Another thing I think is important to consider when we’re discussing these ethical topics, particularly with regard to career, is this… would you want to work for anyone who was bothered by it? This is the argument I hear from a lot of young people about having pictures of themselves in “compromising situations” being out there and public. The most common response to suggestions that they might not want those to be public because it might affect future employment is this: “I wouldn’t want to work for someone who wouldn’t hire me because I partied in college.”

And I think many people would have the same feeling regarding the issue of blog advertising — I frankly don’t really care if some people think it taints my credibility because I run ads on my site. There’s a time and a place where I think that absolute neutrality is essential, e.g., Consumer Reports, but for the most part, I don’t think personal professional blogs are one of them. I think most people will judge people’s credibility by their content and their actions, not the presence or absence of ads.

Scott Allen
Coauthor, The Virtual Handshake
My latest project: Revenue River – Multiple streams of internet income . . . without the hype

Where companies or commercial outfits are doing projects that I cover in the context of a story, I happily link to them – but NOT for PAY.

My blog covers a topic that is somewhat controversial – nuclear energy. The first thing the opponents scream is that the supporters are “paid.” That is simply NOT TRUE.

This is the reason that, at my blog, I refuse to run any sorts of ads.

I happen to believe that ethics is quite important in blogging, along with, of course, one’s viewpoint and editorial stance. I would recommend those here who want to use their blogs as a tool to properly promote their careers to engage with the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics.

But just one more thought…

People read bloggers because they want bias. If you want impartial, go read a newspaper (and skip the op-ed page).

But people trust him. Why? 1) Content, and 2) history. Transparency, as several others have suggested, is extremely important.

I myself am venturing off into a new experiment with this. I soft-launched a new project yesterday, Revenue River, based around the idea of promotion with 100% transpareny. I detest all the hype that’s out there about internet marketing and network marketing, and yet I know first-hand that there are many valid, ethical, respectful ways to make money online. I can write about some of them on my other blogs, i.e., my About.com blog, but because of the strict conflict of interest policies, I can’t use my own affiliate links when I tell people about some of these products and tools.

I’m not complaining about that — in that context I understand it completely. On the other hand, I think it’s perfectly fair and reasonable for me to be able to monetize those things a little better. I also think (hope) that with the reputation I’ve built up, combined with the 100% transparency, I can do this in a way that not only doesn’t damage my reputation, but actually enhances it.

For example, the first post I wrote on Revenue River was about What Penn & Teller Did For Magic. In it, I link to several Penn & Teller videos that I set up on Flixya. Flixya allows you to make Google Adsense money by posting embedded videos on their site. So yes, there’s the potential that I could make a little bit of money because of the fact that I pointed people to Flixya rather than, say, YouTube or Metacafe.

But check out the disclaimer at the bottom of the post:

“Disclosure: I potentially derive ad revenue from the videos linked to in this post. Learn how you too can make money by sharing videos.”

I then link that to another post explaining exactly how Flixya works and how others can make money by sharing videos.

Is this going to hurt my reputation? You know, there are going to be a few people who think I’m “selling out” or “whoring myself”. So be it. Based on the conversations I’ve had with people, there are many more people who appreciate the transparency and honesty, and are glad to get this information from someone they feel they can trust.

You know, the reality is that everybody has biases. Every blogger has an agenda of some kind (and those who tell you they don’t are either lying or lost). When you read anything from a blogger, how are you going to know whether what they’re saying is because they’re promoting their own agenda or promoting a product? And does it matter which it is?

You develop trust in bloggers both by what they say and how they say it, over time. And frankly, any reader who’s really bothered by the fact that I make a little money off my blog — or even a lot of money — doesn’t bother me. They can go somewhere else. Why would anyone ever begrudge anybody making money from blogging? That’s about the pettiest kind of envy there is.

As a reader, I have no problem that you might make money from some of the services/sites that you promote in a post. However, plain and simple: I think you must disclose this every time that you do, unless it’s obvious in the form of an ad.

So, if you’re writing about a site, and oh by the way the owner of that site is a client of yours or sponsor of the JibberJobber blog, then just disclose it. Quick and painless to do, and you maintain your integrity.

Great comments here!

Now to answer your questions:

If you ask, do you believe in what I say here, the answer is, it is so. If not, one wouldn’t be visiting it?

It is definitely honorable and not otherwise.

It would be good to mention that you are having an understanding there, but that is not evil. It is up to you. Most of folks do understand that.

As a conscientious blogger, would cherish certain ideals and hold them dear to her heart and there is nothing wrong when those ideals get a little bit more impetus through the blog. Of course, ideals always not necessarily bring in money. If you are clear that you do not want to make money, promoting something..then do not do it. Meant the money, not the ideal

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