On 12/29/06, Rick Schummer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > But I really think the difference between a service designed to pay hired > people to blog about > products, and individual or independent people blogging about products > because some company sends > them something (money, computers, free software, subscriptions to a service, > etc.) is very little in > the big picture.
I see it differently, but suspect we agree more than disagree. PayForPost: Intentionally writing about "stuff" because you expect to be paid for it while promoting it as your own thoughts is deceitful. versus Promoting a company you are involved with is human nature, whether that's a LAMP advocate (who, like me, hopes to make a living that way), an MVP (who receives glory and goodies from Microsoft, and who also uses it to promote their own business), or a member of the business. I have no problem with Tim Bray occasionally praising Sun when they get it right (he's an employee, a "Distinguished Engineer"). Scoble promoted good things happening at Microsoft while he was employed there (and may be doing the same for the Edwards campaign, I hear). Failure to disclose can be anything from an oversight to intentionally misleading. PerPerPost is clearly "guerrilla marketing" which some may see as clever while others find it offensive. Promoting a company that gives you free stuff because you sincerely believe in what they are doing is at the other end of the spectrum. Who was it who said that "Sincerity is the key -- once you've figured out how to fake that you're all set." > Besides, I was taught a long time ago that you cannot believe everything you > hear or read. This rule > can be applied to bloggers and mainstream media alike. True. Even the pillars of Journalism have their bad eggs, pretty regularly. But I think it's incumbent on those of us who'd like to be believed to lay our cards on the table. FYI, Scoble is linking to a story that Microsoft PR is now asking for the bloggers to return the laptops, turning a minor slip into a major debacle: http://scobleizer.com/2006/12/27/i-think-the-microsoft-vista-giveaway-is-an-awesome-idea/ or http://preview.tinyurl.com/vxdj5 -- Ted Roche Ted Roche & Associates, LLC http://www.tedroche.com _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
