Asian Blog Ad Network Leaves Some Bloggers Unhappy

nuffnang.jpgThe decision by Singapore based blog advertising network Nuffnang to charge a S$1 (69c) administration fee on payments is causing a bit of ruckus amongst South East Asian bloggers.

Nuffnang was founded in April to offer local advertising solutions to bloggers in Singapore and Malaysia. On the face of it, the company is not dissimilar to Federated Media, offering CPM and direct sale graphical advertising, yet on the other hand it promotes itself a bit like Pay Per Post, complete with blog meetups and sponsored parties. Current sponsorship partners include Nike, Citibank and Clearasil. It’s main local competition is a company called Adverlets, that caters to the same distinct market.

The S$1 administration fee my seem insignificant, but local bloggers are unhappy due to the way it was imposed: with no announcement and only discovered when they went to make withdrawals from their Nuffnang accounts (unlike Adsense bloggers can withdraw money from Nuffnang on request). A number of a prominent local bloggers have said that if they knew there was going to be a fee to withdraw money they may not run Nuffnangs code, and would have used Adverlets exclusively (who don’t charge the fee). There’s even a blog dedicated to why Nuffnang will fail.

Singapore and Malaysia may not be large markets in a global blog advertising sense, but the tale is of note when considering how even small things can cause a lot of damage in the new media age. All the money Nuffnang has spent on PR has meant nothing in the face of bloggers angry over a small administrative charge.