The Dark Side?

There is a flipside to everything.

It’s too easy to wear rose tinted glasses and assume that all blog posts reflect a consistently egalitarian, supportive and optimistic worldview. Scandals, rumours, extremist views, backstabbing – all these and more have appeared on blogs, and sadly will continue to.

One email I received explained that an article had been copied and pasted into a blog and given an excessively unpleasant review: “It wasn’t even handed on any level, just bitter and nasty.”

This week there has been debate across the media, (followed up in blogs) relating to blog regulations to avoid abuse. The Guardian reported: “Opinion (was) divided over code of conduct meant to rid postings of offensive and abusive comments” The topic led to widespread discussion of blog freedom v. censorship.

There are a growing number of stories circulating about people who have felt the ‘darker side’ of blogging. Issues, relating to this topic could fill another analysis. In simple terms anyone using the Internet should be aware of the potential for this kind of behaviour.