Making a Mistake on your Blog
July 14th, 2008 by Simon Heseltine
One of the problems that some people have with really getting into blogging is that they have a fear of being called out should they misrepresent some fact, or just plain get it wrong. Is this a valid fear? Yes, but it’s something that a blogger quite simply has to live with, and really embrace.
Look in your favorite local or national paper – usually on the inside front cover or on the editorials page – you’ll find the erratum section of the paper, where they list their errors from the previous edition. These are professional journalists, who are supposed to fact check, and have editors that review articles before publishing. So, it’s not shocking that an everyday blogger would make a mistake or three.
So, what do you if when you mess it up? Here are the options as I see them:
- Go back and correct the post, deleting the incorrect information, and replacing it with the correct information. If this changes the focus of the post, make more widescale changes until it all fits.
- Nuclear. Delete the post. If it’s gone noone can prove it was ever there… can they?
- Edit the post by using strike-throughs on the incorrect text, and adding in the corrected text in a different color.
- Stick an addendum to the bottom of the post detailing the issue.
While #1 may be tempting, it’s not always right and can be confusing for people that have previously read the post. However, it may be appropriate when combined with #4 if legal issues are involved. #2 again doesn’t really hold true to the idea of transparency. But, as with #1, it may be appropriate in the case of legal issues, although a follow-up post to explain why the post was removed is usually good form. #3 works well because it shows transparency. You made a mistake, but you also corrected it. People can see what you originally wrote, as well as the correction. #4 could also be used in conjunction with #3 or by itself. If by itself, then you may have to rely on your readers making it all the way to the bottom of the post (which may not happen if you publish snippets, and the erroneous information is in the snippet).
Where did the inspiration for this post come from? On July 8th, Stephen Dubner wrote a post on the Freakanomics blog titled “Department of Oops” where he talked about a mistake he found in the current edition of The Economist. Only he was mistaken that it was a mistake. The article was in fact correct, which was pointed out to him numerous times in the comments for that post. His response? #4.
So, don’t be afraid of making a mistake. Look on it as something that’s going to happen, sometimes through no fault of your own. But, also look on it as an opportunity to be transparent, to show your readers that there is a fallible human being behind the blog. One willing to admit when they’re wrong, and one that they can more readily identify with. You’ll more likely than not find that will help with retaining and, indeed, increasing your audience figures.
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