This week we're going to be tackling a controversial subject, or at least a subject that I think should be controversial because the more I think about it, the more it's clear to me that it's not black and white, not clear: should bloggers accept payment for their efforts?

There are a couple of underlying questions and issues to address prior to us really facing that question, however, and our first discussion topic of the week is bias.

Are you biased? 

I bet that most people will say "not with most things" or even "no", but the fact is that each and every one of you is indeed biased, just as I am biased and actually have quite strong biases regarding certain subjects. When I talk about bias, I should clarify that I mean it in the sense of a tendency to skew things in a particular direction, be they controversial or otherwise.

You might be surprised who thinks that we can be unbiased observers, actually. In some sense, that's the foundational belief of professional journalism, for one thing. I remember the times I've contributed to magazines and newspapers where they'd say "you're injecting your opinion, it's no longer just a report of the event". "Well," I'd respond, "of course I am. Everyone does. Everyone has an opinion."

I'm going to start this week out by proposing that everyone is biased, everyone will tend to make allowances for their friends' behavior while castigating the same from someone they don't know or from a social or racial group they dislike. Everyone will review a restaurant owned by their parents differently from one owned by the annoying woman down the block with the loud Mercedes, and everyone will be less likely to use an online service whose director of marketing is a former lover who left for the arms of another.

If you accept this proposal, then our first discussion is going to be about when it's appropriate to identify bias and how to do so in a manner that's fair and transparent. Be warned, though, it's not as simple as what I'm suggesting in the above paragraph either. If my acquaintance's sister's hairdresser starts an online salon and I get wind of it, am I going to be biased in my coverage?  Do I need to disclose that relationship?

Before we can get there, however, I ask you, dear IAOC reader: are you biased?  How?  Or, if you think you aren't, what's your secret for remaining objective?