Is Ghost-blogging Dishonest? Not Necessarily

B.L. Ochman, who I am coming to love for her pull-no-punches PR commentary, today has sounded off on the topic of “ghost-blogging,” the ghostwriting of blogs.

Her take:

A well-known conservative political and religious blogger is offering to ghost write corporate blogs, a service that I find disturbing. The point of blogging is to chronicle the original thoughts, opinions and knowledge of the writer, and to have that writer engage in conversation with readers. There’s no room in that equation for a ghost writer.

A ghost writer, by definition, writes under someone else’s name. That starts the blog on a dishonest premise.

The ghost-blogger in question is La Shawn Barber.

I don’t necessarily agree with B.L. on this one. I think ghostwriting is dishonest under certain circumstances; for example, if the named author has very little to do with the conceptualization and content of the work.

However, if the named author simply needs a ghost to help convert his or her ideas into words, I don’t see any problem. A good ghost writes as the named author would, incorporating not only the author’s ideas but also his or her personality. Without ghosting, the great majority of celebrity and CEO autobiographies you find at the bookstore simply would not exist.

So it’s not the worst thing in the world, B.L. Really.

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