Tuesday 14 October 2014

good blogging etiquette



When I wrote down "blogging etiquette" on my calendar for the month, I wasn't really sure what I meant. So I crowd-sourced answers from other bloggers, to see what they felt was important to remember.

The resounding response was
do not copy and paste someone else's entire blog post
this is just a no-brainer. It is ok to be inspired by a post, or write a response to a post, and link to that post, but copying and pasting the entire post into your blog is just. not. on.
credit your image sources
using images that aren't yours is a tough one, but if you do you must always link to the source (unless the t&cs allow you not to.) Better to build your own library of stock images, though, finding photos covered under creative commons can be difficult
 never publish in the heat of the moment
it's ok to disagree with other opinions, but if you write in anger, don't publish in anger; sit on it and wait until the moment has passed, especially if you name names. You'll just get a reputation as a troublemaker, and banned from groups
be generous with your online community
reply to comments, link with love, share other blog posts with your community, share your knowledge with others.
for readers - read the whole post before commenting
sometimes people read the first few lines, then comment on those lines and not the rest of the post. This is ok if those few lines are all that spoke to you from the whole post, but if you make sweeping judgements based on a few lines, it can come back to haunt you if the blogger answered your questions or dealt with your issues further down. And all you'll do is upset someone unnecessarily.
just because it's in type doesn't make it fact
do your research, don't just assume because someone shared it on facebook it is actually true. If you can't find out for yourself, don't mention it.

{Tomorrow I've got some tips for commenting, and Thursday there will be tips for blog link ups}

what do you think is important to be a good blogger?

 
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2 comments

  1. Great points, Cate. The one about copying a blog post (or even part of it) and using it as your own is a sore spot for me because I've had that happen and had to ask the person to take it down. It was very awkward for me to have to confront them with it. Not cool!

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  2. Nice post. Id say being genuine when you are commenting and not just for the sake of it is important. Especially when you are trying to gather a blog following of your own. Save anguish, anger and venting on posts you disagree with. Its not nice seeing negative on peoples blogs, especially if its mean. Also send a blogger an email every now and again to let them know you love their blog. Its a bit more personal and it makes their day.

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