Thou bloggest not in darkness

Oscar Wilde said “Nothing makes one so vain as being told one is a sinner. Conscience makes egotists of us all” which seems unusually apt for this which I came across via Darrell.

The following list was agreed upon at the Evangelical Alliance's "Godblogs" event in September. It is intended to help "bloggers... consider the social impact of their blogging.";

1. You shall not put your blog before your integrity.

2. You shall not make an idol of your blog.

3. You shall not misuse your screen name by using your anonymity to sin.

4. Remember the Sabbath day by taking one day off a week from your blog.

5. Honour your fellow-bloggers above yourselves and do not give undue significance to their mistakes.

6. You shall not murder someone else’s honour, reputation or feelings.

7. You shall not use the web to commit or permit adultery in your mind.

8. You shall not steal another person’s content.

9. You shall not give false testimony against your fellow-blogger.

10. You shall not covet your neighbour's blog ranking. Be content with your own content.

Now, as it happens, I came to the list expecting to completely disagree with it - but leaving aside adultery and the language employed it all seems reasonable enough to me. Darrell offers the challenge to come up with an alternative list and I thought I'd try to come up with ten things I need to do more in my own blogging (to add to my unexpectedly successful new year's blogging resolutions). Here are the seven I could think of, in no particular order;

1. Link love: It's something that I particularly like about blogging that you can end up in completely unexpected places through the links that people provide. Whilst blog rolls are fine it's the links in your content that really counts, and it's always good to highlight something you've found useful / funny / interesting.
   
   
2. Following up: It's one thing for the newspapers to report on stories and never mention them again - I think with a blog the scope for following up is a lot more open. I should go back and check to see if there are any stories I've left only partially told.
   
   
3. Submit a suggestion: I have outstanding pieces I've promised. Seeing as I'm actually in a position to write them now I really should. It's so easy to not do things you said you would - but it's a bad habit to get into.
   
   
4. Don't let commitments slide: Sites like the Carnival of Socialism and Green Home need constant, if low level, attention. I need to keep on top of my commitments (or pass them on).
   
   
5. Guest posts: I always enjoy having guest posts here at The Daily (Maybe) but it does take a bit of work commissioning them and following up to ensure they actually come in. This week I'll make an effort to bring a few more quality guest posts in.
   
   
6. Comments: blogging without comments isn't blogging, which means I need to contribute more to other blogs, particularly if I'm enjoying them. Helping develop that online community is, I think, rather important and whilst I've been much better at this over the last six months it's so easy to let this drop when busy.
   
   
7. Keep it broad: sometimes when there is a big issue (like the London elections or the financial meltdown) it's easy to over post on a particular topic. I'll try to avoid that, although it's difficult to know where to draw the line.