• Trademark infringement
• Cash for comment
• Advertising sponsorship on forums and blogs
• Conferences, drinks, corporate schmoozing..

With the various information sources available such as blogs, forums, review sites, how do you know that what your reading is accurate? How do you know that someone hasn’t been paid to:

• Talk up the share price of a public company?
• Post positive comments about a product or service?
• Link to other blogs, so they can win a competition?
• Recommend products (which they know to be useless), based on high affiliate commissions?
• Paid product placement

Where is the line between monetizing a blog and checkbook journalism? What if your whole model is based of freeconomics - giving stuff away for free.

I’d point out that this doesn’t just apply to the domaining industry, it can apply across the Internet, from blogs to forums. The point being, should the domain name industry have a code of ethics similar to the Journalists Association? For example:

1.  Report and interpret honestly, striving for accuracy, fairness and disclosure of all essential facts.  Do not suppress relevant available facts, or give distorting emphasis.  Do your utmost  to give a fair opportunity for reply.

2.  Do not place unnecessary emphasis on personal characteristics, including race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, sexual orientation, family relationships, religious belief, or physical or intellectual disability.

3.  Aim to attribute information to its source. Where a source seeks anonymity, do not agree without first considering the source’s motives and any alternative attributable source.  Where confidences are accepted,  respect them in all circumstances.

4.  Do not allow personal interest, or any belief, commitment, payment, gift or benefit, to undermine your accuracy, fairness or independence.

5.  Disclose conflicts of interest that affect, or could be seen to affect, the accuracy, fairness or independence of your journalism.  Do not improperly use a journalistic position for personal gain.

6.  Do not allow advertising or other commercial considerations to undermine accuracy, fairness or independence.

7.  Do your utmost to ensure disclosure of any direct or indirect payment made for interviews, pictures, information or stories.

8.  Use fair, responsible and honest means to obtain material.  Identify yourself and your employer before obtaining any interview for publication or broadcast.  Never exploit a person’s vulnerability or ignorance of media practice.

9.  Present pictures and sound which are true and accurate.  Any manipulation likely to mislead should be disclosed.

10.  Do not plagiarise. - If I had $1 for everytime I posted something and another domaining site just happened to post the same thing 20 mins later.

11.  Respect private grief and personal privacy.  Journalists have the right to resist compulsion to intrude.

12.  Do your utmost to achieve fair correction of errors.

What are your thoughts on this? Feel free to post a comment, I’d love to hear from you.

Tags: business, code of conduct, Code Of Ethics, domaining, media ethics, professionalism