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About that whole Wellsphere debacle...

by Jenni Prokopy, the Editrix

There's been a lot of hubbub tonight about Wellsphere: the selling of the company to HealthCentral (reported by our pals at the Wall Street Journal Health Blog) for one, and Wellsphere's use of blogger's RSS feeds to fill its content well. Twitterers across the globe went berserk (check out this search to see the fallout) and lots of readers and fellow health writers checked in with me, since ChronicBabe is up for one of the site's People's Health Blogger Awards.

So it's late, I'm pooped, but I thought I'd offer a few thoughts. First, read Dr. Val's nice overview of the situation, and consider listening in to Dr. Anonymous's show tomorrow night for what I'm sure will be a robust discussion of the situation. Second, if you're a health blogger who gave Wellsphere your RSS feed, please don't think I'm peeing in your pool here—I'm just throwing out a few opinions and hoping current and aspiring writers will be inspired to learn more beyond what I have to say so they can protect themselves, as we all have a right to do.

Point 1: Giving another site permission to publish your RSS feed is not always such a hot thing to do

As a full-time writer with a looooooooooong history in publishing (both print and online), I know that anything I write can mean money in the bank. So I rarely, if ever, want to give up my content to another site for free. A lot of folks have asked if they can republish ChronicBabe content in whole using my RSS feed, and I uniformly say no. One site, Cafe Chronique, is allowed to use my RSS feed to post little previews of articles that link back to my site. That's it! Why would I give away my content to other sites?

Not that I'm bashing other bloggers for doing so; I'm certainly not. For some folks, getting seen by a larger community is a priority. It definitely is for me, but not at that price. I have other ways to reach the ladies. (Cue evil laugh: mwah ha ha ha.) For new writers and for bloggers who don't make money from their sites or freelance work, syndication across other sites sometimes makes sense. And I'm certainly not slamming the idea of syndication wholesale...I just want to get paid if I'm going to give out my content. Which brings me to point number two:

Point 2: Read the fine print

I know, it's boring, it's lame, we're busy. But do it, people. A lot of the folks who are complaining now didn't really do their homework. And it's a trend we see a lot in online ventures. It's understandable to an extent; I'm not immune, I've done all kinds of stuff online that I regretted. But the bottom line is, you MUST read the fine print whenever you give someone creative license with your stuff.

And if that fine print is confusing (which a lot of health bloggers are saying about Wellsphere's), then DON'T DO IT. Get clarification from an attorney, a friend who's an attorney, another blogger with more experience—anyone. It always pays to know what you're signing (even if the signature is digital).

Point 3: Even if it doesn't feel like it, blogging is publishing

And it's writing. Real writing. Like, the kind of writing I get paid to do every day. The kind of writing I've studied my whole life. The kind I plan to do until I croak, mouse in hand (although hopefully by then, it will be some kind of implant that just reads my thoughts).

So if you're going to write something, and you're going to get your undies in a wad when things don't go your way, then please first get to know a few basics about online publishing. Seriously, it won't take even an hour to read up on your rights. A few resources include the American Society of Journalists and Authors' "Electronic Publishing: Fiction and Fact", the Authors Guild primer on Electronic Rights and our old standy Wikipedia's take on copyright. There is SO much more out there, but these will get you started.

If you're going to blog and you don't care that much about making money or holding on to your copyrights, then by all means, throw your stuff around! Get it out there! That's what the Internet's for, anyway. (Well, that and porn. Let's be real.) My goal of reaching millions of people would be a lot easier if I just let every site that approached me publish my stuff. But I care about my copyrights, so I'm super choosy. A girl's gotta make a living.

Point 4: What Wellsphere did was kinda lame

All that being said, it's pretty crappy that the company is claiming creative control over the content it serves its readers when it hasn't paid for any of it. Sure, the company tells the Wall Street Journal that most bloggers are happy. But some aren't, and those folks should be taken care of immediately, either with financial restitution or by removal of their content from the Wellsphere site.

Point 5: I'm torn about whether to stay in their contest or not

Regular readers know I'm a contender in Wellsphere's People's Health Blogger Awards. But now I feel like withdrawing. If the site has this much of a negative impact on the health blogging community, I don't think I want to be associated with it. So I'm putting on the thinking cap. Want to chime in? Send me your opinion by using our contact form, telling me on Facebook or sending me a tweet. I'll make my decision in the next day or so.

The bigger picture here:

We're supposed to be a community, and a big part of the community is feeling very ripped off tonight, so I hope Wellsphere (or HealthCentral) will step up and address this conflict.

And I hope all of the writers out there—and all of our readers, the ChronicBabes and ChronicDudes I do all this for—won't let this taint your experience too much. The Internet is full of businesses, and lots of them don't play nice, but that doesn't mean NONE of them do. So just like in any business transaction or communication, a little caution and discretion are called for.

In just a few hours' time, almost 200 tweets have been posted about this, and I'm sure tomorrow's health blogs will be exploding with conversation. I'll try to keep up, but if you want to inform me, you know how to find me.

Love and respect, Jenni

P.S. After much thought and discussion, I am withdrawing from the People's Health Blogger Awards and pulling my Wellsphere account. I just can't support an organization that's causing so much dischord in the health blogging community.

P.S.S. HealthCentral has updated its FAQ to address much of the questions I and other bloggers have about the company's editorial policies and the migration of Wellsphere content.

Posted: 1/28/2009 in Announcements

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