Keeping My Integrity As Blogger

I’ve been blogging since 2006 and a lot has changed since then.

• It used to be, blogging is like a voice in the wilderness. Not anymore
• It used to be, blogging is just an online journal. Not anymore.
• It used to be, blogging and journalism do not overlap. Not anymore
• It used to be, blogger events just come in trickles. Not anymore.
• Blogging has become a source of power and influence in politics, advertising and branding.

With this in mind, more than ever, bloggers will have to be responsible for his behavior in the socialsphere.  I am a blogger myself  and I believe my actions will have repercussions to the community. No, I am not for  a regulating body or a code of ethics for bloggers but for integrity.

Since Social Web in general [blogging included] is here to stay, more money will be spent for social web marketing. Nowadays, bloggers receive compensation either thru cash or in kind by organizing an event, attending an event, product review and more. And for MORE MONEY to be invested on bloggers and the socialsphere as a whole, investors must realize the ROI.

I have entrepreneur friends who are reluctant to spend on social web marketing yet, because of  feedbacks that some bloggers do not complete their side of the bargain. After hearing this, I did a quick flashback to check if all the events I attended were blogged about? And of the blog posts I made, did I give them the needed backlink?

Me thinks that  if I cannot keep my part of the bargain, I might as well not not receive the compensation. Otherwise, I will not only damage my own brand but I will do a disservice to the community.

What about you? Do you agree that the ‘take it or leave it’ principle applies? Why?