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First Edition Resolutions
By Jim Hedger (c) 2007
Welcome to the first edition of 2007. This is going to be a fast paced
and exciting year for those of us who work the web for a living. We
will see tremendous change and innovation, much of which is already
in full swing. Among the most crucial changes we anticipate in 2007 is
the maturation of the online news media. We see these changes
happening throughout the space as new layouts, formats, authors and
ideas are incorporated into our daily reading, listening or viewing rituals.
As the online world becomes more complicated, the business of providing
honest news and opinion becomes more important.

2007 is going to be a great year in technology and in most of our lives.
We in the search and Internet marketing sectors are among the most
fortunate people on Earth at this time. In that spirit, I would like to outline
a number of New Years resolutions for SiteProNews and SEO-News, the
two publications I am responsible for. 

1/ We will consistently and faithfully report the news as we see and
understand it regardless of consequence or controversy. 

We are journalists. Reporting on a multi-billion dollar industry can be a
daunting and challenging experience. Where there is smoke there is often
fire. Similarly, money and power often attract corruption. It is the role of
the news media to ferret out corruption and report on it. That role is
integral to the functioning of a free and democratic society and is one
our forbearers fought and died for. We will never dishonor their sacrifice by
shying away from what we believe to be the truth.

2/ We will continue to speak truth to power.

Even if those in power have the ability to use their strengths against us,
we have the responsibility to speak truth to them. This takes guts,
determination and the absolute certainty that one has researched and
triple checked their facts first but, we deeply and passionately believe
in the role of the media as a watchdog. 

3/ We will NOT sensationalize our stories or aggrandize our sources. 

We report on the facts as we see, hear or interpret them. This includes
the use of headlines written as link-bait. There is nothing to be gained
by sensationalism, at least not in the long-run. As the history of SiteProNews
demonstrates, we are devoted to being here for long-term. 

4/ We believe in using the media as a force for social improvement and economic equity. 

If we can use our publications to explain techniques and expand on the
talents of our audience, we will be helping to create and foster stronger,
better informed webmasters and online businesses.In turn, those webmasters
and businesses create jobs, wealth and, in the long-run, greater social
equity. The best way we can help improve the lives of those living in
difficult economic circumstances is to offer accurate information and to
motivate through inspiration. Strong, open economies are the cornerstones
of strong, open societies. The media has a direct role in fostering
openness and therefore can be used as a force for social improvement
and economic equity. 

5/ We believe in a diversity of opinion and will focus a good deal of energy
in the cultivation and support of new voices in the search and webmaster media. 

There are a lot of emerging voices in the search and Internet marketing sectors.
We will endeavor to foster and support the best of them in order to bring the
widest array of information to our audience.

6/ We will only use verifiable statistics.

In the immortal words of the mid-nineteenth century British Prime Minister
Benjamin Disraeli, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics".
While there is no way to avoid their use, we will attempt to temper our use
of statistics by also providing as much information on how those stats were
obtained as possible. We understand that readers prefer knowing how stats
were gathered at least nine times out of ten.

7/ We will make every attempt to avoid the use of anonymous sources.
That often requires us to work harder to cultivate sources willing to go
on the record. 

One of the most difficult decisions an editor can make is the allowance of
quotes from anonymous sources. The media consistently owes its audience
a full explanation of how news has been gathered, including the
names of those who provided the "proof" behind claims made in public. 

8/ At the same time, we will make every attempt to protect those who
provide us information under the condition of anonymity. We recognize
that some honest people are afraid of the repercussions of telling
their truths in a public space. 

9/ We will not drink the Kool Aid regardless of who is serving it.

A famous poster of a UFO reads, "I want to believe". We too want to
believe it when we are told about the wonders and integrity of any
technology or institution however that would defeat the goal of
quasi-objective observation and explanation. We will not drink the Kool
Aid, no matter how hot the day might be.

10/ We will be adventurous, exploratory and expansive. 

Heaven knows our audience is.

11/ We recognize that there is a good and bad side to every story,
every entity and every institution. We will not allow individual pieces of
bad news to bias our opinions against any entity or institution. 

There are always at least two sides to every story just like there are
always two sides to any coin. We will always try to present both sides
of a story. When we are unable to present both sides of a story
from the perspective of those involved, we will endeavor to explain
how our audience can find information for themselves. 

12/ We will strive for informed objectivity.

The ideal of objectivity is one of the oldest and most important in
journalism. It is also one of the most difficult to practice as we all
have our biases. In our reporting of the news or presentation of techniques,
the editors and writers at SiteProNews will strive for informed objectivity
by following these principles as closely as possible.

13/ We will be relentless in our pursuit of any given story.

We believe there is a sense of urgency surrounding what we do everyday.
We will strive to follow a story to the ends of the Earth and beyond if necessary. 

14/ We will work as hard or harder than our colleagues.

The editorial staff of Jayde-Online works hard. Our friends and family call
us crazy and, given the schedules we keep, it is hard to argue with them.
It is not unusual for us to put in sixteen hour, six out of seven days of the
week. With the coming expansion of SiteProNews to a daily format,
a weekly radio show sponsored by Jayde-Online and the ISEDN.org,
and our plans to mix video and social network-media into Jayde-Online
publications, we expect the work-load to get even heavier in 2007. 

15/ We will have fun.

Hard work can be fun when we know that work helps others. We believe
we are a beneficial component in the overall information spectrum. 

We believe that these resolutions are more than good intentions. It is
our intention to treat these resolutions as the principles under which
publications I am responsible for are created, published and distributed. 

Moving forward, we at Jayde-Online expect you, our audience, to hold
us to responsible for maintaining these principles. On behalf of Jayde-Online,
I would like to wish everyone a happy, safe and prosperous 2007. Watch
for some interesting changes in this space in the coming weeks.
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Search marketing expert Jim Hedger is one of the most prolific
writers in the search sector with articles appearing in numerous
search related websites and newsletters, including SiteProNews,
Search Engine Journal, ISEDB.com, and Search Engine Guide.

He is currently Executive Editor for the Jayde Online news sources
SEO-News (http://www.seo-news.com) and SiteProNews
(http://www.sitepronews.com). You can also find additional tips
and news on webmaster and SEO topics by Jim at the SiteProNews
blog (http://blog.sitepronews.com/).
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