WOMMA Issues Guidelines for Business Bloggers and the Marketers Who Contact Them

In the aftermath of the Edelman/Wal-Mart fiasco, WOMMA has been scrambling to save face (Edelman is on their board, after all) and issue a new code of ethics (Edelman was instrumental in penning the existing code). Edelman's membership is currently in review, and WOMMA has taken quick action to put a new code of ethics -- now referred to as a "tool" -- in place.

They've actually created two sets of guidelines: One for business bloggers (including agencies in the blogging space) and one marketers attempting to "leverage" blogs and contact bloggers.

Both are up on the WOMMA site. The first, the WOMMA Ethics Assessment Tool, consists of the Ethics 20 Questions is up as a "Discussion Draft for Public Comment." If you work in this space, read it and comment. It's a pretty reasonable ethics code, but there's always room for improvement.

The second set, The Ethical Blogger Contact Guidelines is also in discussion draft mode. This tool is a little fresher, and basically seeks protect bloggers from spam and block paid blogging without disclosure.

This document is a public draft of guidelines for marketers to follow when doing outreach within the blogosphere. It is neither a "how to blog" nor a "what to blog" document. Rather, its intent is to give clarity and guidance to marketers who are working and corresponding with bloggers, and to ensure that their efforts adhere to the standards set by the WOMMA Ethics Code.

These guidelines are designed to help marketers embrace specific practices that are deemed ethical within the blogosphere. Adopting them will empower marketers to quickly identify issues within existing communications and will help ensure that future efforts at communicating with bloggers are ethically sound.

It's a lot to take in, but definitely read and comment. If you're doing any work with blogs for your own business or for clients these rules WILL AFFECT YOU. Take the time to provide feedback.

We need some best practices established out here in blog land.