I’m not going to be a nice blogger.
You might consider what I say nice. I might be have moments of kindness. I’m not saying I’m going to aim to be mean or cruel. What I am saying is that I’m not going to sign any blogger code of conduct.
Here is why
The big deal about blogging is that it breaks down barriers to entry for publishing. That’s why it scared the shit out of traditional media, thats why they made fun of it. Thats why they questioned whether or not bloggers were true journalists, and whether or not they should be afforded the same protections… because they were scared.
Look at who is proposing a code of ethics Tim O’Reily , Dooce, Kathy Sierra. All popular bloggers and important people. Now I’m sure they don’t even think that they are restricting free speech, or putting up a barrier to entry, but watch, it will happen. Like any club, it seems harmless enough, but what happens next.
What happens when Reddit, or Digg won’t accept a link unless its from a ‘nice’ blog?
Well now who ever decides if a blog is nice has a lot of power. And who is on the commitee for deciding what the standards for nice are, that’s right, O’Reilly, Sierra, and Dooce. Thy will have more power than they now have, and power corrupts.
Of course when Reddit or Digg stops accepting ‘mean’ submissions there will be another news aggregating site, maybe ‘meanit’. I’d love to write that.
So thats why I’m not going to join a blogging code of ethics