Blogging With Integrity

Now THIS is a cause I can certainly get behind! And frankly, should 'he-who-shall-not-be-named-because-it-gives-him-a-higher-Google-ranking' steal THIS post, I'll be THRILLED to see it appear on any of his twelve blogs!

Sasha at BloggedyBlogBlog brought this movement to my attention in her recent post. An organization has been formed, and people are banding together to pledge that they will display integrity, fairness, honesty, and good conduct in their blogging practices. Well, I never.... what a FABulous idea, no?!

Go here to read about the organization, their mission, and sign the pledge.

Then get yourself one of these hot buttons to place on your blog, and let the blog thieves out there know that they are up against a mounting army of legal beagles who are paying attention!

As a part of this pledge, I'll remind readers that I do not offer ad space on my blog. My recommendations for books, videos, web sites, and blogs are made because I am familiar with the products & people providing them, and believe they are valuable resources for your business. (I do not get paid anything at all for doing this. I only get a small commission (1 to 3% of product cost)from Amazon and Artella if you click through and purchase any of the books I have linked here.) I do not offer product or service reviews for a fee or for compensation of any kind (products, bonuses, trips, gifts, or otherwise). If I discover something and am wowed by it, I share it. Without any strings attached.

I get dozens of inquiries for link exchanges and ads each week, and I turn down 100% of the ads and over 95% of the links because my goal is to offer you only the best retail & visual-related material & resources. Just today, a local merchant whom I was speaking to on the phone made me an offer for my blog readers - and it is one that I may take her up on during the upcoming holiday season. If and when I do, the connection between us and the terms of the 'deal' will be clearly posted here.

I will continue to endeavor to provide links and credit for any content I use that is not my original work. I may miss something one day, like when I credited one source for the wine shop display photos but missed another. (This can get VERY convoluted with all the linking & sharing going on, and I spend a lot of time searching for the originator and asking permission/notifying of linked posts.) My GOAL is to have proper credit & access to all of the materials, content, and resources included in this blog. If I do miss something, please email me or leave a comment with verifiable info and I'll add it ASAP.

And because of the convolutedness of this whole issue, I will endeavor to produce my OWN content, including subject matter, text, and images, on much larger scale than I have recently. Even WITH permission from the originator, I need to work harder to offer originality here - not a regurgitaion of content discovered elsewhere. I think my links to other online resources will suffice in helping you locate what's already out there.

Likewise, if you see something of mine on another web site or blog, please shoot me an email and let me know where it is.... it helps to have other pairs of eyes looking for that! I may have granted permission for its use already, but then again...... ;0)

(BTW, I'll have a post up soon with all of the resources I've discovered in regard to combating blog content theft....)

Image Credits: www.BlogWithIntegrity.com