Bullies in the blogosphere...is a code of conduct the answer?

At some point in your life, you've inevitably experienced some sort of bullying whether it was the annoying kid on the playground or maybe even that jerk co-worker who has to be in on everything.

So what about the blogger who disagrees with you, so much so that they would make threats against your personal safety?

That's exactly what happened to a blogger named Kathy Sierra. While details of her situation remain unclear, many people, including notable blogger Tim O'Reilly, are advocating for a defined code of conduct among bloggers. But how would this be achieved?

One of the most important aspects of blogging is virtual anonymity. Posting your own thoughts for anyone and everyone to see behind the veil of a screen name gives you the freedom to do as you please while maintaining little or no concern for your personal actions. Put simply, on the Internet you can be whoever you want, think whatever you want, and ultimately say whatever you want.

So what about regulation? Forget about legal or federal regulation --that's almost laughable-- but I do believe community action needs to be taken when "blog-bullying" occurs. The question is "On who's shoulders does that rest?" A supreme body of bloggers who establishes how you can or can't speak your mind? We have enough political blogs without worrying about bloggers playing politics to decide on a code of conduct.

From my experience, the blogosphere tends to have a flux effect, it's constantly in a state of heating up and cooling off. Self-regulation of bloggers lends itself to a kind of subjective morality which could or couldn't change the way things are right now. In parting, I agree with O'Reilly that we can not make a mass assumption of the blogosphere based on the thoughtless comments of a select few.

Paul Gillin & David Strom team up to create PR War Stories Podcast

Very interesting perspective from two high-profile tech journalists:

http://strom.com/podcasts/tprws-1.mp3

Journalists David Strom and Paul Gillin have come together to share with tech PR and Marketing professionals ways they can better relate and engage with the press. For anyone out there who has ever worked or is currently working in tech PR, and fortunately I have, this podcast is definitely worth keeping an "ear" on.

In PR, we hear from the press all the time about our shortcomings, so this podcast really isn't anything groundbreaking. If anything, it's a louder voice for us to hear in the back of our minds while we balance keeping the client happy.

For the sake of my career, I'll save any of my beefs with the press. We have just as many war stories.

Welcome to Phil Montgomery!

I'd like to welcome my good friend and colleague Phil Montgomery to New Media Wire! A current blogger himself, Phil will be contributing on a periodic basis with his insights and experience in what's going on out there in New Media, so look forward to more posts!

Thanks for reading and again, welcome Phil!

Is your tech life suffering at home?

If you're a neophyte like myself and countless others in this day and age, the answer is probably yes. In the days before I had to have the newest electronic device or the latest phone capability, life seemed to be much simpler. But, given that those days are very much over, I am compelled now to receive information however I can get it.

What's that mean? It means that I can access a news story online, through an RSS feed, on my mobile phone, in an email alert, possibly in a videocast or podcast...and the list goes on and on. In the new media PR world, it means that we have that much more research to do in locating coverage for our clients, but there seems to be somewhat of a disconnect in how we can achieve that level of client satisfaction at home, versus in the office.

With all these new ways to access news for clients, companies --for the most part-- are still functioning at a controlled and highly apprehensive level. The point is, we as consumers and professionals have more at our fingertips outside the office than inside.

Now, that's not to say that companies are blind to the information revolution. There are obvious security issues that arise when allowing employees to use different technologies like IM or RSS, but that's a whole other issue. Those of us communicators who rely on new media and want to use new consumer technologies may have to wait a considerable amount of time before they're allowed in the office, but I think we're on a collision course with the future. The time for companies to open the doors, at least partially, is now.