THE BLOGGING JOURNALIST

North Carolina Blogger Has a Court Date for Cyberstalking

Jeff Martin, a Greensboro, North Carolina blogger is scheduled to appear in court on December 14, 2009, on charges that he sent blogger Dr. Mary Johnson, of Asheboro, North Carolina, 27 harassing e-mails in less than 60 minutes. It’s called cyberstalking. See “Local Blogger Facing Cyberstalking Charges.” Also see “Yes, you can be arrested for being a jerk online.”

Martin blogs at Vie Di Malchance. See his post The Justice League for his take on the issue and his effort to raise money for his defense.

See Dr. Johnson’s discussion on the incident and some of the publicity surrounding it at “Vulnerable" To The News & Record Missing The Point And Getting It Wrong (But Hey, That's Nothing New).

Technorati Tags: Dr. Mary Johnson. Blogger Jeff Martin,Cyberstalking

Will FTC Issue Ad Guidelines for Bloggers?

“This summer,” the Federal Trade Commission “is expected to issue new advertising guidelines that will require bloggers  to disclose when they're writing about a sponsor's product and voicing opinions that aren't their own,” BusinessWeek reported May 19, 2009. See “Blogola: The FTC Takes On Paid Posts.”

According to the publication, “The new FTC guidelines say that blog authors should disclose when they're being compensated by an advertiser to discuss a product.”

Technorati Tags: BusinessWeek,Federal Trade Commission,Bloggers,Advertisers,Bloggers and Product Reviews

The Good Work Bloggers Do

Blog star Carol Gee has a May 9, 2009, post at her Talking Points Memo blog I highly recommend headlined “Bloggers deserve kudos for their good work.” It’s about the superb work bloggers such as Salon.com’s prolific Glenn Greenwald, FireDogLake.com’s Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Marcy Wheeler and other bloggers  do in breaking news and scooping the mainstream media on some issues.

Wheeler’s scoop Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Was Waterboarded 183 Times in One Month” is an excellent example of great work by a blogger.

Technorati Tags: Carol Gee,Talking Point Memo,Bloggers

Should There Be Blogging Rules of Etiquette?

Tod Robberson, editorial writer at The Dallas Morning News Opinion blog, told his readers in an April 27, 2009, post:

Thick skin is probably the number one requirement for anyone who gets into politics. But with the blogging community bringing everyone into the daily political discussion, a lot of folks with thinner skin and easily hurt feelings are finding themselves offended by the harsh rhetoric that now passes for political banter these days.

“This blog is no exception,” he added. “I'm shocked at how easily readers fly off the handle or launch into angry tirades, often about racial issues, when they could easily tone it down.”

Sure they could, Tod, but they won’t. So you’ll just have to live with it or shut down or moderate comments.  Or you’ll have to develop a thick skin. It’s rough in the blogosphere.

If you want to read Robberson’s entire post, see “Blogging rules of etiquette.”

Technorati Tags: Blogging Etiquette,Tod Robberson,Dallas Morning News Opinion Blog