ve seen shoving, fistfights, pushing, mobs, all sorts of things, all done by crowds, and in comparison, BlogHer was filled with kind lovely wonderful people who all deserved to be applauded for their behaviour.
That said, I was none too pleased about various companies and the way I was treated by them. I will not specifically slam anyone here, but frankly, I’m tired of the story being that bloggers have to act better or change in some mysterious way. We were not the problem.
I’m not going to post a badge, or abide by anything, mostly because no one in the rest of the mainstream media does it, so why should we?
Women’s magazines, fashion magazines, tech magazines, car magazines, TV networks, films, not one if them ever gives a damn about distinguishing advertorial from regular reviews. And the FTC has never once taken them on. You know why? Because they have lawyers and lobbyists and all sorts of money. Ok, I’ll give you that the news divisions of the networks and some of the newspapers care about integrity, but their buddies in the fashion section or the review sections like real estate or condos?
Hah
So no, I’m not real clear why the debate has happened at all. I’m sure the women involved are very nice and have great intentions. But unless every other media organization is going to be given rules but the FTC, then why should bloggers do it?
(And fwiw, the FTC rules, when they come out, will only apply to American bloggers and blogs created within the confines of US Borders. As a Canadian, I am under no legal obligation to follow US law, and honestly find it offensive when US lawmakers overextend their policies as if they govern the entire world.)
Take care Neil, I’ll be reading.
Love this. KISSES.
One of my concerns with the Blogging with Integrity pledge is that it seeks to define blogging as journalism, which is just not inclusive enough. Drawing lines in the sand that honesty = integrity or the like that not only demeans creativity but also tacitly leads financial support towards a certain type of journalist and away from others. Thanks for pointing out some of the problems.
Now, where is the Blogging Lawlessly badge I requested?
“Hopefully, I will win your trust with my actions, not with a pledge.”
I think that right there says it all. In the end, it’s just common sense, eh? Well, it used to be.
Great post, Neil. Very thought provoking in a time where it seems like it’s easier to let others do the thinking for us and then follow along.
I never notice the badges. I just read the blog posts and comment if I feel like it. I never knew this was such a big issue.
I’m with you on this one, Neil. Integrity should go without saying, and the very act of saying it makes one wonder if honesty is one of the particular blog’s newer features.
Oh dear. I am way too shallow for all this discussion on right, wrong, misinterpretations of blogging integrity, and reading between the lines to focus on the implications of NOT posting the badge.
I put it up on my site because ~Why not?~ The intentions of the women who created it clearly seem to honorable and good. If the newspapers and news magazines suddenly want to vilify mommy-bloggers as greedy women who don’t have enough scruples to handle free packages of Bounce or baby shoes…. Well, then I think it is fair, and maybe even necessary, for women who do reviews to put the badge up as a symbol of their integrity and good intentions. And if it makes a handful of people who really are just reviewing products to get freebies re-think their strategy, then that is great, too.
It is making me crazy that the more I think about this, I realize I am feeling a little persecuted and I’ve only done TWO reviews in the past year. I hate feeling like my efforts have been cheapened by this whole brouhaha.
I hate the badge. Sorry, it is dumb, obnoxious, asinine and ridiculous.
You put the perfect words to my hesitant feelings about putting this badge on my blog. I think individual statements are best, when needed, but since I don’t really get into product placement or non-facetious reviews, I think it’s unnecessary at this point.
Plus, not having it might attract some shameless advertisers to offer me sweet stuff, before I’m finally forced to write that statement for myself.
Sounds like of McCarthy-like if you ask me. But, then again, I’m a cynic and I don’t do reviews (ok, once, but I haven’t since) and my readers know what they’re in for.
I spoke at length with Liz about this at BlogHer. I really didn’t get why it was necessary and why people were making such a big deal about it for so long. But some of the greed and entitlement and saw and heard about at BlogHer put it into perspective. I think it’s more aimed at bloggers who are trying to make money off their blogs. Kind of like a Good Houseekeeping seal, if you will, to show businesses they adhere to certain standards. And I definitely didn’t get the impression that it was a “For us or against us” kind of thing. I have ads on my blog, but I make so little money from them that I’m pretty sure I don’t count. Also, I’m too lazy and easily distracted to do product reviews anymore. I told her I probably wouldn’t put it on my blog and she was cool with that. And I know she was because she mentioned me and our conversation in one of her BlogHer posts. I get what they’re trying to do. It’s just not for me, and they seem to be OK with that.
Either the badges have a specific meaning to the outside world or they don’t.
They are meaningless, useless and worthless. It is a marketing trick and it demeans people. I don’t like the idea of being asked to shop at the honest store. Call me naive, but I like to believe that most people are honest.
It is very telling that so many people find these badges to be questionable.
I wrote a post a few weeks ago about the mommyblogger gravy train that touched upon all this. Call me what you will, but I don’t believe that a lot of these bloggers are doing it for anything but the desire to get free crap.
writing is bigger than this. it’s bigger than all of us. it’s bigger than ads, and competition with magazines and newspapers and journalists and television and radio and ipods and it’s bigger than books and papyrus and feather pens and bark and wild berry juice and the sky and the stars and the night and milky, milky way.
it just is.
I don’t have ads. Don’t get solicited for anything other than spam, and my readership is slowly dwindling as I write less and less.
So it would seem I have little invested in this badge.
I do understand the reasons behind its creation, but like some many things in this atmosphere, it all becomes a little bandwagon-y. That really wears me out. Hence, no badge on my site.
Not having been at BlogHer, however, and not witnessing many of the things that went on…who knows? Perhaps being front and center to some of the madness would have compelled me.
Still, these days, I have a bit of a knee-jerk reaction to this kind of stuff. I’m also generally in a pissy mood. I’m not saying that’s a good reason, but it’s kind of what it boils down to for me.
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I am just finding it sad that so many people are misunderstanding the spirit of BWI, egged on in part by a lot of misrepresentation in comments here.
I am happy to discuss it at any time with anyone. Email me at mom101[at]mac.com.
It’s simply a way of saying “hey! We bloggers, we do a lot of things right! Let’s be proud of that!” Whether or not you post a badge or not is entirely besides the pont.
All I can say is my mom is proud of me for taking a stand about something I believe in and that makes me feel really good. My mom is cool. You’d like her.
I am just finding it sad that so many people are misunderstanding the spirit of BWI, egged on in part by a lot of misrepresentation in comments here.
I don’t know that is a fair thing to say. Misunderstanding the spirit is sort of like saying that someone had good intentions. Good intentions are awesome, except when all hell breaks loose.
I appreciate what you are trying to do, I just dislike how it is being done. There is something about the mommyblogger gravy train that comes across as being shallow and inauthentic.
That does a disservice to all the cool mommybloggers out there.
PS, for a while a lot of people used to talk about BWI as being blogging while inebriated.
Fortunately BWI is much safer than DWI unless you are blogging about your ex or boss in which case it has serious potential for damage.
I’ve been blogging for seven years and I have never once been tempted to take myself so seriously.
As I am fond of saying, “Blogger doesn’t start with Mommy.” Also, I am currently making room for my goat. Will the garage do?
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