Every time I read news about Pay Per Post I feel a little more ambivalent about them. A recent press release on their efforts to enlist College students to as paid word-of-mouth bloggers makes me only more so.
On one hand, I am all for small bloggers trying to earn a tiny sliver of the blogging pie; for the amount of work it takes to create content, even for the more modestly successful bloggers, it is a poor return on effort. On the other hand, a recent piece by the LA Times highlights some real ethical woes that its founders, its VC, and even its bloggers try to side step. Disclosure is mandated, but it can be hidden in such a way that it makes it difficult for unsophisticated readers to pick up. Furthermore, PPP doesn’t enforce a policy which necessitates its bloggers to flag which posts are specifically paid for.
In light of this, I find PayPerPost’s attempts at mining college students as its next generation of Posties is at once both disgusting and somewhat evil.
While College-age individuals are clearly of an age where they are expected to be responsible adults, accountable for their own decisions, I would also classify them as a vulnerable population. Not all college kids are supported by their parents, and with rising costs of tuition and living, the temptation to pick up some easy cash would be almost overwhelming.
While the fires of idealism are stoked in the halls of higher learning and may pick up on PPP’s questionable ethics, I think an equally large number of students are going to find PayPerPost’s offer hard to turn down. Hey, they’re writing essays anyway — why not get paid to write, right?
The flipside of things, interestingly enough, is the kind of return that advertisers will get on these kinds of blogs. Their own press release seems to intimate that they hope to reach more college age readers, because they assume that college age readers will be more likely to read blogs written by their peers. Even if this assumption is true, I know of no other population of individuals who are more jaded, cynical, and questioning than this very demographic of readers [with the exception of individuals who have just entered the workforce]. And if *MY* assumption is correct, I wonder what the real return on advertising dollar is on this particular group of new “posties”.
We don’t know yet what kind of future PPP has. In spite of its negative publicity, I suspect that it will continue to grow, if for no other reason than there are groups of bloggers (and potential bloggers) who are willing to get paid in exchange for fast, convenient, and a flexible kind of personal ethics. I guess when you think nobody’s watching, reading, or caring, and are reinforced by a group of like-minded individuals who promote the activity, you can just about excuse away anything for a small paycheck.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:15 pm | Permalink
Tony,
Given that the press around PPP’s February segmentation release stated PPP’s intention to target high-end bloggers (see http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=4389 ), early adopters included techies and WAHMs, and this latest PR mentioned college students, I think it’s safe to say that PPP is trying to offer something for everyone.
I invested in Ted because of his vision to bring more voices to the blogosphere, disintermediate the elites and incentivize the masses to raise the quality and discipline of their blogging “hobby”. PayPerPost is already shifting power to the masses from the elite gatekeepers just 5 months after investment and I can’t wait to see what the next 5 years bring.
As for disclosure, I think required disclosure, sitewide Disclosure Policies, DisclosurePolicy.org, in-post disclosure badges, and Ted’s recent post about “DISCLOSE, DISCLOSE, DISCLOSE” makes his position pretty clear. Honestly, the topic is getting kinda old. PPP is leading with actions while elites bark and, worse, Amazon and other billion$ entities drive in-post affiliate programs with zero mention of disclosure (in-post, sitewide Disclosure Policy or otherwise) — and a blind eye by those who champion transparency??
Thanks for the coverage…PPP is always a wild ride!
March 18th, 2007 at 2:18 pm | Permalink
PPP is kind of old. PPP brings more voices to the blogosphere, no it brings more whores to the blogosphere. It brings more dishonestly to the blogosphere. It brings more deception to the blogosphere. It makes me sick how the PPP people try to make out what they are doing as something great as opposed to what it truly is. Yeah, bravo for putting every bloggers integrity in question because who really knows now who is being paid and how is being honest. And to compare it to an affiliate link is a stretch. If I post an affiliate link to a product on Amazon, it may or may not be because I like it or not, I post it because my readers might be interested, and they might not. But I don’t make a post for the sole purpose of pimping someone else’s product. And if and when I do post a review of something, at least my readers will know its my opinion and not bought and paid for.
March 19th, 2007 at 8:59 am | Permalink
Yes, comparing sponsored blogging to an affiliate linking is a bit of a mismatch because any blogger who uses affiliate links only gets compensated if they can convince their audience to click/buy via their link. A sponsored post blogger gets paid merely for their time/effort/creativity covering a topic. Between the two, getting paid only if you convince your audience to click/buy seems the riskier proposition for integrity and transparency…wouldn’t you agree?
March 19th, 2007 at 9:39 am | Permalink
Just to clarify, my last comment, I added the first initial of my last name so we can tell the difference between my self and Deep Jive’s author. On to the comments.
I totally see where you are coming from. But my point is I don’t care if people click my affiliate links. If they do great, if not, no big deal. Its not contingent on me convincing anyone of anything.
I wish PPP was more in the business of “sponsoring posts” in the vein of just sponsoring any sort of post, not just a review of their site or product. I would rather see it as just an advertisement as opposed to affecting the editorial. I guess that more like text link ads, but doing it at the post level.
For example, I have a column I write once a week on my site where I basically roundup TV show spoilers into a big report. See I would rather a company that wants to make inroads into that niche - or build traffic, sponsor my column for a month for however much money and then split the fee with PPP. That way the editorial is left pure, so to speak.
As far as PPP and even ReviewMe for that matter, it leaves the editorial in question. JohnChow.com is making a ton of money on ReviewMe, but I read his site and I really wonder - disclosure or not - are his reviews genuine or bought and paid for. So his creditbility takes a hit because of it.
March 19th, 2007 at 1:24 pm | Permalink
Thanks for the clarification Tony — your comment sure seemed a bit more flamboyant than Tony H’s post and took me by surprise ;-)
I like your “sponsoring any post” concept and it will become reality as marketplaces like PPP reach scale. There was a time when you could only get beanie-babies and collectibles on eBay, but now you can find just about everything. The same will be true for sponsored blogging — allowing a blogger to find sponsors to fit just about any topic they plan to talk about on a given day.
In the end, it is every blogger’s right and responsibility to find the best organic/sponsored balance for them and their audience…
March 19th, 2007 at 1:50 pm | Permalink
Advertising is a tough nut to crack, especially for a small publisher like myself. I have about five blogs and I am looking to add five more this year. Right now I find myself completely dependent on AdSense. My affiliate links don’t make much a month. One of my sites was just accepted to TLA last month and I haven’t sold a link yet. Its hard as the “little guy” to connect with big Advertisers. See thats what needs to be solved. A Federated Media for the rest of us so to speak.
But you are absolutely right, to each their own. We are all adults and we can make our own decisions about how we present our sites and content.