Skip to content

Southern Fried Science

Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS

Blogging with integrity

Posted on July 7, 2010July 7, 2010 By Andrew Thaler 4 Comments on Blogging with integrity
Uncategorized

I’m coming out of my self-imposed July Blog-cation to comment of the events that have transpired over the last two days. If you haven’t been keeping up, Orac at Respectful Insolence has the full story. Long story short – Science Blogs released a new blog, Frontiers in Food, sponsored by PepsiCo and written by PepsiCo employees. They did so without consulting with, or even informing their bloggers ahead of time. The Science Blogger community is largely outraged, and several notable bloggers have quit the network, citing their credibility being compromised.

This raises a larger issue among all science blogs, not just those that are a part of ScienceBlogs.com. How do you know what science blogs are honest and what are biased? The answer is, of course, that you can’t know. For that matter, we are all biased, we all have conflicts of interest. So how do you know if a blogger is talking from their heart or from their wallet? How do you know if Deep Sea News hasn’t been paid off by Planktos, if Southern Fried Science isn’t in the pockets of the Japanese whaling industry, if Ya Like Dags? is a secret front for shark finning?

You can’t.

It’s about trust. You trust us, or you don’t. Blogs are more personal than conventional journalism. Readers get an insight into not just the subject, but the author as well. You decide whether or not to trust us based on not just the information we present but the connections we form with out readership. That’s why we make sure to correct ourselves when we make mistakes and admit when we are wrong. It ultimately comes down to the blogger, not the network they’re on or who else blogs under the same domain.

But the network matters too. The network lends credibility. Informally, many readers who trust our opinions also trust that we read well informed, honest blogs as well. Our linking to another blog is a tacit approval of their content, at least in relation to what we’ve linked to. For independent blogs, this network evolves naturally as we associate with other bloggers, but for bloggers within a network, the tacit assumption is that all blogs within the network are of the same quality.

Which is why the implementation of this new blog doesn’t just compromise ScienceBlogs.com blogs, but all bloggers who have built networks with ScienceBlogs.com.

These bloggers have left the Science Blog Network. They are awesome bloggers and deserve a read.

  • Blake Stacey
  • Scicurious
  • Brian Switek
  • David Dobbs
  • Alex Wild
  • Grrlscientist
  • and the wonderful Rebecca Skloot

~Southern Fried Scientist

Share this:

  • Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon

Related

Tags: #sbFAIL Frontiers in Food science blogs

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: Biodiversity Wednesday: Summons of the Queen Ant
Next Post: 365 Days of Darwin: July 8th, 2010 ❯

You may also like

Uncategorized
An open thread on Wikipedia’s list of science blogs
March 1, 2010

4 thoughts on “Blogging with integrity”

  1. Blake Stacey says:
    July 7, 2010 at 10:50 pm

    Minor edits: it’s Stacey, and the URL for GrrlScientist’s Twitter feed is broken.

  2. Southern Fried Scientist says:
    July 7, 2010 at 10:53 pm

    Thanks! Fixed.

  3. Chuck says:
    July 11, 2010 at 12:24 pm

    Actually, I’m a secret front for dolphin finning.

Comments are closed.

Recent Popular Posts

What Ocean Ramsey does is not shark science or conservation: some brief thoughts on "the Shark Whisperer" documentaryWhat Ocean Ramsey does is not shark science or conservation: some brief thoughts on "the Shark Whisperer" documentaryJuly 2, 2025David Shiffman
Donald Trump and Sharks: An Annotated TimelineDonald Trump and Sharks: An Annotated TimelineJune 27, 2024David Shiffman
Marine Biology Career AdviceMarine Biology Career AdviceMay 30, 2025David Shiffman
Considering writing a popular science book? Here's my adviceConsidering writing a popular science book? Here's my adviceJuly 7, 2025David Shiffman
AuthorsOctober 27, 2013Administrator
Please don't ride sharks, and other great tips from the new  guide to responsible shark divingPlease don't ride sharks, and other great tips from the new guide to responsible shark divingMarch 12, 2017David Shiffman
What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?November 8, 2013David Shiffman
Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryShark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryAugust 10, 2014Michelle Jewell
What is a Sand Shark?What is a Sand Shark?November 12, 2017Chuck Bangley
About Southern Fried ScienceOctober 27, 2013Administrator
Subscribe to our RSS Feed for updates whenever new articles are published.

We recommend Feedly for RSS management. It's like Google Reader, except it still exists.

Southern Fried Science

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS


If you enjoy Southern Fried Science, consider contributing to our Patreon campaign.

Copyright © 2025 Southern Fried Science.

Theme: Oceanly Premium by ScriptsTown