Start Good Blog

In the blogosphere there is a lot of content exchange; text, video and images, all are usually willingly shared, but not always. The new internet culture, filled with peer-to-peer sharing, viral videos and the general ease of passing (and changing) information has allowed increased awareness but also new concerns over the rights over digital products and information. So how do you manage being a part of the information age? What are the ways that you can contribute without stepping on anyone’s toes? In addition, how else can I add value to the online community other than by blogging? Here are the list of ways that I try to be a good blogger.

1. Link Back: Everyone knows that when you use someone else’s words, you quote it and give a source. In blogging, this translates to linking back to the original site you got your content from. A simple link on the bottom noting the source, or a link within the content is all that is required. Of all online etiquette, this is probably the most important. However, keep in mind this is not just for direct quotes, this applies to the source of any articles or inspiration for your own article. See my last article for an example: How Much of a Push Does Anyone Really Need?
2. Free Stock Photos: Images make every blog post better, however the common method of copying photos from others may be infringing on the owner’s rights.  Really, there is not a need to steal photos, as there is a plethora of quality, free photos for people to use. I personally use YotoPhoto, which is a search engine that compiles results from many free image sites. The only downside is that it seems to leave some results out so if I can not find the perfect picture, I usually then go to FlickR. If you look in their advanced search options there is an option to “[o]nly search within Creative Commons-licensed photos.” All of these images can be used for free, although they may have certain restrictions such as requiring you to source the owner or not allowing it to be used for commercial work, but many have no restrictions at all.
3. Ask!: Simply contacting the author may be the best way to get permission to use their content. While it may not be the fastest way, it really helps to build relationships with others in the online community and shows more genuine appreciation for their work.  So maybe communicate would be best, talk with anyone that does good work and comment or add to their conversations on your own blog.
4. Use and Contribute: As I mentioned, FlickR allows Creative Commons-licensed work, so what is the Creative Commons? It is an organization that promotes people to “[s]hare, reuse, remix - legally.” They have created licenses that content makers can customize and use on their site to share their content in the way they want. If you look on the right side of my site, I have put on a Creative Commons license that allows people to share or change my content as long as they include me as the source, use it for noncommercial purposes and share it using the same license. I made the license without having to know any legalese or hire a lawyer. This is great if you want to share your content and contribute your creative works with the world.  Also you can find new content using their Creative Commons search. They have everything from books to photos and even music.
5. Green Hosting: Often looked over, but important is how your blog is hosted. Web hosting while “online” is done by physical servers that use electricity and so have a carbon footprint. Many companies have arisen to address these issues. My host, Dreamhost, actually just went carbon neutral bybuying carbon credits to offset their emissions from hosting. For more webhosts, check out this Treehugger article that mentions Dreamhost and a few others here.

As blogging matures, I am sure there will be new ways to do “good” blogging, but here I hope to promote a few habits that any blogger can pick up to be a good blogger today. If you have a way I did not list, please share it in the comments.