Making Money Blogging and Ethics - Why Don’t They Mix?

I’ve taken a lot of flak over the years for raising the issue of ethics and making money blogging. Even just recently I was personally attacked by Beard and by my friend Mike.

It has left me wondering why this subject seems to bring out the worst in some people. So that there will be no further misunderstanding I’ve decided to state unequivocally where I stand on the issue of blogging for money.First off let me say that I like to make money as much as anybody else. Money is great, and there never seems to be enough of it. Or is it?For the past two years my health has made it impossible for me to continue working at what I normally do. So I’ve been supporting my family (my wife is a stay-at-home mom homeschooling our child) on a meagre disability income. Believe when I say that you can learn to live on little if you really have to.

But despite the fact that I seem to always be short on cash (and the reason why I can’t buy a new computer yet) I’ve decided that if it comes down to a choice between making a buck and ethics … ethics wins every time in my book.

I freely admit that I’m no Mother Theresa and I make just as many mistakes as the next person. But when it comes to the subject of ethics and voicing my opinion — why for some people does it somehow make me into a bad person? (Or at least that is what they would like us to believe.) Why is it too much for me to ask for a concensus on common sense things like ethical linking, stopping the abuse of link baiting and writing original content? Why?

My only conclusion that I can figure is they can’t or they just don’t want to (it’s probably the latter more so than the former). Or it’s probably a case of when your position is indefensible … the best defence is an offence.

I can’t help but notice that the so-called pro-blogger community is the biggest offender in this case. They have no compunction to raiding other blogger’s content, or even recycling their own archives for that matter. Anything to keep those posts coming. And when it comes to linking, unless you kiss-ass and join them you can pretty much forget it, even if your material is the inspiration for their post(s).

The blogosphere is already having a tough time fighting for legitimacy with the old media/journalist community. We continue to take hits from them because of the fact that we don’t adhere to any rules here.

It’s basically the wild west and survival of the fittest, and so long as it continues we will never earn their respect. So in my humble view the last thing that we need are a few blog hustlers making matters worse and ruining it for all of us.

Every once in a while I will receive an anonymous flamer, or sometimes they will be bold enough to come out into the open and bash me, like just recently. But the fact is I know that they read me and they can bury their heads in the sand or try to run, but they can’t hide.

No matter what, I will continue to speak my mind about ethics and I will not be kowtowed by anybody from the pro-blogger community — no matter how much they try to shout me down, avoid linking to me, or shut me out of their little clique.

I will not sell out, and that I can promise.

Recently I had an email discussion with reader Alan Howard over this very same topic. So what do you think?

Am I just pissin’ in the wind? Am I the only one who really gives a shite about ethics?

P.s.: I’m sorry if I’ve come across a little strong in this post, but this nonsense really does make me angry.