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PayPerPost and AdSense: Same ethical issues…neither a problem for bloggers
I’m not sure why there is such outrage against PayPerPost, especially when most people saying it is evil are using AdSense. Should bloggers disclose if they are being paid to write about a topic or post a link? They probably should, but that is up to each blogger.
Let’s compare AdSense and PayPerPost:
AdSense examines the text/topics on your posts and attempts (sometimes pretty poorly) to display ads that match the text/topics. The blogger has not “blessed” or approved each of these ads, and they do not endorse them, but they are happy to receive money from someone clicking on one on their site. If the reader happens to have a bad experience buying or visiting the site from this paid link, they may or may not attribute some ill will to the blogger who showed them the link.
PayPerPost pays bloggers who write a post that matches the requirements of the advertiser. From looking at the site right now, about half of the opportunities are for only positive reviews/links, while a little less than half simply want a link with any thoughts (positive or negative). It is still up to the blogger whether to accept an opportunity or not, and any blogger that writes a positive review of a horrible site/service/product is sure to lose creditability with their readers. Is this really any differently than say CNET? Cnet, as do many other sites, receives a small payment anytime someone who buys a product after clicking on a link on one of the site’s reviews. People still visit and trust CNET because they give their honest opinion of products and disclose that they may receive a payment from time to time. Why should this opportunity only be left for big corporations?
I haven’t signed up for PayPerPost yet, but it looks like it could be another good souce of revenue for a blogger that only accepts PayPerPost opportunities that do not interfere with his/her ethics (i.e. only give something a positive review if you like the site/product/service).
[...] This is a response to: The Technology Suits » PayPerPost and AdSense: Same ethical issues…neither a problem for bloggers. In one line: this article is preposterous. [...]
While I agree with part of what you are saying, the place where we differ is in the disclosure. We are all ethical AND morally bound to disclose whether revenue is a direct result of a post, that is why people are angry about Payperpost. Yes, people make money off of adsense but when you put a Google Ad Bar on your site, it is clearly marked “Ads by Gooooooooogle”, as where no one will write “Posts by PayPerPooooooooost” on ads that they will be recieving money for.
I think if done properly, someone could use payperpost for an additional source of revenue without lying to satisfy the advertisers demands, the problems comes when people say whatever they need to to get thee post approved.
There are conflicts of interest all of the time, but if you want respect, especially if you are just starting out, you can’t sell your soul to the devil (or in this case PayPerPost.com) and still expect to make it to heaven in the end.
I completely agree with you, Evan, about not selling your soul and disclosing if you are being paid for talking about a subject. I just think that people are looking at PayPerPost without thinking through the reality we live in.
Too often we see bloggers (and mainstream media) write articles that are overly controversial because they are simply looking to boost traffic and thus ad revenue. In addition, how many bloggers use affiliate links to generate revenue in their posts, which are almost never disclosed as paying the writer.
It all comes down to personal ethics. If you look through the opportunities on PayPerPost and either see a service/product/site you already like or honestly review as good, there should be no problem with you earning a few dollars for telling your writers about it, with a disclosure of course. If you start to push bad product or things that are outside of your readers’ interests, your creditability will be hurt.
In europe this is a big problem
Peter
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thanks for article