Alfonso Bedoya made that badges quote famous in the 1948 John Huston film, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. It was Bedoya’s character, Gold Hat, that said, “Badges? We ain’t got no badges. We don’t need no badges. I don’t have to show you any stinking badges.”
OK, this is just my cute way to share some resources with the students and broach the subject of best practices in online communication. Also, I loved that film and enjoy seeing that line repeated in all its incarnations, like Blazing Saddles and Goin’ South, to name a few. Finally, Bedoya was a great character actor – so, I’m a fan.
There is a lot of talk about transparency and open dialog online, particularly with regard to business communications and social media. Some have suggested that a group label or badge might help to at least alert visitors to your Web site that you are interested in transparency and honesty.
Blog Honor
The image to your left, for instance, offers a way to “take the pledge” and promise to be a good little blogger. (Update: the project is now defunct, by the way.)
Well, badges may be cool to have on your Web site, but let’s remember that it is – to borrow a phrase – “the content of your character,” and not the little badge on your blog, that will make the big difference to all who read and interact with your Web site.
Still, a stated personal code of conduct can be a good thing. Some bloggers devote whole pages to their potential conflicts of interest, such as investments, stock holdings, employment, client list, and more. Nothing wrong with that and certainly a good idea if you wish to retain your good reputation.
So, with that said, let’s revisit some of the good sites with guidelines for positive online behaviour.
Allan Jenkins’ Desirable Roasted Coffee Code of Blogging Ethics is always a good read.
Then, there is the combined resource of Constantin Basturea’s epic work in the NewPR/Wiki.
At TheNewPR/Wiki, you will find the following resources (and more):
Oh, and that “Blog Honor” pledge I referred to, it is here:
Thank you for reading my blog. You’re here because you’ve clicked on the “Blog Honor” badge on my blog.
What does Blog Honor mean? It means I have chosen to pledge to you the following:
- I will endeavor to continue to bring you the highest quality content that I am capable of
- I promise to attempt to disclose or clearly mark any content or advertisements or other monetization attempts that help me keep my blog operating
- I pledge to never write “fake” blog content solely for the purpose of trying to generate revenue without complete and clear disclosure. With exception, my blog may exist for business purposes, therefore I use it to talk about products & services that relate to my business, thus assisting me in generating leads & sales for me indirectly
In return, I hope that you will continue to read my blog with the knowledge that I produce my blog out of a passion for the topic I write about, and not because I’m hoping to fool you into making money for myself.
Please note, I have nothing against generating revenue from my blog, in fact, your ongoing support of my sponsors and advertisers (text links, partner ads, etc…) helps me keep my blog operating so that I may endure to create better content for you.
I do appreciate your support. Continued thanks for your readership. (Source)
Credit: Blog Honor Badges were conceived by Jim Kukral, publisher of ReveNews.com and founder of the BlogKits Affiliate Marketing Blogging Network. Badge Artwork conception and creation by Whitecapstudios, specialists in blog design. 
Related Links:
- Biography for Alfonso Bedoya
- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
- Memorable Quotes from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
- Memorable Quotes from Blazing Saddles (1974)
- Blogkits : The Blog Honor Pledge
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