There are currently over 600 million active blogs and at some point or another, a blogger will run into issues. These can range from relatively harmless such as outdated plugins and issues with a CMS application to serious and complex issues like copyright infringement and malicious intrusion.
While most problems relating to a blog can be fixed fairly easily and over a short space of time, there are ongoing problems that every blogger must take care to protect themselves from since they can either destroy a blog or even end up in legal battles that can result in disaster for a blog and indeed the blogger.
Some of the most common issues you may need to protect your blog from include:
- Copyright Issues
- Backup
- Data Protection
A common issue in the online world, copyright infringement is a hot topic since there are many complex laws surrounding it while the backup of all data, not just a blog is essential in case of disaster, and data protection extends to the users of your blog as well as your own details.
Copyright Issues
A growing concern from both perspectives, copyright infringement is a complex legal matter where cases can go on for a long time as both sides argue their case.
As a blogger, you may need to insulate yourself with an experienced trial lawyer such as Greg Hoag, but it might be a good idea to at least consult an attorney if you are concerned about copyright either as a victim or potential perpetrator.
As a blogger, any unique created works are automatically protected by copyright law and this includes any text you have written, images created (such as logos or photographs), and videos you might have produced.
There are also instances where you can use created works that come under the fair use policy or when permission has been granted but usually requires appropriate credit. A good tip is to do as much research as you can on a given piece of material before using it.
Backup
Anyone with a PC at home and especially with computers at a business knows the importance of the regular backup of data.
As a professional or even part-time blogger, you will have masses of new data that has been created each day for your blog, including post copy, images, and other media as well as the code behind the blog itself that keeps it running. If any of this is lost then it can spell disaster for your blog and ultimately your business.
Fortunately, blogs can be easily backed up and recovered should the worst happen.
You could consider using a managed IT service but this is an extra expense that you might not be able to afford so alternatively CMS systems such as WordPress provides access to plugins that can automatically back up a blog for you and just need to be linked to a compatible cloud storage system.
Data Protection
A rising problem of the 21st Century is that of data theft and how stolen data is used.
Malicious hackers are now able to very easily target a business and steal the personal or company data of not just the business itself, but the employees and clients as well.
This data is then sold on the black market for a large amount of money, as was recently the case with Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt RED, who saw their source code and employee data stolen and reportedly sold for millions.
You can somewhat protect yourself from legal action by incorporating data privacy policies such as GDPR but this really only pertains to how user data is stored and then used.
Real protection of data comes from proactively managing a site by using strong passwords, updating everything as and when it needs it, and installing anti-malware or antivirus programs if possible. Your web host should also provide some protection as a part of your subscription but this isn’t always guaranteed.