You’ve heard of robocalls—well the latest thing is roboblogs! I was recently approached by a company which hires podiatry students to write blogs for podiatrists who are too busy to do it themselves. Not sure why I was so offended, but probably because these blogs are supposed to reflect the wisdom of an experienced doctor and his approach to practice. Having a student who has never practiced podiatry cannot represent the knowledge or practice style of an experienced doctor. These roboblogs are a misrepresentation at the least, possibly an outright lie, and often just add to the mountain of junk on the internet.
Every word you read on my blog is written by me and reflects my knowledge of, and approach to the practice of podiatric medicine. Occasionally I place an article attached to my blog and when that happens it is acknowledged. (I recently I read a fascinating article about barefoot walking parks in Europe and put a few words of comment before reprinting the article as part of a blog.)
Perhaps I am so offended by the process of roboblogs because I sincerely enjoy writing a blog when I have something to say and resent people adding material to the Internet of dubious value just to attract attention to their website. Write your own blog when you have something to say!