A new service launched today that promises to pay bloggers to write positive things about their clients. The service, called PayPerPost is pretty disgusting and is the antithesis of the nature of the blogosphere. Unlike others, I am not concerned. This will fail quickly and quietly. The blogosphere is about transparency and this is not. It will be an easy link-buying solution for some brands, but they will quickly find themselves in some spammy neighborhoods and get penalized for it.
Here is my response to the founder's response to another blogger:
Ted, I'd like to address your response.
>>I guess this is how the guys at Google felt when they started allowing paid links.
A more accurate analogy would be about how those failed search engines felt when they stuffed paid placements into SERPs with no differentiation. Google clearly delineates between search results and sponsored links.
>>Today I received an email from a mother who told me she lost her job and that is going to help her pay the rent.
You could rationalize *anything* like this. The ends do not justify the means. This is a stock political answer.
>>Is that the downfall of the blogosphere? If it is then I am happy to be a part of it.
No, it's not the downfall. If a poorly executed idea could cause the downfall of the blogosphere, it was nothing to begin with. This will fail quickly exactly because of the nature of the blogosphere.
>>What about companies like Buzz Agent? Same exact concept, just done in person with product.
The concepts are related, but nowhere near the same. I am a buzz agent. There is NO quid pro quo with Buzz Agent. They send me stuff, and I pass it on if I like it. They are simply getting products to influencers and trying to track the results. I've *never* received any pressure to do otherwise. They've never even suggested I do so. When the products are crap I promptly forget them.
Technorati tags: payperpost evil
