Ethical blogging can be defined as blogging about current events and issues but do it ethically. Being ethical is more than following moral and ethical principles. It is also about respecting people’s rights and privacy, avoiding harming others, and living a socially responsible lifestyle. But for now, ethical blogging needs to define the following aspects clearly.
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Most ethical bloggers understand that they don’t get paid for every article they write. Most readers expect payment when they click on the links to the advertisers’ websites that appear in a blog post. Many readers are also wary of blog posts that seem to promote the interests of one company over another. In other words, ethical bloggers want to earn their living, not spend all of their time promoting other companies’ products.
Ethical blogging is not about gaining popularity or credibility with advertisers. The most successful ethical bloggers tend to be pretty obscure, with only a few thousand regular readers. Thus, these bloggers often provide only the link to the advertiser on their blog posts and rarely receive any payment for the promotion. Some unethical bloggers may earn supplemental income from affiliate marketing, but this money is generally less than bloggers’ full-time salaries.
Social media allows ethical blogging to flourish on several levels. As more readers share information through Twitter, Facebook, and other social media channels, online discussion about environmentalism, poverty, and corporate manipulation grows. This online social media interaction provides new arenas for social debate and political action. Ethical bloggers can participate in such conversations and spread their opinions. If the public gets involved, this could have a powerful effect on poverty, environmental issues, and corporate transparency.
The Internet is also a rich resource for ethical blogging. Many blogs are hosted on blogs sites owned by major corporations that are politically active. Corporate owners usually own blogs because they want to publicize positive stories about their products or services. The Internet provides many platforms for corporate socialization and advertising, thus encouraging the expansion of unethical programs.
For ethical bloggers, the benefits of such blogging are clear. They can reach large numbers of people and spread their opinions. This type of writing often engages a broad audience, including regular readers and casual users who happen to find a particular blogger’s blog post interesting. This group of bloggers often comments on issues that affect their community, creating a voice of moderation for similar issues.
However, ethical blogging participants also risk being financially rewarded without providing quality content or attracting readership. Affiliate marketers are notorious for sending spam emails to targeted readers, spamming the networks with links to their products, and generally wasting everyone’s time. Some unethical bloggers even take advantage of forum members by promoting products with which they have no affiliation. As a result, they may receive payments from companies whose products they have no interest in. In these cases, the ethical bloggers may not be profiting from their posts but merely receiving a commission for promoting a product they do not intend to sell.
The key to ethical blogging is being aware of your audience and giving credit to those who provide content. By providing links to others who have written about topics of interest to you or your readers, you will not only contribute to the growth of a flourishing online community. You will also encourage others to do the same. You can ensure the longevity and success of ethical blogging as an entire online culture by doing this.