Some notes on blogging.

You may have seen this online. It's a bit new:

BLOG with INTEGRITY

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.

I'm not going to sign the pledge, nor display the badge permanently on my blog, because, if you read me, you know that I do this anyway and always have. I'm fierce with books, proclaiming any flaws, because I feel like published reviews are lovey-dovey: no one wants to say anything bad about a book, so we in the field end up buying or wasting our time reading things that don't deserve our resources. You know I link to references when appropriate. I tell you when the book I'm reading is an ARC, but I've not yet had reason to gentle my opinion-- and a few (two) whiny authors have sent me angry emails because of it. Besides ARCs and posters, mostly picked up at conferences, I don't get free stuff. I don't get paid. I'm not sponsored. I've got 6 readers, so I write for the 7 of us. Writers and publishers don't seem to be interested in me and I don't need them to be. I began this blog for myself, to keep track of my own reading, and I didn't have even one follower for years (I love you guys!).

I find it ridiculous that there are people who feel it necessary to create this pledge. If a blogger you've been following turns out to be dishonest, stop reading them. They'll lose their sponsorship pretty quick if all their readers go elsewhere. I have no time for people who lie or manipulate, and neither should you. And that's my honest opinion.

Secondly, there was an article in YALS, which gets routed around among staff here at the library, that gave a few tips on reviewing materials. (I think it was the article by Carlie Webber, but it looks like you can't read it online, sorry.) I've been thinking for some time about changing the format of my blogs a little bit, but I've not wanted to commit to a big change. I can use these guidelines to try to make my entries more specific and informative, though. I dunno. I guess I'll give it a try.