Barry at Search Engine Roundtable posts a Code of Ethics that prompted me to do some thinking.
Search Engine Roundtable Code of Ethics:
(1) We try to cover public forum threads and quote from public information within those threads.
(2) We will never quote anyone without explicit permission in the following cases:
— Phone conversations require explicit permission to quote
— Email conversations require explicit permission to quote
— IM chat conversations require explicit permission to quote
— In person conversations require explicit permission to quote
(3) We will quote any publicly posted and available content from forums, content sites, blogs and so on.
(4) Anything said during a public presentation at a conference (not at the bars or in the hall ways but rather, what is said on the podium) is quotable as well.
What he’s listed here in #2 really draws attention to the personal information that gets shared between peers and associates in the industry. I know at least once I’ve paraphrased something I heard in a conversation at a conference on this blog – nothing noted as private, etc. But now that I think of it, it makes perfect sense to discuss before posting and in most cases, if I’m not sure, I do. Most of what I post here is either personal opinion or commentary on a news item. That will change as I start to add interviews, but those assume everything is quotable.
Thanks for the post Barry, I think a blog code of ethics is an excellent issue to draw attention to. Especially as blogs gain more and more momentum.
