Blog homeI am not sure blog readers quite understand how tricky it can be to write a blog in an industry that you also work in.
You have to consider factors such as:
- Am I right? After all you don’t want to write something with an opinion that is plainly wrong – otherwise you lose your credibility. However writing a blog post without expressing an opinion is the quickest way to lose subscribers and just be boring.
- Is who I am writing about a potential partner? I have recently written about companies that actually now would turn out to be quite nice partners. Perhaps previously opinionated blog posts don’t quite look so clever now.
- What do my existing NDAs cover? Yes – I have a few but now they are quite old. However I still have to be careful that I don’t break any.
- Information sources – Was the information I am basing the story on given to me because of the blog (i.e. for publishing) or because of my position in the industry?
It is not straightforward.
I have spoken to people who say that they find it hard to write a comment on a blog post. Well multiply that feeling by 100 and you see what it is like writing a blog post.
My rule for writing a blog post is that each time you publish you have to risk something. Normally it is just ridicule. The reward/return is that if you call it right – and no one else has the balls to write about it – then there are rewards (increased credibility, more subscribers etc).
So far I reckon I have come out ahead….. but you make your own opinion.
But now a few things have changed (or become clearer at least, legally nothing has changed)
Last week Travel Rants came under pressure to remove various stories / comments about DialAFlight [Source: Travel Rants blog post - worth a read]
According to Travel Rants a libel suit was launched in the UK high court claiming for considerable damages as a result of a comment that someone had written on a blog post.
Travel Rants has given in and removed all blog posts and comments about that travel company. [Source: Search Travel Rants and see that previous blog posts are now missing]. Travel Rants has also apologised.
As a result of this Travel Rants has for the moment ceased to write any new blog posts [Source: Travel Rants blog post]
That isn’t surprising. Blogs like Travel Rants and this one thrive on opinion and as conversation enablers. As soon as it becomes a burden to write and manage a blog the interest goes. (But yes we must also comply with the law)
Today
Today I have received more comments on my Expedia article interviewing the founder of the Victims of Expedia website. I have no way to judge whether the comments are valid or not and really I haven’t the time / inclination to contact Expedia to ask them for a response. Do I therefore just let the comment be published (previously I wouldn’t have thought twice about it) – or do I moderate them?
I have a business to run and can’t afford the legal hassle that blogging can bring. But then again blogging has given me a good ROI upto this point….
Tricky eh!
What would you do? Shall we leave news and insight to the trade press? Or do you think independent travel industry bloggers like us add value somewhere? What do you think about Travel Rants getting sued?
It is sad to see that DialAFlight has managed to muzzle Travel-Rants.com, to some extent. I see his comments now are closed, as least on the post where he apologized to the company. I see nothing wrong with a competitor commenting on a blog. With any blog post or comment, the blog has to ensure that something written isn’t libelous. It is smart journalism, and blogs, after all, are a form of journalism. I sure hope the DialAFlight Travel-Rants saga doesn’t deter Travel-Rants over the long haul or others.
I can’t believe that something has gone so far with Travel Rants. I hope he’ll be back soon and even more encouraged than ever to hunt down dodgy travel practices. He’s always been fair.
I think a clear constraint is where someone earns money from the blogging activity. In this case it becomes a business and every business should seek legal advice and be insured for its own risks.
There is no way that the blog owner can be expected – and held responsible for – verifying all sources from commentators worldwide. As a safety measure, I think every comment could bear a caption “this comment does not represent the opinion of the site owner bla bla bla”, even after moderation.
It’s a real shame. It is clear that Darren always tries to be fair and even-handed in his posts. It’s unfortunate therefore that a comment can do this to him. The volume of comments he receives means checking the veracity of every one of them would be an almost impossible task.
The industry needs blogs like Travel Rants. It is clear from its success that people feel they need an outlet to express their opinions on how things are done. But it is more than that; Travel Rants attracts a healthy mix of consumers and industry insiders and often results in worthwhile dialogue. I hope he’s back soon.
I agree with previous comments that it’s a real shame. I hope Darren comes back and keeps blogging… he has done a great job building Travel Rants – no mean feat.
Clearly we don’t know all the detail here, but I have to say I’ve always felt that given the freedom for anyone to comment on a blog there was a degree of cover along with the risk. Did a representative from DialaFlight respond to the adverse comments on the blog? I’d love to hear their side of the story. In an ideal world that’s how it should happen… but it’s not always like that is it…
I think that’s perhaps the painful learning experience from this. We are publishers as bloggers and we do have to take some responsiblity for what is posted on our blogs. But also, it looks like Darren was slow to react to DialaFlight’s concerns… difficult when you’re doing a day-job I know, but clearly very important.
A handy link to the BBC’s guide to avoiding libel… one for all bloggers to read…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A1183394
Alex I’d say that “I haven’t the time / inclination to contact Expedia to ask them for a response” is risky. If those comments are potentially defamatory and you don’t have time to seek clarification, I’d take them down. (But thinking about it, I don’t think I’d have ever run a post like that… maybe as a trained journo I have more sensitivity to these dangers… I have no idea…)
Thanks everyone. I am sure Darren appreciates our support
@ Jeremy – on the Expedia question – I am sure I would have contacted Expedia at the time of writing the initial blog post. What I don’t have time for though is to write to Expedia each time someone adds a new comment, especially as I haven’t had any feedback from Expedia PR about any of these posts / comments.
I have put the last comment live now [See article linked above]….. it looks like a pretty normal customer complaint story…. except the person states that Expedia have lied to them. That may be libellous but is that sufficient to remove the entire comment?
If I don’t put the comment up then I get accused (by consumers) of defending the industry vs consumers. Either way someone is unhappy with me….. all through a comment that was not written by me!
That is why blogging can sometimes be a no net win game!
Hi Alex
Yep. I see your point. Maybe you should close comments after a set period of time on some more contentious issues like this one?
It’s certainly made me think about adding some kind of disclaimer etc on my blog somewhere.
I’ll be honest and say I’d never get into blogging in an environment where customers air grievances on my blog. It’s too risky in my opinion!
Cheers
Jeremy
Hi Alex
The story you mentioned above about EXPEDIA have been forwarded to EXPEDIA for comments.
It was sent by KIM to my website asking to forward the message to EXPEDIA.
As usual, we did not have any response from EXPEDIA. The full complaint has been posted at:
http://www.expedianews.com/othervictims/Kim.html
Reach your own conclusion…
Seems that Dialaflight were not just commencing action against Travel Rants
http://blog.taragana.com/pr/dialaflight-in-court-battle-over-online-libel-3464/
Looks like Grumbletext (great name!) has also been hit and is showing the same apology letter. Thought it didn’t sound like Darren’s style of writing!
Grumbletext apology
Question is – who are the other two sites?
Personally I found the last comment on this article on Darren’s site rather telling: http://cli.gs/hzYdLT
@Sam Daams. Well done, that is a priceless link! I guess the author doesn’t know about rel=nofollow…
@Darren. All journalists when they experience their first brush with the lawyers feel like they’ve been punched in the guts. Then they get over it, and it makes them stronger and smarter. I was 24 when my first cock-up resulted in an apology in a national newspaper (I thought I’d be sacked. I wasn’t), and I once faced a nasty grilling in the High Court (libel, Sunday Times, we lost). Those experiences made me more careful, but also more determined not to be bullied. Don’t give up, mate. But, equally, realise if it’s on your blog, you’re responsible for it.
@ All
I don’t wish to comment on the specific issue but I just wanted to thank you all for the supportive comments.
@ Mark
Yep, a lesson indeed, one I didn’t want to have to go through, but hopefully my issue, might make more bloggers realise that we are reponsible for the content, be it your own or a third parties.