Are Bloggers’ Free Speech Rights Under Attack?

Jesse L. Jenike-Godshalk

    A recent legal opinion has some concerned about just how broad free speech rights may be for bloggers who are not associated with institutional media, such as newspapers and television stations.  In Obsidian Finance Group, LLC v. Cox, No. CV-11-57-HZ, slip op. (D. Or. Nov. 30, 2011), a federal judge ruled that a self-proclaimed “investigative blogger” was not “media” and, therefore, was not entitled to certain First Amendment protections that are reserved for the media.  Despite the alarm that this case has generated, it actually is not a major setback for the free speech rights of bloggers.

The Case: Obsidian Finance Group, LLC v. Cox

    From late 2010 to early 2011, Crystal Cox made numerous blog posts in which she accused Obsidian Finance, LLC and one of the company’s senior principals, Kevin Padrick, of corrupt, fraudulent, and illegal conduct.  Obsidian and Padrick subsequently sued Cox for defamation.  Rather than hiring an attorney, Cox chose to defend pro se.

    In August 2011, before the case went to trial, the judge granted summary judgment to Cox with regard to all but one of her blog posts, because the posts were statements of opinion protected by the First Amendment.  See Obsidian Finance Group, LLC v. Cox, No. CV-11-57-HZ, slip op. (D. Or. Aug. 23, 2011).  A statement, such as a blog post, can be the basis for a defamation suit only if the statement is a provable assertion of fact.  In contrast, statements of opinion are protected by the First Amendment.  According to the judge, blog posts, by their very nature, are usually statements of opinion.

    Prior to the trial, the judge still had several issues that he needed to resolve.  Among these issues was Cox’s claim that she was “media” and therefore, based on U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the plaintiffs could not recover damages from her for defamation without proof that she was at least negligent in making the allegedly defamatory statements.  The judge rejected that Cox was “media,” writing:

Defendant cites no cases indicating that a self-proclaimed “investigative blogger” is considered “media” . . . .  Without any . . . authority on the issue, I decline to conclude that defendant in this case is “media” . . . .

Defendant fails to bring forth any evidence suggestive of her status as a journalist.  For example, there is no evidence of (1) any education in journalism; (2) any credentials or proof of any affiliation with any recognized news entity; (3) proof of adherence to journalistic standards such as editing, fact-checking, or disclosures of conflicts of interest; (4) keeping notes of conversations and interviews conducted; (5) mutual understanding or agreement of confidentiality between the defendant and his/her sources; (6) creation of an independent product rather than assembling writings and postings of others; or (7) contacting “the other side” to get both sides of a story.  Without evidence of this nature, defendant is not “media.”

Obsidian Finance Group, LLC v. Cox, No. CV-11-57-HZ, slip op. at 9 (D. Or. Nov. 30, 2011).  Following this ruling, the case went to trial, and the jury found for the plaintiffs, awarding $2.5 million in damages.

Not a Major Setback

    Despite the concern that this case has generated, the case is not a major setback for the free speech rights of bloggers, and it can even be regarded as a pro-free speech case.  First, some of the judge’s statements suggest that bloggers enjoy expansive First Amendment rights.  In his ruling on summary judgment, the judge stated that blog posts, by their very nature, are usually “opinions” and not provable assertions of fact.  Such “opinion posts” are protected under the First Amendment and are not actionable as defamation—regardless of whether the writer is “media.”

    Second, the judge established a very low bar for what a blogger must do to enjoy the additional free speech protections that are reserved for “media.”  To wit, a blogger must present some evidence that he or she is a journalist.  Cox lost this issue because she presented no evidence. 

    The judge provided her with a list of seven types of evidence that she could have offered.  This list does not create an exacting standard of proof for a blogger to meet.  To be considered “media,” a blogger would not need to offer all seven types of evidence.  In fact, a blogger would not necessarily need to offer any of the seven types of evidence.  The list is not exhaustive, but is merely “[f]or example.”  A blogger must present “evidence of this nature.”  Thus, a blogger could prove that he or she is “media” by presenting types of evidence not on the list.  In addition, most bloggers probably would be able to present some evidence of the types that are on the list—e.g., “proof of editing,” “keeping notes of conversations,” or “creation of an independent product rather than assembling writings and postings of others.”

    Had Cox hired an attorney, the attorney almost surely would have been able to offer some evidence that Cox was “media.”  Actually, had Cox hired an attorney, she might have won the entire case on summary judgment—and she would have entirely avoided the issue of whether she was “media.”  Herein lies the real lesson from this case: If you are sued for defamation, get yourself an attorney.

Jesse Jenike-Godshalk is a member of Dinsmore’s Litigation Department practicing out of the firm’s Cincinnati office.  Learn more about Jesse at www.dinsmore.com/jesse_jenike_godshalk/

How to Affectively Respond to Snarky Blogpost Comments

Controversial blogposts—you may try to refrain from publishing stories and headlines that may rile up a couple of your readers, but if you want to know if people are actually reading your content, posting a "sensational" story about a new study or a new interesting fact is sometimes the best way to accomplish this—it'll get your readers to finally use the comment box and voice their opinion. But sometimes readers can get pretty snarky with their comments (even on stories that you personally thought were pretty bland) if they do not agree with what you're saying.  While occasionally receiving negative comments/feedback is just part of the gig, there is a right and a wrong way to handle these sorts of situations. To learn how, continue reading below.

Don't Delete the Comment.

Unless the reader is blatantly attacking you and using explicit language and profanity, you don't want to just delete the comment and act as if it never happened—no matter how tempting it may be. This is because chances are that not only the original commentator but other readers have already seen the comment, and if they realize later on that the comment was removed, it will seem as if you're censoring your readers. Censorship is the fastest way to turn your audience off and lose readership. So leave the comment on there. If the comment has some merit or a reader asks you to address a question, then address it—start off by kindly thanking the reader for taking time to read the article and then answer the question to the best of your ability but refrain from getting snarky yourself, which leads us to out next tip.

Deflect Personal Attacks to a More Constructive Conversation.

It can be easy to lose your cool and get emotional when someone has harsh criticism about your work or opinions, but it's important that you don't get over emotional and bash your readers when responding. Respect the fact that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and try to see it through your reader's perspective. But if it seems like your reader is personally attacking you, try your very best to respond to your reader without feeding fuel to the fire. An easy way to do this is to redirect the conversation. A good opener may be: "I see where you're coming from and I understand your point but I think the real issue is X, Y, Z."

Do Thorough Research.

Lastly, always try to back-up your responses with solid evidence. If a reader is questioning a stat or fact for example, make sure to save your links and sources so that you can show your readers evidence of where you pulled your information from. In the end, your readers will respect you more for doing good research and using authoritative sources.  

By-line:
Jemima Lopez is a freelance blogger and writer who writes for Zen College Life, the directory of higher education, distance learning, and online degrees. She welcomes your comments at her email: lopezjemima562 @ gmail.com.

Business Web Hosting: Tips For Selecting The Right Service

A secure and reliable web hosting service can be crucial to the success of your business. So it is essential you understand how to choose the correct hosting provider for your business needs. There are several important elements to consider when deciding which business web hosting plan is the right fit for your business.

•    Avoiding Down Time
One of the biggest pitfalls of a hosting service is down time. It is important that your hosting service provider can reassure you that your website will remain online for at least 99% of the time. Even just a few hours of down time a month could potentially lead to your business’s reputation being damaged. When choosing a business web hosting provider reliability is key.

•    Reliability
Although 100% up time cannot be completely guaranteed, it is crucial for your business that you find the web hosting service which will minimize any down time. Many web hosts offer guaranteed up time of 99%. Unfortunately, if they don’t meet this guarantee, they will simply refund the fee for the amount of extra down time your site has suffered, this does nothing for the damage to your business and lost sales incurred because of this down time.

One way round this problem and to ensure maximum reliability from your business web hosting service is to choose one of the larger service providers. Some of the largest companies host millions of sites, so you can be sure their systems are ready to cope with unforeseen problems and this means that your site will have the best chance of remaining online at all times.

•    Bandwidth and Scalability
When choosing business web hosting it is important to think about the future. If your business grows, will your site be able to deal with the increase in traffic? Another consideration is if you run an advertising campaign, potentially leading to a large spike in traffic; will your web hosting service be ready to meet the changing needs of your business? Do plenty of research and ask plenty of questions, be sure that your business hosting package will have sufficient capacity to handle the demands on your site.

•    Security
Most modern hosting providers are very secure. Check out the reputation of your provider online and make sure that they are using the latest technology to keep your data safe and secure. Keeping your site secure also ensures that there will be no unexpected down time caused by hackers or viruses, protecting your business from suffering the consequences of lost sales and customer inconvenience.

•    Support and Customer Service
When choosing a business web hosting package, technical support and customer service are absolutely vital. The level of support available varies between companies, so be sure to ask around and find out which companies a best-known for their high level of service. You can even test the level of service yourself before purchasing by calling them and asking some general questions related to your business web hosting needs.

Bio: This article was written by Stephanie Wagner, a freelance author writing about technology, small business and investment.  She is not associated with Aplus but can recommend them for quality business web hosting services.

How a Social Media Expert Can Help Your Business Build its Presence

Social networking is not just for college kids sharing drunken photos of their weekend shenanigans anymore. It is a powerful marketing tool that businesses have learned to leverage to create brand awareness, connect with new customers and increase sales. Finding success with social networks takes more than just creating a profile and posting a few status updates. Hiring a social media expert can ensure that businesses create a successful networking campaign that will help build their presence. Here's how a social media expert can help:

Efficiency

There are hundreds of social networking sites actively in use. Of course, only a few dozen have a strong presence with a general audience. Different social networks cater to different audiences and businesses should choose the sites that match their interests most closely. A social media expert can make recommendations about the best sites to join in order to see the most results. The expert can also create profiles that will have the most impact and manage those on behalf of the business, freeing up the owner to manage the overall success of the business.

Increased Traffic

Social media experts can advise businesses on the best search-engine optimization strategies to drive more traffic to their Web sites and, therefore, more revenues to their company. These experts can offer guidance on keyword research for reaching the target audience and how to utilize those keywords in blog posts, compelling Web copy, meta tags, images, and more. Social media experts can also implement strategies to build quality backlinks to the site, including guest posting, participating in community forums, and building relationships with other bloggers. The more traffic a site gets, the higher it will appear in search-engine rankings and the more visible it will be to potential customers.

Brand Consistency

When businesses set up a Web site, and then a blog and a Facebook profile and a Twitter account and a half a dozen other social-networking profiles, it can become difficult to establish consistency. A social media expert can ensure that your marketing efforts are coordinated so that your brand message is the same no matter where your customers find you on the Web. From logo and design to the tone and content of your message, your brand will be consistently presented in a variety of formats to reach more customers.

Reputation Management

Customers no longer drop their comments in a suggestion box or write to the public relations department to lodge a complaint. Now they post their thoughts about your company on their blogs, on their Facebook pages, on public forums, and on other social-networking sites. Instead of telling a few of their friends or co-workers, they are telling hundreds or even thousands of other people. Social media experts can monitor what is being said about your company online to manage your reputation. They can respond to customer comments to mitigate complaints, and publicize company achievements, developments, and promotions. With a social media expert, you can ensure that you are shaping the conversation about your company and creating the reputation that you want.

Social media is a powerful networking tool that can help build your business' online presence by creating brand awareness and attracting new customers. A social media expert can help your business navigate the crowded social-networking landscape to maximize your efforts.

Byline:
This Guest Post courtesy of Bridget Sandorford from Culinary Schools.

Finding real food online

Restaurant reviews online etc are nothing new, but dishtIp takes this a lot further.

This is a semantic discovery platform that allows users to search by dish name, flavor, cuisine, ingredients, meal type and price yet offers users the experience of a hand-curated community based.

Want to see the 100 Top Dishes Across the USA? I knew one in the top ten and yes, I agree, it's up there.

Want to find a certain type of restaurant within one block from your phone? Dishtip will do it.

Now I've just started playing with dishtip, and have no connection to it, but it's pretty interesting and I may be giving it a good whirl on some upcoming trips. If nothing else, it's a fun tool for those of us who love food!

Promising Markets Of The Near Future

Predicting what is going to happen in the stock market is historically difficult. People have made fortunes overnight, other people have lost their retirement savings. No matter how easy it may seem to make a fortune overnight, investors should always remember that although Wall Street isn't exactly comparable to Vegas as far as the nature of the risk you're taking, it can be just as lethal.

A huge part of being successful on the stock market is being invested for the long run and being able to forecast the trajectory of future industries. We would all love to invest heavily in the Microsoft startup of the 2010s, but remember that hindsight is always 20/20. Picking a long term winner requires scrupulous research, patience, and some luck. Here are a few markets that could gain major traction this decade:

Additive manufacturing—This technology is just now hitting the market in experimental phases. Sometimes called '3D printing', it will allow companies to essentially own a factory inside their office, using mathematical blueprints to build objects layer by later. This new form of manufacturing will change the world once developers work out the kinks. Aggressive companies in this industry, such as Optomec, could make for excellent long-term investments.

Biosimilars—The bane of the biopharmaceutical industry's existence, these generic-like big molecule drug products are changing the landscape of Big Pharma and are estimated to earn over ten billion dollars annually by 2020. Investing now in a small biosimilar company with big connections could make for a windfall of cash later.

Stem cells—Many analysts though that a Democratic president in office would make stem cell treatments take off. The reality is, more time was needed to perfect the research. Amazing things are being done in this field, and the years ahead could see an incredible stem cell industry continue to flourish in hospitals and research labs across the world.

Solar energy—Renewable energy as a whole can be expected to exponentially increase in the decades ahead, and will soon power everything from vending machines to data centers worldwide. The question is how soon and in what capacity. Recent evidence suggests that Asian solar energy may be the right investment. Solar companies based in China and India especially are receiving massive infrastructure investments by their respective governments. One could even go so far as to pick a dozen or so penny stocks to invest in and see which ones take off.

Picking a stock investment that is going to pay off in major ways can be extremely difficult. In another sense, it simply involves predicting what company is going to be successful. If you've got a skill for forecasting broad trends in the world at large, you have a good opportunity to get your finger on the pulse of where Wall Street will be in the future. The industries listed above have excellent potential for meteoric future growth.

Guest post couresy of Amanda Green

Email's Inevitable Fall From Grace

As I sat down and mentally prepared to write this post, I performed an action that I've come to realize is necessary for me to fully focus when writing. I shut down my email program. After years of multitasking, I finally realized that when I see the little 'new message alert' in the bottom of my screen, I can't help but check. Since emails roll in about every three minutes during my average workday, that's literally a constant distraction.

In order to be productive in the roughly 75 percent of my job that does not consist of constructing and replying to email messages, I've got to shut out email entirely. That's a realization that's caught on around the business world. Information technology behemoth Atos even announced last year that they'd be banning internal emails among their nearly 80,000 employees, favoring chat and cloud technologies instead. CEO Thierry Breton referred to the current email culture as the "pollution of the working environment" in his comments to the press about the decision.

What would lead a major company, especially one in the computer technology business, to abandon the most common form of business communication? According to studies conducted at Atos and independently by the Radicati Group, the average corporate employee spends 2 hours and 45 minutes each day reading and writing emails. With spam comprising 81 percent of email traffic sent, and daily deals, non-work related newsletters, and Facebook updates making up a big chunk of the rest, there's a lot of sifting through junk to get to actual work related emails (even on job-specific accounts, oftentimes). Atos' Breton is likely the first of many executive directors to take a similar step toward streamlining employee productivity.

Already, we're seeing major changes in how email is used. A decade ago, we were more likely to send personal messages and letters via email, a practice that has virtually ended with the youngest computer users. In only a year, between Dec. 2009 and Dec. 2010, email use declined among teens age 12 – 17 by 59 percent!

That coincides directly with Facebook becoming available to the general public in Sep. 2009. The same demographic sends over 3,000 texts per month (over six per waking hour. While email use may still be increasing among the population aged 55 and older, that's not exactly the group that will be defining our business and technological future.

The bottom line is, even with instant email via mobile devices, the platform creates either a real or perceived break in the communication chain. With a phone call or SMS, we feel obligated to reply. In the event that we don't, it's almost required to acknowledge that by making an excuse when we next have contact with the caller, whereas in the case of email, we all have carte blanche to ignore messages. While some workers strive to clear out their inbox by Friday afternoon, others simply allow them to pile up, working from the top of a pile of tens of thousands of messages.

Neither approach is the most efficient. Email in 2012 is but one wrench in the toolbox. In plenty of circumstances, a text message, online chat, or even Facebook or Twitter post prove far quicker and more effective in garnering a reply and progress on a task.

Likewise, instead of prompting a discussion with a work group that will ultimately lead to an inbox-clogging series of 'reply to all' comments, companies will increasingly use cloud technology. When a proposal or draft is prepared, it's posted to a company cloud or service like Google Docs, where all the pertinent parties have access and can update and provide feedback in real time. There is no longer a need for multiple employees to sort through multiple email replies to compile a complete picture of a work in progress.

Email was first developed in 1971. By the mid '90s, it had grown into the primary means of communication for business. At that point, it also crossed the threshold where teenagers began to utilize the platform to communicate amongst themselves.

It's been almost another 20 years since email caught on, and the teens have abandoned it. Forward-thinking businesses are already following the lead of their future work force. Whether they look to Facebook, to Google, or simply to 'the cloud,' email's seniority will continue to be a growing casualty of the constant quest for a streamlined work flow.

Christopher Wallace, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Amsterdam Printing, has more than 20 years experience in sales and marketing. At Amsterdam, a leading provider of personalized pens, promotional pens, and other personalized items such as imprinted apparel and customized calendars, Christopher is focused on providing quality marketing materials to small, mid-size and large businesses.

Balancing Informality in Your Business Blog

Businesses that carry a running blog on their website typically do it for one key reason: a blog, simply put, is a great way to interact with customers and amass further degrees of exposure. Many of these businesses, however, don’t stop to consider the type of interaction a blog can foster.

While the relationship between business and consumer in most settings is a highly formal one, the blog atmosphere allows for the presentation of an otherwise unsuitable level of informality. The blog writer can use the words “I” and “we” to describe the company. He can refer to trivial office happenings, local stories or weather events, and upcoming product launches in a highly conversational manner. His posts – whether long or short, relevant or rambling – can allow the business to connect with the consumer in a new and novel manner.

But, as always, there are limits to the appropriateness of this type of informality. The key piece of advice I usually give clients is to be “conversational” rather than too personal (at one end of the spectrum) or too professional (at the other). While it’s ok to write about the great times had at the company holiday party, it’s probably less advisable to talk about anything more specific that may have occurred. It’s also inadvisable to provide insights into the company that are not purely product-related. Telling readers about your year-end bonuses or promotional ideas tucked away in your Chicago self storage unit is usually not the best of ideas.

Here are a few more Dos and Don’ts of business blogging:

Do:

-Be conversational and informal

-Talk in generalities

-Mention new products, seasonally-appropriate products, or recent promotions

-Relate news coverage of your company in the press

-Talk about charities or programs that your company supports

-Comment objectively on world or local events

-Write about company history

Don’t:

-Be too personal or too professional

-Explicitly push a company product or service

-Talk unnecessarily about older company products with which the reader is already familiar

-Give specifics about workplace stories or long-term plans

-Use shoddy language, grammar, or punctuation

-Be negative for any reason

Hopefully these tips can help you better navigate the business blogging landscape. If done correctly, a blog can help your business connect with consumers in a highly productive way. But make sure to preserve the appropriate level of tone and content. A blog is a great vehicle for informality, to be sure, but it can be all too easy to take that informality a step far.

Secure Web Hosting

When looking for a comprehensive solution for secure web hosting, there are a variety of factors that should be both understood and considered before any final decisions are made. Ensuring that one partners with a host that delivers superior server maintenance, efficient SSL and SFTP options, complete backup protocols, top level reliability and quality customer service can make the difference in the success of one's business. Each of these factors plays a critical role in ensuring that the strategic partner one selects will deliver the level of service that you need and expect.

Critical Factors

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) - This is the encryption used to legitimize the connection between your website and the computers of your customers. While this can create heavy bandwidth usage, it ensures the security of one's customers. Typically, this type of security is limited to parts of your site that involve sensitive or personal information, such as forms or purchase sections. Credit Card information is one example of info that is usually encrypted by SSL before it transverses the Internet

Secure FTP (SFTP) - This secure file transfer protocol, often confused with other type of transfer protocols, is used to allow customers to securely transfer and receive files. Normal FTP sends your username and password in cleartext and it can be easily intercepted.

Server Maintenance - Ensuring that the servers entrusted to host one's site, as well as the components that encompass all of the ancillary services, are regularly maintained is critical. In cases where one tries to host one's own site, this step is frequently ignored because it can be both time consuming and expensive. By contracting with a third party provider, one defers some of this cost because all of the host's clients aid in covering this cost.

Backups - While this factor seems like it ought to be a given, in many cases proper care is not taken in creating and maintaining a backup according to a strict and efficient protocol. By ensuring that this procedure is in place, a web host can provide yet another layer of protection against disaster.

Reliability and Customer Service

Clearly the hallmark on a successful secure web host is reliability. If one cannot count on the host to be sure that the contracted services will be performed without question, contracting out this service seems useless. As such, it is of exceeding importance that one select a secure web host that has a reputation for reliability.

Along the same lines of importance as reliability is customer service. The part of secure web hosting becomes most important when a problem arises. It is at this time that ones not only needs to be able to reach one's host, but that one needs to have assurance that the problems that arise will be dealt with quickly and efficiently. Particularly in an era when the technology involved in web hosting has become somewhat standardized, the level of service that one receives can be the differentiating factor. Overall, each of the factors discussed above plays a critical role in obtaining secure web hosting services that can make a difference in one's business. Considering each when selecting one's host is the prudent and thorough way to approach such an important decision. To save money, consider using a GoDaddy coupon code to help cut down the costs.

Top tips for decorating your buy-to-let property

Once you’ve finalised the purchase of your buy-to-let property and got the important paperwork out of the way – such as finding the right landlords insurance policy for your needs – it’s time to turn your attention to decorating your new purchase. If you’re lucky enough to have bought a property that doesn’t need any work doing on it then all the better, but the likelihood is that you’ll need to touch up at least one or two of the rooms.

The most important factor to remember when approaching this task is that your own taste in decoration isn’t necessarily the same as your ideal tenant’s – in fact, by finishing a house in the style that you would choose for your own home could well chase prospective customers away. Your best bet is to decide on the type of tenant you’re looking to attract and then tailor the way you decorate the house accordingly.

The general rule of thumb is that the more care and attention you put into decorating your rental property with style, the more you’re be able to charge for rent. If you’re lacking in inspiration, take a look around at the kind of newly built properties that tend to sell quickly and take your lead from them. Light colours are generally the order of the day as they help to make the rooms of your property appear larger and brighter.

Pay special attention to rooms that can make a real difference in winning round potential tenants who are on the fence. A clean, modern style to the fixtures and fittings in either the kitchen or bathroom can have a real ‘wow’ factor and seal the deal. Wooden floors also tick the right boxes for many people – and have the added bonus of being easy to clean.

Don’t rest on your laurels once the decoration has been completed; it’s just as important to ensure that the decor is well maintained going forward, so make regular checks to be sure that everything is up to scratch and act quickly on any problems pointed out by your tenants.