A Peculiar Blog

Dispite the fact that I have been writing sponsored posts since late
January, this is the first I’ve heard of this kind of accusation. I just
want to say that this is absolutely the same thing as selling paid text
links.

I don’t see why it’s ok for a traditional website to sell text links and
it’s not ok for a blogger to sell such links. As far as I’m concerned,
that’s what I and many other bloggers are doing. See my disclosure
policy for more details.

As for the accusation that there’s a lot of people making stuff up, I
don’t doubt it for a second. There are a lot of opportunities on
PayPerPost that I will not take because they require the writer to use a
positive tone or make statements that I will not make if I don’t know
for a fact that it’s true. In fact, a large number of the sponsored
posts that I do are in the form of reviews of a site or service.

In the end, it’s up to the individual blogger to decide what goes on
their blog. Everybody else needs to just shut up about it. If you don’t
believe in bloggers taking paid and sponsored posts, then don’t do it.
If however I choose to do so, that’s my business.

PayPerPost
VC Defends Ethics of Paid Blogging

An anonymous reader writes "PayPerPost venture capitalist and board
member Dan Rua defends
the ethics of paid editorials. He claims PayPerPost is ‘good
for the internet’ and is not simply blackhat SEO. Rua states that
PayPerPost has blown past its milestone of 15,500 bloggers, and is
earning hundreds of thousands in monthly revenue. He describes
PayPerPost’s most viral product yet — ReviewMyPost — which pays
people to link to paid posts. The LA Times accuses PayPerPost of
paying bloggers to make up fictional testimonials. For instance, the
Times reports that a law firm is using PayPerPost to pay bloggers to
write that a certain birth control patch is killing and injuring young
women. Rua does not deny these claims, but simply states they are the
exception and not the rule. How long before the FTC follows through on
their promise to enforce blogger disclosure?"

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