I’m sure you can find an official bloggers’ code of ethics somewhere on the internet, but I just wrote my own so I can pick and choose what’s important to me. Donna asked me to post it on the class blog. Hopefully my example will give people an idea of what to put in their own code of ethics:
Blogging It Right:
As a blogger, it is important to me that my readers trust that I produce quality work. Many of my posts will be my opinions, but I plan on gathering information from other sources as well.
- There will be no plagiarism, I will give credit where credit is due.
- The pictures from the posts will be my own or used with permission.
- There will be no quotes, facts, photos or other contents that will be taken out of context. If there is any used for humor, the original copy will be posted.
- Any facts mentioned will be checked several times for accuracy and source of facts will be disclosed.
- Any mistakes from facts to grammar to spelling will be corrected promptly.
You can see it on my page here:
Strategically Communicating 
Thanks Linda! I’m looking forward to reading what others find and choose to incorporate as they develop their ethics statements!
By: Donna Z. Davis, PhD on February 2, 2011
at 10:56 pm
I’ve found that some compaies and organizations have outstadning social media codes of ethics, especially for employees who will be representing themselves and their organization online. You can find the Mayo Clinic’s Code of Ethics for its employees here: http://sharing.mayoclinic.org/guidelines/for-mayo-clinic-employees/
I’ve had conversations in my other classes about the ethics of ghost blogging — when a PR or Marketing team member writes a blog for a CEO or other company spoksperson. Some say that it’s acceptable because company newsletters and speeches are usually ghost written, but I disagree. Blogging is a unique environemnt and readers have expectations that the person’s name that is on the blog is the person who wrote it. Transparency is not only expected, but demanded online. Ghost writting or blogging flies right in the face of the sense of community that is built online.
I think it’s very intersting to see which companies will and will not create social media codes of ethics, and which ones that will face public embarassment when they are found out for their lack of transparency.
By: kelseyhelgeson on February 3, 2011
at 11:51 pm