PayPerPost.com should be renamed PaidShills.com
shill (n) One who poses as a satisfied customer or an enthusiastic gambler to dupe bystanders into participating in a swindle.
v. shilled, shill·ing, shills
v. intr. To act as a shill.v. tr.
Pay-per-post is a new service that allows bloggers to be paid for posting about products without being required to disclose their financial relationship. The next time you read a blogger touting a restaurant, some food, a shoe brand, a car, a newspaper, or any other product, you now have to wonder if they are being paid, and if they are being honest.
Jeremiah knows Ted Murphy, the guy running the program, and Ted comments on Jeremiah's site. He's also on TechCrunch. Business Week asks if Ted is polluting the blogosphere.
Ted Murphy is not alone in this endeavor. There are a lot of marketing and advertising people pitching fake blogs, leaving fake comments, paying teenagers to act as Buzz Agents, and basically leaving all ethics at the door. PayPerPost says the act of disclosure is not required, as they're leaving it up to the individual blogger to make that choice.
I'm struggling to come up with the right analogy. Selling arms to third world countries? Selling drugs to children? Giving campaign finance contributions to politicians and not requiring them to craft laws to your advantage? That's probably the closest.
Paying money without disclosure leaves the door wide open to fraud. And I believe that Ted's program is going to backfire for his clients. The public doesn't mind being sold to, but being lied to is too much, and there's no way that Ted can honestly say that individuals (I won't call them bloggers) won't take advantage of his program.
Do I now need a disclosure on every post I write? The internet is already a place where you can't be trusted without building a reputation. Enter Ted Murphy who taints us all and pretends that the problem won't affect those who act in an ethical manner.
I'll make a prediction - this service will fail to catch on with premium brands when the bad press catches up to the companies advertising with PayPerPost.com. At the same time, it sets back the professional business blogosphere in our attempt to be taken seriously.
Blogs flatten hierarchies and focus sunlight on deceptive practices. They make no sense and have no value if they themselves are part of those deceptive practices.
-Jim Durbin, Director Corporate Communications, Durbin Media Group
Jim Durbin is not a paid shill for any company and objects strongly to those who are.
p.s. PaidShills.com is available as a domain name.
v. shilled, shill·ing, shills
v. intr. To act as a shill.v. tr.
- To act as a shill for (a deceitful enterprise).
- To lure (a person) into a swindle.
Pay-per-post is a new service that allows bloggers to be paid for posting about products without being required to disclose their financial relationship. The next time you read a blogger touting a restaurant, some food, a shoe brand, a car, a newspaper, or any other product, you now have to wonder if they are being paid, and if they are being honest.
Jeremiah knows Ted Murphy, the guy running the program, and Ted comments on Jeremiah's site. He's also on TechCrunch. Business Week asks if Ted is polluting the blogosphere.
Ted Murphy is not alone in this endeavor. There are a lot of marketing and advertising people pitching fake blogs, leaving fake comments, paying teenagers to act as Buzz Agents, and basically leaving all ethics at the door. PayPerPost says the act of disclosure is not required, as they're leaving it up to the individual blogger to make that choice.
I'm struggling to come up with the right analogy. Selling arms to third world countries? Selling drugs to children? Giving campaign finance contributions to politicians and not requiring them to craft laws to your advantage? That's probably the closest.
Paying money without disclosure leaves the door wide open to fraud. And I believe that Ted's program is going to backfire for his clients. The public doesn't mind being sold to, but being lied to is too much, and there's no way that Ted can honestly say that individuals (I won't call them bloggers) won't take advantage of his program.
Do I now need a disclosure on every post I write? The internet is already a place where you can't be trusted without building a reputation. Enter Ted Murphy who taints us all and pretends that the problem won't affect those who act in an ethical manner.
I'll make a prediction - this service will fail to catch on with premium brands when the bad press catches up to the companies advertising with PayPerPost.com. At the same time, it sets back the professional business blogosphere in our attempt to be taken seriously.
Blogs flatten hierarchies and focus sunlight on deceptive practices. They make no sense and have no value if they themselves are part of those deceptive practices.
-Jim Durbin, Director Corporate Communications, Durbin Media Group
Jim Durbin is not a paid shill for any company and objects strongly to those who are.
p.s. PaidShills.com is available as a domain name.
posted by James Durbin @ 3:08 PM PERMALINK
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