I have been following the story closely about PayPerPost.com and the latest release of ReviewMe.com and have watched as bloggers attempt to disclose their involvement and generally how things are going on the "paid for consumer generated content". One the people that recently posted a review for ReviewMe.com did so a little differently than I have seen and I wanted to point it out and add my little golf clap for a job well done. Here is Darren Barefoot’s disclosure and his coup de Gras:
This is my first review for ReviewMe, first discussed around here a few weeks ago. The subject of the review pays me to review their product or service, though I’m under no obligation to provide a positive review. You can judge for yourself if this compromises me–it’s a question I’m eager to explore.
One other note: I’m using the rel=”nofollow” tag for ReviewMe companies, so that they’re not buying my link juice along with their review. (emphasis added)
This is a very good approach in my opinion, but I really took noticed and said bravo to his "no follow" tag rule. It’s a single step that I have yet to see others publicly call to attention. I’m, not sure if this violates any terms of service on the use of the ReviewMe.com system, but it does eliminate the thought that some had about advertisers’ paid for content by consumers scamming the Google system of link exchanging. I will be curious if Darren get’s his check from the company requesting the review. Haven’t they paid for that link?
Tags: PayPerpost.com, ReviewMe.com, Blogger disclosure, Darren Barefoot, no follow tag, link exchange, Google
Powered by Qumana
Sorry Darren I have been trying to use your name in a post for months now.
Heh, no worries, I embraced my queer last name way back in the day.
My ReviewMe.com review was ‘approved’ a couple of hours later, so I guess I expect to be paid.
I liked the very clear disclosure at the top.
I am not sure whether a link condom by default for all reviews is a necessary step.
If you take the attitude that you would have written about the site anyway if you had heard about it, and that it is relevant to your audience, then in my mind it is a little contradictory to use nofollow for the link.
Now in this particular case Darren’s review wasn’t overly positive, so nofollow might be a good solution.
I am not sure how I am going to handle this. I was finally accepted to review me with my 6 week old blog, I guess my Technorati and Alexa rating escalating helped a lot.
One interesting twist is that due to the nature of my blog, I can review sites on almost any subject as an SEO review of the site, or based on how I like they are monetising it.
It has always been a problem for me to choose sites for such a review, the posts are often quite popular, but I restrict it often to sites that obviously need the help and a few pointers.
We will see in the future if I get any requests. The money won’t be a major compensation for me, but it will be nice to have victims asking for the spotlight.
[...] My friend Ben, no he did not pay me to be his friend, submitted a review of a Data Deposit Box. Yes, I am somehow contributing to the demise of the Internet by linking a ReviewMe.com review. What I wanted to bring to light was the disclosure of Ben’s choice. Unlike Darren Barefoot, Ben decided not to go with the "no follow" tag, but was clearly up front about his review and the payment he is receiving from the company. [...]