At BlogWorld Expo 2007, Matt Mullenweg, founding developer of WordPress,said that sponsored posts could kill the blogosphere and be a corrupting influence. (You can hear Matt's full comments in the YouTube video by James Guske around the 5:44 to 7:45 mark.)
Yes, he said sponsored posts without disclosure, but the message I got was that he didn't like paid posting at all. He felt that it lacks integrity and makes blogging less trustworthy.
Here's my view (updated 3/10/09):
- On all my blogs, sponsored posts are labeled accordingly.
- I disclose that I do paid and unpaid reviews.
- While I have a degree in journalism, my degree's emphasis was advertising and public relations with a minor in marketing. I help people with marketing communications with my freelance writing and social media expertise. Bottom line, I'm pro marketing and feel that being paid to post to create Internet buzz for a client, company or product is what I've been trained to do. That's why I'm comfortable doing paid posting on my blogs.
- As far as journalistic integrity goes, if you don't think their advertisers influence their editorial copy, you're naive. If you look many magazines, isn't it funny how they'll run a recipe followed by an ad for one of the food products mentioned in the article? You bet publicists are giving them freebie samples in hopes that they'll feature those products in an article or photo spread, too.
- If I get a freebie sample, I thank the company that sent it right in the post. (See my review of High School Musical 2.) It's my way of letting my readers know about why I'm reviewing that product, book, or DVD.
- I won't take sponsored posts from companies that I feel are dishonest or that are selling something I don't believe in. That's why you don't see any reviews of online casinos or breast enlargement surgeons on my blogs.
- Just because I'm paid doesn't mean that the post will be positive. I believe in writing constructive criticism, and try to point out the good and bad about the product or website I'm asked to review. Don't believe me, then read my review of the Dodge Caravan I was given to test drive for a week. Or my review of iFitandHealthy.com that pointed out a lot of problems I had with the blog.
- Paid posting, like blogging, is a great income source for stay at home caregivers and people who can't work traditional jobs due to disabilities, llness or taking care of youngsters and sick or elderly relatives.
What's your opinion of paid posting? Leave a comment below!
