Robert Ambrogi Blog
I suspect I’m not the only blogger to have received an invitation from Josh Morgan to review his new directory of legal blogs, JuristBlogger. He is actively encouraging bloggers to add themselves to his directory, which now has more than 100 members. This is not the first such directory — there is Blawg.org to name just one. But a distinguishing feature of JuristBlogger is its widget. The widget is a bit of Javascript you add to your own blog. It creates a box displaying headline updates from other JuristBlogger member blogs. It is somewhat like the Law.com newswire box you see displayed on this page.
But there is a catch, albeit one easily fixed. The widget includes the Google AdSense code for JuristBlogger. This is obvious to most from simply looking at the widget, but it bothers me that the site is not more upfront about this. Put the widget, as is, on your site, and you contribute to JuristBlogger’s revenues.
Of course, you can easily delete the AdSense code from the widget or add your own. JuristBlogger tells you that you can customize the widget by editing the Javascript. But for anyone uncomfortable with editing HTML, this might not be so simple.
I wrote to Morgan asking about this but heard nothing back. In the interest of transparency, I suggest he offer two versions of the widget — one with his AdSense code and one without. That way, those who choose to use their site to contribute to JuristBlogger’s revenues may do so, while those who’d prefer not to can still use the widget.