I am the Scum of the Earth.
I read a blog post today on the calacanis weblog. According to Jason Calacanis the CEO of Weblogs,Inc. PayPerPost is the "most evil idea to hit the blogosphere to date". He also stated that "the slimebucket advertisers who would use a covert marketing service don't want to be outed".
You know I'm getting the feeling that he doesn't like PayPerPost. Really though, I am baffled at this controversy. Is the goal here to catch a ride on the bandwagon of Disgust and Loathing?
People like this Jason Calacanis seem to be commenting about things they don't understand and just following behind the guy in the lead (Mike Arrington, and others). One thing he obviously does not understand is that most PPP bloggers have no problem disclosing that they are getting paid to post.
I may not disclose in each offer I take that I am a getting paid to post but if you look at my blog as a whole you will see that I am not ashamed to be a PayPerPost Postie. With the numerous PPP offers I have taken and the large list of other members that I support in the PPP blogroll I think I have made it full aware to anyone reading my posts that I am a PPP blogger.
If the big issue here is that the bloggers are not required to disclose that they are being paid for a post thus "tainting the blogosphere" then I am sorry to say the blogosphere was tainted long ago with the introduction of affiliate marketing. How many bloggers out there have been using affiliate links and not disclosing they will be paid for a sale?
It has been said before and I will say it again. Do not underestimate the intelligence of the readers. Let the readers decide if blog advertising really changes they way they think about the blogs they read.
If you ask me I think Jason Calacanis may be seeking some SEO himself with his outrageous blog post.
You know I'm getting the feeling that he doesn't like PayPerPost. Really though, I am baffled at this controversy. Is the goal here to catch a ride on the bandwagon of Disgust and Loathing?
People like this Jason Calacanis seem to be commenting about things they don't understand and just following behind the guy in the lead (Mike Arrington, and others). One thing he obviously does not understand is that most PPP bloggers have no problem disclosing that they are getting paid to post.
you can disclose you're using the platform--no one has that I know of
I may not disclose in each offer I take that I am a getting paid to post but if you look at my blog as a whole you will see that I am not ashamed to be a PayPerPost Postie. With the numerous PPP offers I have taken and the large list of other members that I support in the PPP blogroll I think I have made it full aware to anyone reading my posts that I am a PPP blogger.
If the big issue here is that the bloggers are not required to disclose that they are being paid for a post thus "tainting the blogosphere" then I am sorry to say the blogosphere was tainted long ago with the introduction of affiliate marketing. How many bloggers out there have been using affiliate links and not disclosing they will be paid for a sale?
It has been said before and I will say it again. Do not underestimate the intelligence of the readers. Let the readers decide if blog advertising really changes they way they think about the blogs they read.
If you ask me I think Jason Calacanis may be seeking some SEO himself with his outrageous blog post.
posted by Mona at 9:12 PM
2 Comments:
Hey Jason,
Thanks for your comment. The reason I do not and probably will not start each and every post with a disclaimer is because I feel that would give people the impression that the paid blog posts are less worthy than the non-paid posts. It is my desire for my readers to understand that what I post about are things I find value or have an interest in, whether I am being paid to post or not. If I put "this is a paid post", doesn't that give a reader the impression that I don't really believe in the post but just trying to "make a quick buck", as you have put it. As I mentioned in my original post, it is clear that I am a PPP blogger because many of my posts reveal this (as well as my PPP blogroll). I am not hiding anything or tricking anyone.
Something I don't think you really understand about PPP blogging is that we take opps that interest us. If I don't find value in an opp, I don't take it. In fact PPP encourages us not to take opps that don't interest us. I have personally passed up many opps that I have had no interest in or completely disagree with. Since I have been a PPP blogger I have also found many websites that I find very useful and will continue to visit. My goal for this blog is to make the content interesting and possibly useful to the person reading it.
Understand this, everything I say on this blog is apart of me. My opinions are not swayed because an advertiser says "I will pay you if you post". I have not shaved my head and joined a cult. I have made a conscious decision to choose the opps I do because I decided I wanted them to be there. As a whole my blogs says who I am and what I stand for, not an individual post. My disclaimer is my blog and anyone reading it will find that to be true. Last point I want to make is that I visit different PPP bloggers blogs regularly and sometimes I don't know whether a post is paid or not, yet I find many posts very interesting, informative and/or entertaining. Because I don't have any issue with paid blogging I see all the posts for what they are, an individual person’s view on a particular topic. As I said before I will let the readers decide whether what I have to say interests them.
Thanks!
Mona
Hey Jason,
I appreciate the fact that you are taking the time to share your side of this issue in a respectful manner (can't say I was impressed with the way you handled it on your blog). Since I have started PPP my blog posts have grown from 1-2 posts a week to 6-8 posts a day. PPP has given me the incentive as well as writing prompts needed to accomplish this. I never would have taken my blogging to this level without PPP.
You said:
Readers don't like to be deceived, and by not being clear with them you are confusing people. How do I know which post you write is paid for or not paid for? If I don't, and I find out later that you got paid for a certain post it makes me distrust you.
As I have said before, readers do know that I get paid to post if they are actually reading my blog as a whole. If a person is just reading a post or two and move on they are not really considered "my readers". Readers are people who have taken the time to make a connection with me. You yourself have said:
I think you are a good person, but you are doing something bad:
Why do you think I am a good person? What connection have you made in our correspondence to come to this conclusion? I have been open about my view on paid blogging. I have told you I am not ashamed of it and only take offers that interest me. If I am only taking offers that interest me and that I find value in, then how am I deceiving anyone? If I never posted anything about being apart of PPP, then maybe I would be considered deceptive. But what I am actually doing here is defending my position in this matter. Do you think my readers will not read this? You say I am being deceptive but in fact my goal for this blog is to develop a trust relationship with my readers. I want people to trust me as a person and know that whatever I decide to post (paid for by advertisers or not) on this blog is something I find value in and giving them the opportunity to find value in it as well. If someone feels I am not being honest it is because they have not taken the time to find out who I am as a person and are welcome to move on to the next blog.
You said:
The real reason PayPerPost will not be transparent is because 99% of advertisers IMO are only using the service for the inbound link/Google juice. $10 for an inbound link is < $150 less than you would pay anywhere else on the web.
From what I understand "Google Juice" is exactly what they are seeking but this has never been a secret. PPP is making it possible for the advertisers with a low budget to have the same opportunities as larger companies with huge budgets. As for the $10 verse $150 issue, bloggers are, as we speak being rated by the advertisers on the quality of there posts and blogs overall. PPP will be allowing high quality and higher traffic blogs to get higher paid opps. So if a blogger has a high readership blog they in fact may be offered $150 or more for a post. As this point in my blogging life I do not have the readership that would even generate $10 a month in Adsense. Yet PPP has made it possible for me to make almost $1000 in 2 1/2 months. PPP has also given me the desire to improve my writing and content so that one day I may be one of the $150 a post bloggers. Time will tell whether this will happen or not but in the mean time the "low rent" $10 is paying the bills in the house. It has also given me the ability to control my income rather than hope and wish I will get enough clicks from Adsense.
You also said:
$10 is not worth losing your audience--and that's what's gonna happen. You can't grow an audience if they feel you're being dishonest.
My audience has actually increased since I have starting PPP. Maybe my straight forward honest attitude towards all things is coming across in my posts.
Jason, I think the issue here is more related to the trust each individual reader has in each individual blog they read. Do not speak for the world, let the world of blog readers decide for themselves. As a reader I have honestly never had a problem with paid blogging even before I found out about PPP. I have also never had a problem with affiliate links. I never felt tricked or deceived by the bloggers that I have trusted.
I personally do not like the abrasive attitude you have on your blog. You have used very strong words (evil) and have generalized the advertisers and bloggers associated with PPP. I am not likely to ever read your blog again. But I can choose which blog I want to read and which blog I don't. Others however like to read your blog and that is their right and choice. We all have this choice.
I will let time tell and the readers decide whether my blog is worth reading and whether they feel tricked or not. In the mean time I will continue to choose offers that interest me, improve my writing and content and to develop my character and trustworthiness in my posts and blog as a whole.
You speak of this blogospere as if it were a holy place that only the righteous are allowed in. I searched the net and trash, filth, and lies are all over the blogoshpere. Affiliate marketing text links have already made it possible for people to be "tricked and deceived". So why the huge controversy? I think you keep forgetting the intelligence of the reader. As a reader/consumer I can decide whether I really believe Michael Jordan loves Nike shoes or if he is just endorsing them because he is getting paid $$$$.
Maybe this is one of those issues we can agree to disagree on.
Thanks for you comments and concern.
Mona
Post a Comment
<< Home