You can say anything, right?

You can say anything, right?

If you're reading this, you are part of the publishing revolution. you are either participating as a reader of mostly free content or are an active blogger yourself. The blogosphere has likely revolutionized publishing forever. It has officially toppled governments and there is no putting that Genie back in the bottle.

Just ten years ago anyone with something to say would need to submit their work to a publisher, who was strictly in control of distribution. Unless we’ve been living in a cave, we know today the web has allowed a meritocracy in publishing. Anyone can post anything and it’s instantly available to everyone. What is most interesting can go viral and what is not gets relegated to the forever archives of Google.

The good news is that most of the dross is easily filtered out and what’s left is the golden age of expression.

What is the responsibility of a blogger, though? Is a blogger a writer? Is a blogger a journalist? Does a blogger deserve protection of the press because he or she ‘published something’? Are a blogger’s sources protected if he or she behaves like a journalist, whatever that means?

What is the bar we must set for ourselves as active bloggers? Can we puff ourselves to attract business as marketers and still call ourselves objective interpreters? Can we subtly trash the competition as politicians and still say we’re market leaders? Can we say anything then deny any responsibility because we merely repeated sources which we cannot reveal? Are we just feeding the never looked at archives of Google?

Any first year law student will tell you that liberty is not doing whatever you want, but is closest to doing what you ought. Off course most of us will disagree on what that pesky ought means much of the time, and therein lies the rub. We all know the first amendment doesn’t allow us to scream fire in a crowded movie theater if there isn’t a fire, but things get murky pretty quickly beyond that.

What is the bar for bloggers?

What is the bar for Realtor bloggers? That one almost feels like a double edged sword. Off course we want you to buy or sell a home with us, so where is that line drawn? Do we need a disclaimer at the bottom of every site warning readers as we would a consumer information statement?

Many questions, not so many answers.

My take is that most readers are not gullible and self aggrandizing stunts reek from a good distance. Write well by trying to beat the good writing of others, and that ups all our game. Come from a place of genuine service and value add and the goodies will come if the service and value add are truly meaningful. That is meritocracy at it’s best.