Tuesday, March 16, 2010

A Word on the Ethics of Blogging

In recent times, more and more companies have contacted me to ask if they could become “patrons” of this blog. They offer me money in exchange for me promoting their work or letting them advertise on my blog.

I know many other blogs do have patron programs like this, but this is not a route that I want to take. I’d rather offer my readers information and resources that I think could be genuinely of use. Otherwise, for me, there is no point to this blog.

So I just wanted to mention this both so my readers know what they can expect to get from Brave New Words and so potential patrons know I am not interested. That doesn’t mean that I don’t want to receive suggestions for topics or websites, because of course that could be very beneficial; it just means that I’m not going to accept money in exchange for posting about something that is not relevant or helpful or true.

5 comments:

Translation Agency said...

Well Brett!!.. the decision that you have taken is perfect! You are maintaining this blog for translation! and this blog has got some reputation. Keep it up for the good work!

Anonymous said...

Hello!!

We also share your policy about Ethics on blogging.

We have a very interesting blog with tips for quotes and translation.

We invite you to visit our blog and leave comments:

http://blog-de-traduccion.trustedtranslations.com/

Best regards,

Amelia

Judy Jenner and Dagmar Jenner said...

We could not agree more, dear B.J. While no one has offered us money yet (does that mean we are still playing in the Minor Leagues?), we do get a lot of "we will make an exception and do a link exchange just for you!". We also try to make it abundantly clear that our blog is informational, not commercial. If folks want to promote their services, they need to do so on their own blog. We don't even promote our OWN services on our blog, really. :) Keep up the great work; we completely share your ethical stance.

B.J. Epstein said...

Thank you for your comments! I'm glad I'm not the only one to consider blogging from an ethical perspective!

Best wishes,
BJ

Robin said...

Well, I see your point. However, I think it would depend on who and how you are advertising. Promoting the business of another translator or blogger or writer would be different from promoting an organization with which you don't want to be affiliated. The new world of blogging makes it possible for people to make a living from blogging, partly because they are promoting each other and providing book resources, etc.