This blog and link requests - usually refused

I frequently get emails asking for me to link websites, either in a blogroll or through text links in a post. The vast majority of the websites are income-producing sites. I always refuse those. Others I refuse are ones that are one-sided or promote something I don't believe is good medicine.  Let me explain why.

If you look at the sidebar on this site, you will see that my website is HON certified. This certification is valuable and it means the site meets certain standards set by the association. I am not allowed to advertise nor promote items or services that could be questionable. I am not allowed to make money from this site and I have to be very cautious about promoting any website that derives income from linking, etc., such as the nursing education information websites, from which I get many requests. Finally, any news I report must be verifiable and meet reasonable journalistic requirements.

Although I don't update the blog as often as I used to, I still monitor it every day and appreciate that I get many visitors each day because of some of the content. Every time I vow to be more present here, I get busy again with my regular work and this blog is neglected yet again. But even though I don't update regularly, some of the information, such as seniors who break their hip, remain quite popular. For this reason, it is important that it keep its status.

If I believe that a site fits mine, I will link it. If I feel that a site isn't ready but has potential, I will write back and explain why I feel this way and I will consider it at a later date. Getting angry at me (as some have) won't make me change my mind. I am often willing to help people, but I am not obligated to, so getting angry and lashing out won't really change things.

There is a lot of health information on the Internet. Some surveys say that health information is the most commonly searched information of all. The problem lies not with the searching, but in the trusting of sites. While there are many great sites out there, there are even more dangerous ones - sites that give misinformation or one-sided information. When you are looking for information, please be careful. Look to see who is writing the information. Who is sponsoring the site? Are they trying to sell something? Who do they link to? Do they link to reputable places?

Wrong information can be dangerous - be careful.