Ted Murphy, CEO of advertising firm Mindcomet, has launched a new service called PayPerPost.com. You guessed it, it’s a marketplace for companies to connect with bloggers who are willing to blog about a product – for a price. The companies can set guidelines for their requests such as whether a picture must be included and whether they will only pay for positive blog coverage. There does not appear to be any requirement that the payment for coverage be disclosed. There is a requirement that PayPerPost.com must approve your post before you are paid. Wow.
TechCrunch does not accept payment for posts.
Is this a bad joke designed to torpedo the blogosphere’s credibility in general? It doesn’t appear to be. If we’re all trying to negotiate a space between Hollywood and mainstream journalism, this is taking things way too far towards the most insipid parts of Hollywood.
Clearly comfortable with the “all press is good press” paradigm, Murphy is emailing bloggers with a link to scathing coverage at Business Week (”Polluting the Blogosphere“) and even includes the words “As seen in Business Week” in the company logo. Blogger Jeremiah Owyang gave us the tip on PayPerPost.com and assures us that though he has grave concerns about this, Ted Murphy is not the devil. I don’t know if I’m convinced.
If you visit the Mindcomet.com website you’ll see that they do advertising for some very high profile clients. I can imagine many of them wouldn’t want to be associated with a project like this at all. Like EarthLink. They have a major campaign underway to improve advertising by paying people to make authentic promotional materials for them. How ironic.
I really hope this is some sort of cruel joke.
Dugg: http://digg.com...romote_Products
funny service.
I think this is not necessarily a bad idea but defintely hurts the companies brand for paying people to post about it. This is a quick fix to a real solution of developing communities and relationships with the right bloggers. Many A-b-c list bloggers are not going to dilute their content or self brand by posting random crap on their site. If people in India/China/Russia can create blogspots or wordpress accounts they have a convenient income stream:)
noah kagan
okdork.com
Hey Noah, can’t tell if you are kidding or not. I’m sure though that the integrity of bloggers in those countries isn’t any cheaper than it is for bloggers in the US. AdSense revenues may stretch further in certain parts of the world, but I don’t think PayPerPost will. I imagine some number of people will go for this in every market.
I really don´t see any difference with real old media…
Or do you really think that advertisers don´t pay for reviews and articles in all sort of magazines,newspapers, tv, radio etc…
Has the blogosphere more credibility than the CNN or Car&Driver??
Mike, this is pretty much the complete opposite of theWeblogWire. There needs to be an easier way to connect companies and bloggers, but NOT by paying bloggers. Our solution is that, we’ve created an online newswire that connects companies and their press releases solely with bloggers in a new media format. I hope payperpost doesn’t start setting a standard that it’s okay to pay bloggers for coverage.
Sincerely,
Jason L. Baptiste
CEO of Viral Ventures, parent company of uGather.com
Co-Founder of theWeblogWire.com
You’re taking the raminfiractions of this idea way too far… why not get paid to write about something you believe in? How many bloggers are providing exposure to brands they love…getting paid is only a logical next step
Juan Luis, my indignation may well be naive. This is pretty crass, though. It’s pretty funny, too, in an evil sort of way. Take it for what it’s worth.
Jason, the contrast seems apt.
Product placvement is everywhere and it’s already been happening for free in the Blogosphere since it’s inception. The only difference is that now a handful of people will make a few dollars off it … go to almost any bloggers site and you’ll see an ad already on there, including the sponsors of this page. They pay for ads here becaise it gets traffic – and exposire is what advertisers pay for.
Do you listen the radio? If you do then you’ve probably heard this type of advertising 1,000 times per day, when the host’s voice tells you about a product or service which they endorse and love. Ever read magazines? Then you’ve seen this kind of coverage all the time– when a major advertiser spends major dough, editorial coverage is all but ensured.
Obviously it’s unseemly in many regards, especially if someone is running a tech blog and the advertisers are tech bloggers. But, if this website for example had a post by Marshall or Michael saying that he refi’d his mortgage through Ditech, and he had a positive experience, and that he’s being paid to write this post, I don’t think I would have a real problem with it. Using the cred you’ve gained from blogging to endorse a product is not that awful.
I would like to see something like this for Podcasting. I know a lot of Podcasters that would be interested. Maybe Podtrac will do something like this.
Hmmm, Ted
Interesting guy. Based out of Orlando, FL I used to work for him. He gained all of those large clients by his father helping him out. His father had contacts within those companies and his brother used to own a well known streaming company.
Ted likes things done his way and thats the way it is…
He hired the right people and they have turned out some great work. I’m not against Ted but know the person and this sounds right up his alley.
…emailing bloggers with a link to scathing coverage at Business Week (”Polluting the Blogosphere“) and even includes the words “As seen in Business Week” in the company logo.
Well, the guy’s got either giant brass balls or the best sense of humor I’ve ever seen.
Marshall, are different points of view.
I fully understandt that you and a lot of bloggers don´t accept money for posting, and don´t think is a naive question.
But that doesn´t mean a general lack of credibility for people posting for money, especially if it´s something you believe in.
I really don´t see any difference for example with sponsoring, and will understand that somenone writes a more “friendly” review about their sponsors than about other companies.
And allready there are a lot of bloggers who receive gifts and products to review them.This is the same as paying, or not?
Perhaps this could be a more transparent way to get relations between bloggers and advertisers.
Whew… I had a feeling this is what we would get in to.
I point to this on our site (
–
Advertisers will post all sorts of Opportunities, from a simple “link back to this site” to product reviews with pictures. Each Opportunity will have different compensation based on the advertiser. It’s up to you to pick the Opportunities that best suit you. If it doesn’t feel right, if you don’t own the product, or if you can’t be honest we ask you to pass on the Opportunity.
–
As I said on another blog…
I think that this will be an incredibly powerful tool for advertisers and finally gives bloggers a chance to make a buck for all the benefit they provide to companies. Celebrities get paid millions to wear products and be seen with their favorite drink. It’s up to the celebs to choose what they wear and drink and if they are being true to the fans. If they love the product and they can make a buck at the same time everyone wins.
I am not the devil, though I do enjoy devil dogs, devil’s food cake, deviled eggs and deviled ham.
I agree with the other Ted listed above.
isn’t this the same argument bloggers had when google ads started up?
in the end, bloggers will do what they want; and, the worth of their content — whether paid for or not — will stand for itself
Thanks for commenting here, Ted. I like devil’s food cake too.
Matthew, google ads don’t require that your content is approved by Google before you get paid. Sure, there’s a TOS, but this is taking it to the next level.
Hmmm one side of me says yeah go for it but another side is saying don’t do it because that not what my blog is about so not sure really hmmmm.
- Tom Parker | http://www.tomwrote.info
I guess somebody had already snapped up shill.com.
Hey Marshall,
The china/russia/india thing refers to people/companies who will create fake blogs and get paid to post these things. I think we can all agree most online writers who have some self-respect won’t do things like that. There are large crowds of MySpacers/Xangers/Livejournalist who just might…
Good points Ted. I think the name and the positioning of the site gives it that “dirty” feeling. The overall connection of the companies with relevant bloggers isn’t harmful at all. After playing with your site it could be a good brokerage house for companies who don’t know all this web 2.0 stuff and are looking to connect with relevant writers. Similar to if Techcrunch were to use your service to find sponsors for the top right. But we know Marshall/Mike are in no shortage of sponsors:)
cheers,
noah
okdork.com
The approval process is not so much for content review as it is to make sure that the blogger has included the proper links, the post meets the length requirements and the blog is a legitimate blog. We don’t accept spam blogs, all blogs need to be at least 90 days old and have valid content.
What we are trying to do is offer people a way to make some money talking about the things they would already be talking about. See a TV show you like? Were you going to blog about how much you like it anyway? See if it is on payperpost and get a few bucks for your time. You are being true to yourself, you can be honest in your post and you now have a few bucks in your pocket to download it off iTunes.
This is internet payola….
Michael is getting paid $10 to promote PayPerPost.
This is absolutely horrific. For bloggers and podcasters like myself who work hard to gain sponsorship and genuine support from companies this absolutely cheapens the medium and the power of the internet.
I really hope that this isn’t real, and I really hope that no respectable bloggers participate in something like this.
Let’s have everyone who used to work for Ted post a comment. This should be a pretty long list…
Hi. Me Paul Lewis. Me like money. Me likey the blog. Me have good idea. Me pay bloggur to say the nice thing. Me make munny form the company. Me grow moustache. Me bark like dog.
I think it’s a spectacular idea. In fact, I will accept offers to post on my blog, blogunderwater.com. My target audience consists mainly of fish, crustaceans and ocean mammals.
Marshall,
You really shouldn’t be shocked. Rather than spam your comment list, I responded in full here:
http://inkblots...in-or-molehill/
Highlights from my response:
- The blogosphere is a logical, cheap way to generate name recognition and build a network of “reliable” references. I’m not saying this is a good thing for society or for bloggers, just that it seems to be a logical extension of marketplace penetration.
- The blogosphere doesn’t have “general credibility” to be torpedoed. The mainstream media doesn’t take you, as a blogger, seriously, regardless of what list you are on … PayPerPost is just further “proof” to the mainstream media that blogging is no different than airing opinions around the water cooler.
- Pay-per-posters aren’t going to indirectly destroy your personal credibility within the blogosphere. All you have to do is declare you don’t take money for reviews, and you are protected. Express outrage at the idea, and you’re even better protected. You’ve done that, so the problem is solved.
$5 for a post?
I am SO WAY MORE expensive than that
I don’t mean to be cynical, but how can we trust any blog posts that are in favor of this? Isn’t it likely that any positive blog post could be a payoff? I think the whole idea is morally corrupt and unethhical. I am certain that the blogs I frequent will never participate in this, and I find a bit of solace in that.
I wrote in house for a company, but it was a straight up product marketing blog dedicated to thier very techncal products. I was on contract, and also wrote whitepapers, technical stuff, training materials, etc.
I dont think that there is anything wrong with being a blog’s gohst writer, as such, but to have a personal blog and write about a product for x $ without disclosure is…….dubious…
how much thye paying , did you say??????
They could make it so much more simple — just give them your login and password, let them ghostwrite and post ‘testimonials’ for you that fit your blog’s ‘audience demo’.
See also Sean McCullough’s “Micropayola” idea: http://www.cric...m/weblog/?p=655
Ha-ha, but serious. Not. Maybe?
I heard that there are companies that place ads on government owned public subways! I am outraged! Is the goverment in bed with Apple?
Log in to pay per post and I will pay you $5 to tell me how you feel about it.
I for one am on board and just whipped up a new site that’s going to make me a millionaire. I don’t need PayPerPost, though–you can contact me directly at my new blog, BloggerForSale.com.
Sorry, how much is the price of this comment and where can I send the bill?
It is good to see more sites giving power to the people like we do at OOZM.com.
I guess the net is moving toward user inputs and user run functionalities and this is a way to pay them back. An incentive. However, it is hard to nail down a good model that will work.
This guy has the right idea.
http://www.tabu...oy/1235142.html
“TechCrunch does not accept payment for posts.”
not directly. What abt the part where u thank your sponsers.
Wow! Look at the power of bloggers…instant feedback on all things good and bad. I am hoping that this will make it hard on any blogger of repute to sell their soul!
Blogs can and have been sporting ads for a price, which is more like celebrities getting paid to wear stuff, as Ted pointed out. Industry research firms have been producing paid custom research for a long time. So, one possibility with paid blog reviews could be to explicitly state that “this is a paid/sponsored post”.
Imagine a world where everybody is pimping for someone else!
Oh wait, that’s Vegas…
I am going out to celebrate a successful, though controversial day. We signed up hundreds of bloggers and advertisers today willing to give the service a try. Apparently not everyone thinks I am the devil : ) I am off to have a couple of Red Bull and Vodkas. If any one is the devil it is Red Bull, I’ve never had such a wicked hangover.
I would love to continue this conversation in the future. I want feedback. This concept isn’t going to go away, with PayPerPost.com or not. If we were to go away as some have suggested a replacement is sure to pop up. Help me make it better, help me gain acceptance. I realize there are things to think about and we will make changes but we had to start somewhere. I’ve never been so criticized in my life. You guys are worse than parents! LOL!
I am thinking about having some guest to debate on my show http://www.inte...etingvoodoo.com. If you are up to it drop me an email at ted.voodoo@mindcomet.com. I would like to setup the show with 3 people on each side of the fence and a neutral moderator. Is there such thing as a neutral blogger out there?I am going out to celebrate a successful, though controversial day. We signed up hundreds of bloggers and advertisers today willing to give the service a try. Apparently not everyone thinks I am the devil : ) I am off to have a couple of Red Bull and Vodkas. If anyone is the devil it’s Red Bull, I’ve never had such a wicked hangover.
I would love to continue this conversation in the future. I want feedback. This concept isn’t going to go away, with PayPerPost.com or not. If we were to go away as some have suggested a replacement is sure to pop up. Actually, I am sure there will be competition and that competition may not be as concerned about ethics as I am. Help me make it better, help me make it right for you. I realize there are things to think about and we will make changes but we had to start somewhere. I’ve never been so criticized in my life. You guys are worse than parents! LOL!
I am thinking about having some guest to debate on my show http://www.inte...etingvoodoo.com. If you are up to it drop me an email at ted.voodoo@mindcomet.com. I would like to setup the show with 3 people on each side of the fence and a neutral moderator. Is there such thing as a neutral blogger out there?
what’s so bad about this idea? I personally think it’s ingenius
Marshall,
Since you yourself acknowledge that payperpost.com is “clearly comfortable with the all press is good press paradigm”, how do we know that you were not paid to write this article
?
To compare this to mainstream payola is not valid. Mainstream media is a scarce channel and their costs are very high. Via supply-and-demand dynamics, advertisers pressure mainstream media into selling payola as part of a package. Blogs on the other hand are not a scarce channel and the cost of blogging does not restrict a blogger to producing monetizable media (well at least not yet). Bloggers can afford to have editorial freedom from advertiser influence.
Why is it ethical to put Google Adwords in your blog, and it’s not ethical to write a paid post from time to time (provided that you openly disclose at the beginning of the post that the post is advertising).
I just started 5 blogs discussing Spiderman 3 and made 15 bucks already. This is great!
Marshall have you ever heard of PR? To be so high and mighty about keeping a black and white world between advertising and journalism is pretty naive. Who says a (smart) blogger wouldn’t just write about the products and services that interested him/her? Maybe the products/services would actually be of interest to the blogs readers, and the blogger can earn some income by posting about them. Why do you automatically assume that all advertising and products are bad/evil/the devil? Bit childish dont you think?
I guess this service is not going to undermine the integrity of the blogosphere, for one important reason:
If your writing is not objective enough, people are gonna know that you’re probably getting paid, and over time they’ll be less inclined to stay subscribed to your blog: which means that in the end it’ll all balance out.
The best way to use this service is to only promore products and companies that you anyway love and are willing to be associated with.
Honest reviews do stand out: You cannot get away with dishonesty. People are too smart to read between the lines. So, in the end, people will probably realise that to maintain the integrity of their blog, they’d be better off promoting products that they actually love.
This is no different than the Techcrunch business model:
0. Start off as an enthusiast to Silicon Valley web scene.
1. Posts decent reviews about *select* companies, web startups, applications and products. (Note emphasis on select, doesnt cover everyone.)
2. Establishes itself as “the place to go for web2.schmoe news”
3. Recieves traffic and RSS subscriptions in return.
4. Brag about Feedburner stats.
5. see number 3
6. Redesign with ad placement (everywhere) and charge for advertisement based on page hits. (see number 3)
7. profit!!!
Yes, this is a troll post – but it is true and you know it.
I’m actually a little relieved; I thought this might be a debate about scams and fraud. Luckily, it’s just another condemnation against capitalism. I don’t understand this empty, oh-you’re-selling-your-soul logic. So just because someone advertises they either have no credibility or are a spawn of the devil? How do you think anyone finds this site? Listen, all this fear, doubt, and loathing is designed to do one thing: sow the seeds of discontent in the system–friends, this is how it starts–so that radicals can tear it down and install their own little socialist utopia, where people are killed because they are “burdens” on the society, or disrupt the new world order, and their medical care is rationed if they’re over a certain age. Meanwhile, we’re fighting with each other, and those and power can hold on that much longer and take more and more away from us. Call me when people who use PayPerPlay start going to pound-’em-in-the-ass prisons for using its service.