It is hard to maintain any blog when good health is not on your side.

I’ve been down by chikungunya fever. And few days after that, my eldest daughter and my son got dengue fever.

My son has been placed and monitored in the intensive care unit (ICU) or critical care unit (CCU) since his blood platelet was very low. We almost lost him.

A normal platelet count in a healthy person is between 150,000 and 400,000 per mm³ (microlitre) of blood. His platelet was 21,000 per mm³ only. It took lots of bag of platelet concentrate and fresh frozen plasma (FFP) to get his platelet back to normal.

Alhamdulillah (Thanks God)! Everyone is O.K. now. We are back to normal!

For me, blogging ethics is all about treating other bloggers the way you desire to be treated. What do you think?

Here are some good practices for you “bloggers”.

Fairness

Being fair is subjective, but you should make every effort to extend the same respect to others that you wish for yourself.

This means you should be willing to listen to others’ viewpoints and allow criticism of your work. Be willing to listen to others and examine your motivations.

Transparency

Be honest and open with your readers about your biases and conflicts of interests. For example, if you write about an organization that has given you money, you should disclose this. Similarly, if you write regularly about political issues, you should make your beliefs known so your readers can be aware of possible biases.

This does not mean that you must share with readers every last detail about your life, but where there is a risk of bias or a conflict of interest you should disclose.

Independence

Be your own blogger. Write what you think needs to be written and what you honestly believe to be true rather than bowing to powerful interests with a stake in what you write.

Honesty

Only say what you know to be true. When you have reason to doubt the truth of a statement, say so. If you are speculating, make it clear that you are doing so. Additionally, say what you do not know when writing a story.

Link References

If possible, link to the material you reference, even if you disagree with it. This gives your readers the opportunity to make up their own minds, and bolsters your arguments by making your evidence easily accessible.

As a result to this rule, be sure always to present your evidence. If your references do not exist online, make clear your sources as best you can. Providing the evidence to back up your claims is not only honest, it will help you make stronger arguments.

Respect Sources

If you interview someone or receive information from someone to use in a post, respect the source’s wishes. Find out if you are allowed to credit the source of your information or how you are allowed to use the information you receive. Remember, in some cases, not respecting a source’s wishes could lead to the source losing his or her job or to arrest if the information is particularly sensitive.

Publicly Correct Mistakes

If you should find that something you asserted or a story to which you linked in a post is untrue, correct the misinformation quickly and publicly. This is usually best done by adding an update to the original post so mistake and correction are in one place.

Do Not Slander

Do not make false or malicious statements about others. If you disagree with another blogger or with a public personality, do not indulge in personal attacks or false statements. Try to make well-reasoned and fact-based arguments.

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Your blog is your voice and words on the Web. It’s a place to collect and share information. You might already have a newsletter or an ezine that you send to clients. But a blog is different: it’s quicker to write and easier for people to read. Many find publishing an ezine regularly takes time and effort and requires overcoming writer’s block. It takes two minutes to publish a blog post, and it becomes a good habit. Instead of sending one long newsletter once a month, imagine publishing a short paragraph twice a week that is instantly delivered to your subscribers.

A blog is about more than just putting your thoughts into print. It’s about connecting with and hearing from anyone who reads your work and cares to respond. It’s a two-way conversation. Blogs allow comments that connect you with your readers. You build lasting relationships, and you find out what your customers are saying.

A blog also builds your reputation and establishes your expertise. If your blog provides cutting-edge analysis and information, your reputation grows in direct proportion. Blogging raises your profile faster than almost anything else on the Web. It’s a well-known fact that the search engine “spiders” look for fresh content. Blogs are fresh bread, baked daily. And blogging is a fast track for getting found by people who matter. Journalists increasingly turn to blogs when researching stories - which can be a direct line to blogging speakers with expertise in a niche area.

Plus, as a brand-builder, a blog allows you to directly convey the image you want people to have of your business without having to use costly advertising.

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Wonder how to survive in the real world? Take a deep thought on these guidelines. (Of course, you are free to interpret and extrapolate for yourself)

Reference: U.S. Army. FM 21-76: U.S. Army Survival Manual. (New York: Dorset Press, 1999).

[S] Size up the situation

The U.S. Army Survival Manual says:

Size up your environment, physical condition, and equipment.

1. Environment - Learn the rhythms of the area you are in.
2. Personal condition - Take stock of any injuries from battle.
3. Equipment - Take stock of the condition of your weapons.

[U] Undue haste makes waste

The manual says:

You may make a wrong move when you react quickly without thinking or planning, and that move may result in your capture or death. Don’t move just for the sake of taking action. Consider all aspects of your situation (size up your situation) before you make a decision and a move.

If you act in haste, you may forget or lose some of your equipment, and you may become disoriented so that you don’t know which way to go. Plan your moves so that you are prepared to move out quickly without endangering yourself if the enemy is near you.

[R] Remember where you are

The manual says:

Pay close attention to where you are and to where you are going. Do not rely on others present to keep track of the route. Constantly orient yourself.

You should always try to determine, as a minimum, how your location relates to:

1. The location of enemy units and controlled areas.
2. The location of friendly units and controlled areas.
3. The location of local water sources (this is especially important in the desert).
4. Areas that will provide good cover and concealment.

[V] Vanquish fear and panic

The manual says:

The greatest enemies in a combat survival/evasion situation are fear and panic. If uncontrolled, they can destroy your ability to make an intelligent decision. They may cause you to react to your feelings and imagination rather than to your situation.

They can drain your energy and thereby cause other negative emotions. Previous survival/evasion training and self-confidence will enable you to vanquish fear and panic.

[I] Improvise

The manual says:

This easy-to-come easy-to-replace culture of ours makes it unnecessary for us to improvise. This inexperience in improvisation can be one of the greatest enemies in a survival situation. Learn to improvise.

Take a tool designed for a specific purpose and see how many other uses you can make of it. Learn to use natural things around you for different needs. An example is using a rock for a hammer. No matter how complete a survival kit you have with you, it will run out or wear out after awhile. But your imagination will not. Use it.

[V] Value living

The manual says:

All of us were born kicking and fighting to live. But we have become used to the soft life. We have become creatures of comfort. We dislike inconveniences and discomforts. So, what happens when we are faced with a survival situation with its stresses, inconveniences, and discomforts? This is when the will to live placing a high value on living is vital.

The experience and knowledge you have gained through life and through your Army training have bearing on your will to live. Stubbornness, a refusal to give in to problems and obstacles that face you, will give you the mental and physical strength to endure.

[A] Act like the natives

The manual says:

The natives and animals of a region have adapted to their environment. To get a feel of the area, watch how the people go about their daily routine. When and what do they eat? When, where, and how do they get their food? When and where do they go for water? What time do they usually go to bed and get up? These things are important to you as an evader.

[L] Live by your wits, learn basic skills

The manual says:

Without training in basic skills for surviving and evading on the battlefield, your chances of living through a combat survival/evasion situation are slight. The time to learn these basic skills is now — not when you are headed for or are in the battle. How you decide to equip yourself prior to deployment will impact on whether or not you survive.

You need to know about the environment to which you are going, and you must practice basic skills geared to that environment. For instance, if you are going to a desert, you need to know how to get water in the desert.

S.U.R.V.I.V.A.L… I’m sure that the U.S. Army never thought about this particular use of the wisdom that has gotten generations of soldiers through physically perilous situations. But the people we know in the army would be glad that even us “bloggers” have found something worthy in their doctrine. What say you?

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You Have a Fairly Strong Willpower

Temptation doesn’t get the better of you all that often. If you set your mind on a goal, you’ll do your best to achieve it. And while you don’t have a perfect record with willpower, you do okay. If you fall off the wagon with something, you’re usually not off the wagon for long.

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