I spend at least 8 hours a day on the computer for work and then another 6+ each night keeping up on my course load. So one of the best parts of about this most recent assignment–I actually get to spend some time on the internet researching things that I truly enjoy, and then I get to follow it up by commenting on posts by bloggers that inspire me. To be honest, this will be the first time that I have participated in the blogging community in that way, (leaving comments).

So, here goes . . . follow along with me as I share my engagement with the blogging community this week:

I was getting my fix from Ginger Lemon Girl’s blog and ran across a link under “blog love” to Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom. This is another great blog with tons of information for moms dealing with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. I was so excited to come across her post, Alba Therapeutics Recruiting Volunteers for Celiac Disease Drug Trial, which has some really promising news about potential celiac therapies. According to the post, “Larazotide acetate has the potential to become the first approved medicine to treat celiac disease and has been granted “Fast Track” designation from the FDA.” I have heard of trials going on in Australia, but this is the first I have heard of anything in the United States.

Here is my comment:

So excited to run across a link to this post from Carrie over at http://www.gingerlemongirl.blogspot.com/. My daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes AND celiac back in 2008, and this treatment sounds promising. She is only 14 (doesn’t qualify for the trial), but we will definitely be following this closely.

Thanks so much for sharing.

Her “blog love” also lead me to CeliacTeen, where I was introduced to the most beautiful and inspiring young lady who brought a tear to my eyes me with the following quote:

“And for the few of you still with me, here is what I want to leave you with: Food blogging is so much more than the act of typing words and photographing what you bake. It is the joy found in community and the expansiveness of that community. It is the fact that because of this space, I’m no longer alone. Not alone in celiac, in life, or in any situation I’ll encounter.’’

Her solace in blogging about food reminds me of the support my own daughter, dealing with celiac for several years now, has found from her subscribers while vlogging on YouTube. I posted the following comment:

My daughter was diagnosed with celiac in 2008, and quickly turned to YouTube as her online community of supporters. She started out vlogging about celiac; however, this soon morphed into “beauty guru” channels (hanhan1012 and ShabbyChicGeek). I think that she would agree with you that this has indeed expanded her “community” and helped her to feel connected instead of alone. Your site inspires me, and I can’t wait to share it with my daughter!

I clicked on one more of Ginger Lemon Girl’s “blog love” links, the Spunky Coconut. I’m not going to lie; the quirky name caught my eye and I just had to see what this blog was all about. It is a site dedicated to gluten/casein/sugar free options, so this was right up my alley. I spent some time with friends recently and was gifted a jar of homemade sauerkraut. (I know, you either love it or you hate it—I happen to love it.) Well, after trying the homemade variety, I decided I didn’t want to go back to store-bought. Unfortunately for me, my one and only jar of this delectable treat was given to me from the sweetest gramma ever, who just happens to live at least 6 hours away!

I left the following comment:

I can’t wait to try this. My stepmom and husband both come from large German families, and I know they will love this! I just had a jar of homemade ‘kraut gifted to me and it is so much better than store-bought.

Why You Should Learn to Shoot in Manual is a post by Centsational Girl, one of my most favorite DIY bloggers. It is a post about learning to take better pictures on your DSLR camera while in the “manual” mode. The only camera I even have time to use right now is the one on my iPhone, but when I do find the time, I will definitely return to this bookmark.

If you have been following along on my posts at all, you already know of my love of barns and my plans to make it out some day to take my own barn photos. I found some great pointers in Kate’s post, including her shout out to Shoot Fly Shoot, an online tutorial website that offers videos for unlocking the secrets to shooting in manual mode. I left the following comment on her blog:

Your photos are gorgeous! Some day when I get the time, I plan to head out into the country and snap some epic barn shots with my daughter’s DSLR camera. I will definitely plan to check this website out before I head out. In the meantime, I am going to send a link of this post to my daughter, since she was just wondering about manual settings for shallow depth of field, etc.

Beewitched is a post by fig + fauna farm, a blog that I follow simply because their photos are so beautiful, and because they feature naturally gluten-free foods/recipes on their site. Speaking of amazing photos, a recent post about bees caught my eye. There was very little text, but the pictures spoke volumes! The post asked for suggestions of songs or poems about bees that they could sing or recite with their daughter, so I posted the following:

Here’s another poem by Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

BEE

Like trains of cars on tracks of plush

I hear the level bee:

Their velvet masonry

Withstands until the sweet assault

Their chivalry consumes,

While he, victorious, tilts away

To vanquish other blooms.

His feet are shod with gauze,

His breast, a single onyx

With chrysoprase, inlaid.

His labor is a chant,

His idleness a tune;

Oh, for a bee’s experience

Love your site by the way. . .lots of naturally gluten-free and healthy options for my family. Keep it up.

Recently, I was asked to take a look at several different examples of codes of ethics, to identify which I felt the strongest about, and then to explain why. After careful consideration, I narrowed it down to the Ethics Guidelines for Poynter Publishing. These guidelines are based on the following core values:

• Accuracy
• Independence
• Interdependence
• Fairness
• Transparency
• Professional Responsibility
• Helpfulness

I find it hard to cherry pick from this list of values, as it seems the combination of ALL of these values is what actually speaks to the integrity of a post.

I am new to blogging, but for me, when I sit down to compose a post, I remind myself that it is important to stay true to the facts, to be open and honest (transparent) when I am stating an opinion that has not been validated, and to do all that is possible to “do no harm” when stating that opinion. Of course, a lot of what I blog about is important to me personally; however, it is my hope that others find my posts helpful, as well.

I was also asked to respond to the following ethical dilemmas that often come up in blogging:

“You Google yourself and find that another blogger has taken several of your original blog posts and posted them on her site.  She includes your name as the author, but does not include the link to your site nor any other information about it. You see she’s gotten thousands of hits and lots of comments in response to a post YOU WROTE. How would you handle it? What are the ethical issues it raises?”

I have found that the best approach is always to start by assuming that one’s motivations are pure. It may be that this particular blogger is not yet aware of all of the ins and outs of internet ethics/etiquette, and that they will respond positively to constructive guidance from a fellow blogger. I am always looking for win-wins, and this approach would allow for both an opportunity to educate and also to expand my network. (Note to anyone that happens to read this post . . . I am new to blogging myself, so please feel free to share your constructive guidance with me at any time.)

What do you think? Please feel free comment below.

I had a Strawberry Shortcake diary when I was a kid. It was a handwritten (scented) record of my favorite songs, current crushes, hopes and dreams. Yeah, I may have followed the “Five Ws” formula, but I certainly wouldn’t have called myself a journalist. Possibly a talented storyteller (and doodler), but not a journalist. Since a blog, by its very definition, is a personal online diary, and bloggers are often expressing opinions which may or may not be characterized as unbiased reporting, it is my belief that not every blogger would be (or should be) considered a journalist.  There is no expectation, for instance, that bloggers have done any fact checking to support their personal opinions—although they certainly may have done so. However, for those bloggers that do go out and conduct interviews, research topics, etc., the lines between blogging and journalism are most definitely blurred.

Weighing In: Must Bloggers Hold Professional Degrees in Journalism in Order to be Considered Bona Fide Journalists?

So what about credentials? Is this a valid line to draw? Some would argue it is. However, there are many professional journalists that provide unbiased news reports to the public, and they do not have journalism degrees. Therefore, this argument does not seem to hold up. When a blogger lives up to the same fact checking and ethical standards—providing the same fair and comprehensive accounts of events and issues that the press is expected to live up to—it is then that I believe they cross over from a blogger stating their opinion to a journalist reporting the news. Perhaps we should call them bloggerists?

Snippetandink.com:  This is a daily wedding inspiration board that I loved (and referred to often) when I was helping my dear friend plan her wedding.  I believe the young woman who blogs started this as a fun hobby—most likely inspired by her own personal wedding planning, as many of these blogs do start that way.  I do like that she posts daily so there is always something new to check out.  The blog started with inspiration boards and then branched out. Now it features real weddings, giveaways and much more.  This blog appropriately cites resources, which I appreciate, and is a practice I will obviously plan to incorporate into my own blog.

CentsationalGirl: This is a top rated home and garden blog that I like to follow. This blogger is a former lawyer who closed her practice to become a full-time blogger—recording her love of repurposing and DIY projects—two things I also love to do in my “spare” time. The blog has opened up a lot of great opportunities for her to showcase her style and partner with a horde of corporate sponsors/websites. With 800,000 visitors and 1.8 million page views per month, she has to be making a minimum of $1,500/month in ad revenue, so I doubt she has any problem funding her next blog project. I am drawn to blog sites that I feel are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, and this is definitely one of them. This is no static site either; it is regularly updated and very easy to navigate. She does a great job of linking and makes it easy to connect through social media and RSS feed options. Without question, this is a successful format that I would like to try to model in my own blog.

TheFarmChicks:  This site is pure eye candy. Serena Thompson is the author of this blog, or as she refers to it, “web journal.”  I learned about Serena, her business, Farm Chicks, and her other ventures through a friend of mine who has been to a couple of the Farm Chicks shows.  Every year, Serena coordinates an antique “ picker-like” show at the county fairgrounds in Spokane, WA.  She is a hometown girl, and has her hands full as a “mother, author, entrepreneur, & Country Living Magazine contributing editor.”  Even with so much on her plate, she still finds time to be creative . . . my kind of girl. Her blog focuses on her personal life and endeavors, which just plain inspires me.  She posts frequently, and I like the casual yet thoughtful style of her writing.  She constantly encourages her readers to go out and seize the day, (and then share their stories with her).   She approaches her blog very interactively, which I think makes it stand out from other blogs of similar content. She has a website and a shop that she self-promotes through her “web journal,” and she also has quite a bit of advertising that I am sure brings in a fair amount of revenue. I wouldn’t mind incorporating these types of revenue generators into my own blog—although I am aware that this takes time.

GingerLemonGirl: This is a “guilt free gluten free” blog. It is written by a blogger (Carrie) that is as passionate about her writing as she is about going gluten free. She reveals on her blog that she was suffering from severe migraines and GI issues when she first discovered gluten was the likely culprit. So, she started her blog to share her newly found passion for gluten free cooking and baking with others on a similar quest for a healthy gluten free lifestyle. Her dietary restrictions have changed over the years and her recipes have definitely evolved along with them. She has tapped into social media, has recipe groups, a shop, and also appears to be generating revenue from ads. She has some great links to Celiac sites, which I’ m sure folks find helpful, as well. Viewers are invited to use her recipes/photos on their own sites as long as they link back to her site and give her credit.  I delight in her spunk and her writing style just as much as I enjoy her recipes. My daughter, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and Celiac back in 2008, also enjoys this blog. It is both informative and entertaining, while also being easily navigable. I would attempt to incorporate this combination of information/entertainment into my own blog, as well.

OhJoy!:  Oh Joy was started by a New York graphic designer named Joy.  After working for many years in the design world in NYC, she wanted to start something that also included her passion for fashion and food.  Posts are regularly added, 2-3 times a day.  I love this blog because it always has new information and fresh ideas.  Joy now promotes her designs by having her own textile and stationary lines.  She also serves as the Market Editor for a home decor magazine called Anthology, and has co-written a book called Creative, Inc. I find her inspiring and innovative, and enjoy exploring all of her design avenues. She has great links to other interesting sites, including her sister-in-law’s site, Fig and Fauna, which I also enjoy quite a bit. (Many of the recipes highlighted on Fig and Fauna come from ingredients produced right there on their farm—and they are naturally gluten free! Always a plus in my book.)