Writing…Wallflower therapy.

Sometimes wallflowers find it easier to express themselves more confidently with words. Engaging in conversations with professionals in a social setting can be intimidating. On the other hand, they can really find their voice with the power of their words.

 

Here’s a piece I recently wrote about the demerits of ghost blogging. Yes, I’m a former wallflower, but even then I always felt self-assured about my writing.

Point: take inspiration anywhere you can find it and the rest will surely come.

 

Enjoy:

 

Ghost blogging, although fairly common in social media circles, is centered on deceit.  At its core lies a blatant disregard for transparency. It’s misleading, dishonest and borderline fraudulent. I don’t much care for it. In fact, I very much hate it. Yes, I hate!

 

Come on people! Haven’t we been told all our lives to source our work? As students, didn’t we face severe academic penalties if we took credit for something someone else wrote? What makes it acceptable now? What’s changed? Have we become desensitized to the principles of writing, sourcing and attributing?

 

Where I come from, ghost writing equals sanctioned plagiarism. It is an unpunished literary crime – a travesty and victim of the social media age. Yes, I mean every word; they are mine after all and I take ownership of them. This is me in all my blogging glory; I’m writing and no one can take these thoughts away from me. My words empower me. They give me my voice and I don’t need to steal another person’s words or ideas to get my point across. I get my point across my way…the only way!

 

A pro-ghost blogger told me the other day, “But, Victoria, it’s alright because everyone is doing it.” So what? Let me understand.  Because it’s popular, convenient and common it stands to reason that it must be OK, then? Not! Forget about the ethics of disclosure. Forget about ethics altogether.

 

I’m not alone in my ghost-blogging tirade. Dave Fleet, who held a session about the lack of ethics of ghost-blogging during Talk is Cheap at Centennial College this past November, argues for transparency as well. He argues for the benefits of disclosure as I do. You can read more at his site: http://davefleet.com/2008/11/the-ethics-of-ghost-writing-in-social-media/.

 

So yes, the prevalence of the practice of ghost blogging is common but beware of brand damage, you ghost-bloggers you, as evidenced by Kanye West’s blog continuing to post entries long after his arrest. Make no mistake; he lost his “cred.” But it’s ok because everyone is doing it.

 

Katie Couric has a piece on CBS Evening News called, “Katie’s Notebook.” But, two years ago it was discovered that “her” notebook about “her” observations and “her” opinions were actually written by a CBS News employee. Oh, but it is ok because everyone is doing it.

Today, her “Notebook” is indeed her creation. She’s learned, even if everyone is doing it.

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