I was perusing messages on a public relations message board that I frequent this morning, and someone had asked about "PayPerPost" and whether they should sell their clients on the service to create online buzz.
My answer, and the answer of everyone else who responded was a resounding "NO."
PayPerPost is a service that allows advertisers to provide incentives to bloggers (about $5) to write pre-approved posts about their product. In short, they give bloggers a couple of bucks in exchange for any credibility they may have, turning them into little more than shills. Disclosure is optional, of course, but I sense that most posts that carry "I was totally paid to say this, and don’t believe a word of it" won’t end up in the "approved" pile by most advertisers.
This, to me, is about the worst thing that can happen to blogs. The only reason the blogosphere works is because of transparency, honesty and communal policing. My feeling is that the only bloggers who will bother with these are your run of the mill cat bloggers who nobody cares about anyway. The second a reputable blogger tries this, they will be found out and called out by fellow bloggers, which will be bad for their reputation and bad for the advertising company.
It’s the nature of business, I suppose, to try to make money off any new trend that arises. That’s fine, but it’s degrading the quality of blogs as a true communications medium. I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that this service is to blogs as spam is to email, but then… maybe I’m overreacting.
Anyone want to disagree with me?
