Blogging has grown up more quickly than anyone imagined. There are now nearly 163 million blogs worldwide with more than 69 thousand blogs created every 24 hours. But blogging isn’t just the purview of hobbyists; the ever-expanding blog industry features top-performing businesses that bring in serious revenue. Blogs have given platforms to a collection of original voices, provocative opinions and a wealth of knowledge.
Even though blogging has become a serious industry, some new bloggers may not consider its legal aspects. If you're a self-employed or self-starting blogger, here are some of the key things to keep in mind as you navigate the legal and business aspects of your blog:
Do You Have Liability Concerns?
While running an in-home childcare center or launching a catering business seem like naturally risky professions, it's hard to imagine that sitting behind a computer can put you at any real risk of a lawsuit. Still, there are some serious liability issues for bloggers. What if you unintentionally plagiarize someone's work? Or maybe you end up writing about a mobile phone prototype left at a bar? What if you can't pay your vendors? What happens if you're fined by the FTC or named in a class-action lawsuit for positively reviewing a defective product?
Most bloggers are probably aware that back in December 2009, the FTC revised their guidelines to bring social media and Internet advertisers into the mix. At the heart of this revision was a concern that it was becoming increasingly difficult to recognize an “advertiseme nt” in social media. In 2010...
