Blogs and Websites

"When you blog, you make time to think about your thinking, and you use writing to discover and reflect upon your ideas and emotions,"
(p. 107).

"Learning to express yourself on a blog or web site is a process that takes stamina and courage. Today, there is no gatekeeper, no editor or publisher that limits a digital author: anyone can create and compose using these tools for any purpose under the sun," (p. 108).

"The popular blog platform WordPress notes that over 409 million people read WordPress blogs each month, viewing more than 21.9 billion pages," (p. 109).

But the “voice” you use as a writer will depend on your purpose and goals for expression and communication as well as the genre and form of your work. . . . As writing scholars observe, “Voice emerges in the course of the composing process, a by‐product of the writer’s focus on content, purpose, diction, style and audience.” (p. 110)

"Your decision about a design should consider your purpose, the type of content you will be sharing, and your target audience," (p. 113).

Morten Rand‐Hendriksen created a set of ethical principles for digital authors based on his experience teaching people how to use WordPress. He recognized that the role of being a digital author carries with it several responsibilities, noting that “the content you create today will more than likely outlast both the content’s relevance and your own lifetime and it is of vital importance that it be a truthful representation of the topic at hand not only for those who access it ​today but for those who access it in the distant future.”
(pp. 118-119)

Ethical Principles of Blogging

• Voice your opinion.
• Be critical of everything, even your self.
• Use your power for good.
• Tell the truth.
• Present opinion as opinion.
• Be transparent about allegiances.
• Reveal your sources.
• Give credit where credit is due.
• Preserve intended meaning.
• Admit and correct mistakes immediately.