TechCrunch today invites us to visit another pay-per-post company that was just today launched to compete with Pay Per Post, CreamAid and LoudLaunch.  Mike is correct, there seems to be a recent surge or "virus" of this business model as companies continue to try to capitalize on the buzz created by the word of mouth marketing craze created in the blogosphere.  This model  may only be a quick fix, or a band aid for companies that really don’t understand the online experience of blogs. Blogging is not about buying bits and pieces of attention, its about participation and conversation between the company and the audience.  Purchasing a post here and there is not much different than Text Link Ads or merely link purchasing for the purpose of gaining "Google Juice" as we heard from Scoble.

I must tread lightly on this subject, because we at Bloggers For Hire are paid bloggers that companies hire to sit in the pilot’s seat of their company’s blog  taking the wheel of  content and moderation, making sure to navigate the blogosphere without crashing into the mountain called  "Mt. Transparency".  I have often struggled with taking a side as to whether pay-per-post was ethical or non-ethical.  My own belief is that disclosure is everything and should be the foremost of any business model that pays people to write a review or opinion of a product.  This is somewhat different than our own business model at B4H, as we are under the umbrella of the company that pays our bloggers to be their representative in the blogosphere.  We are a paid contractor to provide content about the company and the companies products or service.  We don’t advocate our own opinions, we educate for companies. Some companies want our bloggers to be more opinionated and gain a voice that takes a stand on a principal of the company, and that is fine, as long as the blogger fits their model. 

As I typed this I was also chatting with a client about disclosure issues and the issue of payperpost and his thoughts, and with his permission I wanted to quote him to make my point further:

…it’s only an issue when you are comparing products or recommending them." Ryan Wilson, COO, Intela.com

Is pay-per-post a "black hat" business model?  Some would say that it is but they are among the purists in the blogosphere.  The blogger capitalists that I speak to say that it is a great model that should be a money maker for bloggers all over and that companies should take advantage of the phenomena while they can.  Other people like Mike Arrington figure differently:

"Pay-To-Shill business model is spreading like a virus." ~ Michael Arrinton

Is there a distinction about how blogs make money?  Is Google Adsense a bloggers grift?  Are traffic numbers and readers a number like a gold standard that can be bought and sold like cattle in a marketplace?  Are links merely a currency that is exchanged by bloggers companies and search engines?  All of these questions have really not been answered to everyone’s satisfaction, but I do know that some of the early adopters of these practices are walking away shaking their heads and wondering what color Jaguar they will buy.  Me?  I want to walk away counting those bits of money that will at least pay for that freshman year of college.  I figure that with my business model I might be able to buy the books for the first semester for my oldest her first year in school.  When will I need to lay out that book money?  Lets just say she is 7.  Perhaps I should write about those diapers we are still buying and get paid!

Tags: TechCrunch, Pay Per Post, CreamAid, LoudLaunch, Text Link Ads, Google Juice, Robert Scoble, Bloggers For Hire, B4H, Ryan Wilson, Intela, Michael Arrington

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