Is Ghost Blogging Unethical

Is Ghost Blogging Unethical You didnt write that post, but you put your name on it. You hired a ghost blogger. Ghost blogging: one person writes the blog posts, but another person gets the credit, with or without disclosure that the blog uses ghost written posts. Does that seem wrong to you? Unethical? Some say thats an easy yes, but others, particularly in the public relations industry, say no. It depends on how you see your content, and how comfortable you are with a lie. 1. Ghost Blogging Ruins The Relationship Social media and blog content–its all about the relationship now, isnt that right? Were talking, were conversing, were engaging. Its all inbound marketing and in order for that to work, we have to be transparent and open and above all else, be concerned with connecting personally to our readers. In this strict definition, ghost blogging seems like a home-wrecker in our relationship with our audience. Blogger Dave Fleet has written an article about the  ethics of ghost writing  in social media, stating outright that it is unethical if it is undisclosed because it harms the relationship. Unlike ghost-written speeches, where the spokesperson lends their name and approval to the writing by actually saying the words, ghost-written blogs can be published without the named person ever seeing them. Fleet later wrote an article addressing ghost blogging directly, stating that it was wrong. Writing blog posts was part of relationship-building. When did outsourcing your relationships become  okay? Dave Fleet Maybe the question isnt whether ghost blogging is ethical or not, but instead, whether your blog is about relationships or information. Not All Blogs Are Relationships To play devils advocate, let me suggest that not all blogging is relationship building.   Some blogs are purely for information. Just as a writer publishes a book (paper or ebook), you buy it, you read it, you dont assume the author wants to start a transparent relationship with you. The information was the thing. Consider the many reasons people create blogs: Create and cultivate relationships. Develop their image and platform. Frame and speak on issues that affect them or their brand (self PR). Show themselves as thought leaders. Media catching (journalists contact them because of what they found on their blog) for attention. Communicate with the rest of the organization, or shareholders. A pure love of writing. Earning money from ads, sales, affiliates, etc. Attract search engines to their website where their business and products are found. Do all of these reasons really have to be considered relationships?  I know we are trained to think that way now,  but is it the only route? The trend and best practices youll hear now is that all content is framed in a relational and social approach. To be the devils advocate for a moment, I would suggest that it is also possible that you are only interested in relaying information and arent looking for a relationship (ask any seriously introverted writer about this). While you might see significantly different results than someone who views their content as relational, you are, at least, getting content on your site. If its good, youll still be found by search engines. Maybe thats enough for you.