Well, in the time I was away it seems like PayPerPost got some VC funding (to the tune of 3 million dollars) for further work in polluting the blogosphere.

Wait, that was harsh.

What I meant to say was that PayPerPost got 3 million dollars in blood money.

No wait — this is what I meant to say:

PayPerPost got 3 million dollars in catalyzing the erosion of trust in the blogosphere.

Yeah! That’s it!

All facetiousness aside (and really, there’s only a little bit), it appears that as the blogosphere matures and grows — much like any environment with economic potential — its only a matter of time before someone (or a bunch of someones) take notice, and try to exploit that environment.

For some bloggers, this is a dangerous situation and fraught with danger, particularly, if you value your reputation. This is why.

The blogosphere, social networks, and the web2.0 is predicated upon a single inviolate rule: Trust is king.

Where trust erodes, so does one’s own reputation and social capital. It gets harder to do things, harder to get noticed, and your opinion means less.

Although “less evil” PayPerPosts have popped up, such as CreamAid (man, does that sound NC17) and ReviewME, wherein it looks like bloggers will have to disclose that they have been paid to write the article, I believe that it all provides tempting, but ultimately poisonous fruit to bloggers who want to maintain some level of integrity in their own corner of the blosphere.

Sanctimonious?

Maybe a little.

Yes, people have to get paid. Bills are important, as is keeping a roof over your head, and the water running, and the heating as well (particularly if you live in Buffalo, those poor shmucks!).

And yes — who knows how much influence private advertising ALREADY exerts on bloggers A-list or no. After all, Engadget has to get all of their complimentary gizmos from somewhere, right? Conflicts of interest may abound in any media you work in.
But, for every blogger who is up and coming, and all of those who want to be up and coming — I think that participating in any of these schemes would be a colossal mistake. At the end of the day, your own honesty and integrity, in whatever form that it exists for you, are the only things that you can leverage.

And whether its beetroot, badgers, or buzzwords you happen to be blogging about, your readership only follows what you’re writing because they have some element of trust in you.

What happens to that trust when you participate in one of these schemes? Well, I have to disagree with some bloggers on this one — because I don’t think it really matters if work with CreamAid or ReviewME either. Much like Krusty the Klown, even if you’re as transparent as all hell, I suspect that after a while, there will the unescapable brand of “SHILL” that gets indelibly stamped on your blog.

If you write something positive about the company that’s paying you to write about them, your readership will never REALLY know what to believe — I know they’re SAYING the paying company doesn’t influence the content of the write up … but is the positive writeup REALLY because of that money?

And if you write something negative your readership might think that you’re doing it to bend over backwards to be contrary anyway.

Bottom line is that it dilutes your opinion and the power of your argument … and ultimately, the strength of your blog.

If blogging needs to be a profit center for you — if you’re looking for it to be a source of income you might be tempted to take a giant bite out of the payperpost apple. But if you’re looking to build your blog into something bigger, better — a blog of influence, don’t take go for it.

You might be risking the most valuable thing you own — your reputation.