PR is going digital, how do PRos stay ethical?

This post by Rodger Johnson on PR OpenMic coupled with conversations about corporations getting into the social media world for the first time has spurred some debate in mind (and obviously lots of other people’s) about the ethicality of ghost-blogging for clients. Rodger brought up the point that using our communication skills on behalf of a client is exactly what we do when we write press releases, media advisories, or bylined articles. He says blogging for a client is not different, except for the social media code of authenticity. I commented on his post:

I can see the validity of both sides. My thought is, in a perfect world, PR pros could simply consult clients on how to blog and continually maintain that it is running properly–essentially be social media copy/protocol editors. Afterall, it’s the clients who know their business well enough to write about it with expertise. However, I’ve found that most client web sites aren’t even updated regularly, and in my short life-time, I would say that majority of times I ever reached out to contact an organization I never got a response. So, because our clients are not us… they need our help. I fully agree that they should be an integral part of the planning and ongoing content decision-making.

I’m definitely not whole-heartedly sold on either point of view yet. What do you think? Is maintaining a blog for a client a violation of the social media code of ethics? If so, in this world where PR is going digital, how should PR pros translate their current activities into new media if there’s a whole new set of rules to follow?

Web Stratgey Time-Budget

Beth Kanter wrote a great post about how organizations should budget their time for online strategizing and reaching out to publics. See my thoughts about the balance between email, blogging and other social media activities in this comment.

The Who, What, and Why of Blogging for Nonprofits

See my comment on Beth Kanter’s blog post about the in’s and out’s of utilizing blogs for nonprofit organizations.