“Cybermedia will make every man his own editor, which in turn makes every writer a fool. The Internet will transmit misinformation very efficiently. We will miss the gatekeepers.” — Neal B. Freeman, National Review, Dec. 11, 1995
I’m 25 years old, and I blog, but I’m a little old-fashioned when it comes to media. I have a journalism degree; my program was so old-school that it taught character-counting when writing headlines. My work as a newspaper reporter taught me many things, including one big one: having credibility and finding credible sources.
Bloggers — whether health, fitness, mommy, beauty, or otherwise — aren’t always known for being the most credible folks out there. And it’s a shame, because many have great information to share. But from a journalistic perspective, it’s easy to see why bloggers aren’t viewed as the most reliable sources out there.
But wait, you say. I’m not writing my blog for anyone but myself. It’s all for me! That’s awesome, but you are still putting your words, thoughts, ideas, and photographs onto the Internet where they will more than likely be read by other people. And that gives you an inherent responsibility of making sure what you post is accurate.
Hollaback Health has covered some of the big topics when it comes to being credible: accepting swag and writing negative reviews and OpenSky shops. But a lot of times, I base my opinion on whether a blog is credible on how the blogger presents himself, his story, and credentials. One of the first things I check when I visit a new blog is the “about me” or “about this blog” page. I want to know why you’re blogging and what makes you a credible blogger.
Weight Loss. Weight loss and maintenance blogs are near and dear to my heart, since I write one myself and have lost 120 pounds. But there’s lots of weight loss advice out there. I blog to share ideas, because I have zero credentials in fitness or nutrition. One of my favorite weight loss bloggers is Diane at Fit to the Finish, who lost 150 pounds and has maintained it for 12 years. Diane doesn’t have any food or fitness degrees either, but her weight loss plan is based on USDA dietary recommendations. To me, that is the real deal: not only did the plan work for her, but it is based on government guidelines. It’s not some crazy diet plan or some warped version of “moderation;” it’s based on science and numbers.
Fitness. There’s a difference between using your blog as a fitness journal (what you did, when did it) and using it to give advice to others. When I was doing the Couch to 5K program, I blogged about challenges I was facing, and small triumphs, but I would never write, “Well, if you’re having trouble at Week Five, do this, because it’s what I did.” If someone is offering up tips, check out their background. Are they a certified personal trainer? Group fitness instructor? Degree in exercise science or a related field? Just keep in mind that say, running a marathon doesn’t make you a running expert, any more than going to aerobics classes for years makes you an expert. Britt at Runnerbelle has run more than a dozen marathons (and she’s ridiculously fast) but I’ve never read a post in which she’s preaching advice.
Healthy Food. This is a little trickier, because there are a lot of excellent cooks who never even finished high school. One of the top reasons I read blogs is to get recipe ideas, and you don’t need any sort of certification or education to create a delicious meal. If you are sticking to a specific diet (diabetics, GI disorders, etc) or trying to lose weight, you need to be an informed consumer and know which ingredients will work for you — and which are off-limits. That said, if you are posting, for example, a weight-loss friendly recipe and billing it as such — or even just talking about a store-bought product you consider “healthy” I want to know the details: nutrition facts, the science behind the nutrition, etc.
The thing is, when I was a reporter, I had a whole Rolodex full of sources I could call who could give me an authoritative answer. That’s not the case for most bloggers, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t write well-researched posts. And no, well-researched does not mean linking to the first thing Google pulls up for you. It means explaining where your information came from and how you came to your conclusion. If you a low-carb diet worked wonders for you, do some research and share with your readers the science behind it.
It comes back to some writing advice many reporters are given: Don’t tell your readers; show them. Show them how you arrived at your conclusion and why you choose to follow certain advice. That’s what makes a blog credible — and interesting!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
While I agree that using credible sources is important, I actually much prefer to take advice from people who have been there, done that. I think the school of hard knocks is the best school around, at least in most cases. I also don’t think the government is really up to par with what is and what isn’t healthy, especially considering we are basically the fattest country on earth.
I consider my blog to be a resource for overcoming emotional eating and to learning to eat intuitively, and while I am currently enrolled to become a holistic health coach, I don’t think I was any less credible before. And I think the same is true for many other blogs that I read, people learn by doing and I appreciate learning people’s insights.
With that said, I don’t think anyone should take any thing they read anywhere, blogs included, as gospel. No one thing works for everyone.
Great post. I think some bloggers (myself included) get so excited about what works for them that it can come across as advice or fact rather than opinion. It’s important to stress the difference in your writing and in the tone of your writing.
I agree! When I first started reading blogs, I was so excited to find the “world” that I read every blog that I could get my hands on. Now, I’m much more discriminating. I don’t relate to blogs where the author claims to have “struggled” with losing 10 pounds from their college days. I lost 100 pounds, struggled, etc and feel like there are more people like me than someone struggling to lose 5 pounds. That isn’t really credible (for me).
.-= Lisa´s last blog ..The Naked Post =-.
I’m a journalism major and I write for my school paper so I definitely can relate to this! I will always have the tendency to report and not just write.
.-= Lexie´s last blog ..Healthy at Home: an oxymoron? =-.
I wholeheartedly agree with this post! Great post! Although, at least on Tumblr, there is an “Ask” feature that can be enabled and people come to me for advice. I always no matter what start by saying I have no credentials and not an expert, but what has worked for me is ____. If people are curious as to how I have come as far as I have I will share, but I’m not blogging to dictate to people what is right and what isn’t for THEM. Blogging responsibly is key, even if it’s “just for yourself” as people say. People can easily make their blog private as a journal if it was really just for themselves, too.
.-= Johana´s last blog ..dailyme:A Brown Pelican sits on the beach covered in oil from… =-.