Perhaps this is a case – as is so much debate in social media – on what Freud called the “narcissism of small differences.” It seems we disagree more on the definition of the word “ethics” rather than the practice of ghost blogging itself.

Sorry it took me so long to comment on this; it’s been a nutty week.

You’ve managed a wonderful houdini-esque feat of agreeing with us while disagreeing at the same time, on the surface anyway. Really, I agree with you on pretty much every point, and you’re spot-on with the importance of the consequences.

The only part I’d really take issue with is expectations. I think online audiences really do expect a real person on the other side of the keyboard. If you set aside the ethics of the other tactics, which is a separate discussion (and in which I’m inclined to agree with you) and look at this alone, I think this really is an ethical issue.

Bottom line, though – neither of us recommend ghost blogging, and that’s a good thing.

Cheers,

Dave