Sold! Blogs give way to marketers

January 17, 2005

"From political candidates to Cuban cigars, marketers are discovering there's nothing that can't be sold by paying for blog content, writes Sabrina Dent. Is the independent reputation of blogging about to be tainted?"

The article talks about Marqui and the paying of bloggers to pimp their services. Janet Johnson, Marqui's VP of Communications, is questioned about the success of the program. Additionally, it mentions how Tom Daschle is coming under heat for his role in paying someone to spread the good word about him during is running for election in South Dakota.

"It wasn't discovered until a month after the election, which Daschle lost by a narrow 2% margin, that Lauck was on the payroll of the Thune campaign to the tune of $27,000. Van Beek was also on the payroll, taking home $8,000 from the campaign coffers. The pair were buried in a maelstrom of controversy and outcry. Accusations of deception flew around the web amid indictments that the sites were nothing but paid advertisements."

I am really on the fence on this one. Not going to get join the debate. I think some form of Marqui's program will exist moving forward. It blends naturally into the spirit of blogging. In the article, I comment, "Personal referrals are powerful and adverblogging is no different if done correctly."

As always, honesty is the best policy if you are considering adverblogging.

Posted by Bill Flitter on January 17, 2005 10:46 PM
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