When blogging, it’s considered appropriate to attribute photos, information and just about everything else to wherever you found it. The format can be relatively simple: it should be a link to the source website, preferably the specific page where you found the media in question. If it’s a website that includes content from many users, it’s appropriate to note the user name of the person who added the information you’re referring to.

Jeri Dansky, a blogger and magazine editor, notes that convention requires you to follow instructions for attribution, when available: “Sometimes people will give you explicit instructions on how to handle the attribution, and then I follow those instructions…If I’m using a photo (or text) licensed under Creative Commons, I note that. (Creative Commons provides information on how to give credit.)”

If you do not have instructions on how to attribute information, it’s up to you to create a style that works for you blog. The important thing is to use that style consistently. Especially with concerns about anchor text, it’s important to have a consistent way of deciding how links will read on your blog.

For many bloggers, acknowledging how they found a particular piece of information is important. Jeri uses a simple format: “If I’m acknowledging a source – another blog, for example – that pointed me to something else, I’ll use a [via source] type of text link – where “source” would be the other blogger, with a link to the blog. That’s what other bloggers I respect seem to do, so I follow their lead.”

Many blogs offset sources in some manner. BoingBoing offers a link to sources below the main text of a post, for instance, while Gizmodo offsets sources links in brackets.