Blogger Beware

Stop.

Danger.

Beware.

All bloggers. Regardless of your area of interest.

There’s an important issue and you need to be fully alert. You can’t ignore it or claim ignorance. You might get badly burned.

Let me state upfront, I’m not a lawyer. And as they say, I’ve never even played one on stage. So don’t take legal advice from me.

But you need to listen up for a second.

You can’t write anything you want on the internet. Nope. You can’t.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t like that fact, or that you do like it, or that you don’t care about it.

Blogger beware

A blogger from Oregon has just been fined $2.5 million.

No, that’s not a typo – two and a half million dollars (Seattle Weekly, Dec 6th 2011).

Blogger Crystal Cox has been sued by a finance company for writing critical posts about them.

The Court ruled that her postings were defamatory.

She had argued that she thought of herself as an investigative journalist and was, therefore, legally protected.

Apparently her posts were a combination of opinions, facts and remarks against the finance company and its owner.

The Court said that as she was not affiliated with any recognised journal or newspaper she was not protected by shield law.

After Court she said that the ruling matters to anyone who writes on the Net, and plans to appeal the judgement.

So, here’s an obvious, necessary, flash for all bloggers:

1. Be careful what you post about others on the internet.

It’s not a complete free-for-all. You have responsibilities towards being fair, as well as open, on your blog.

2. Be aware of the media law, as it relates, in your particular geography.

Yes, it’s boring. Yes, it’s written in a “foreign language”. But yes, it’s necessary to understand.

3. Make sure of your facts, when posting about others.

One person’s fact is often another person’s opinion. And, one person’s opinion is often mistaken for fact.

Blogger beware.

You may want to warn your blogging friends of the above. Either Tweet this or Link to it, or do something else. But tell them.

Whilst on the subject of blogging danger, here are two other important issues you ought to take care of quickly.

Don’t allow your Blog Protection to be weak, or you may eventually suffer.

Ensure that you don’t make it easy for hackers by making these common mistakes with your Blog Password.

What next?

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