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| Is Getting Paid to Blog Ethical? |
| New practice blurs the line between blogging and advertising |
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Bhumika Ghimire (bhumika1)  |
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Published 2006-10-05 15:26 (KST) |
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Blogging has become an important part in the rise of citizen journalism worldwide. With the rise in the number of bloggers writing on issues ranging from electronic gadgets to foreign policy and politics, many people are now looking into blogs to get a different angle on the news.
Blogs like wonkette.com and huffingtonpost.com have managed to position themselves as the parallel new media for some. But the corporate world, which is waking up to the tremendous opportunity presented by the blog, is starting a trend that may jeopardize the reliability of blogs. Companies have launched blog-centered advertising campaigns, paying bloggers to write about their product or service.
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FROM THE SECTION |
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| Personally, I have posted ads in my blog, with a statement that it as an ad and not my personal opinion. But there have been instances where people have not specified if a statement about a product or service is a paid advertisement or not.
An article in Businessweek, "Polluting the Blogosphere," talks about a company, PayPerPost.com, which does not require bloggers to say if a statement is an advertisement or not. This practice of feeding hidden advertisement is not limited to this particular company, which adds to the concern that the credibility of the blogosphere is being compromised.
The money being paid to the bloggers is not high; typically they make about US$5 to $10 per ad. But the reason this trend is fast growing (it is not surprising to find "professional bloggers") is because the blogosphere is dominated by young people. For the college age crowd, being paid $5 for a sentence or a paragraph about a product or service is exciting. You can buy a burger or go for movie or save it to buy the latest gadget. Questions about ethics are sidelined as a result.
So what does this mean for the future of blogs in citizen journalism? Will the paid blogger trend destroy the credibility of blogs? Well, the credibility of some blogs has been questioned, but since this issue has received much attention in a short timespan, bloggers have realized its gravity. Paid bloggers are being urged to have a disclosure policy and some companies are hiring in-house paid bloggers to keep things clear. One such company is Marqui, which pays about $800.00 for the bloggers.
As companies and bloggers realize the concerns and work together to safeguard their credibility, I believe that blogs will survive this growing pain.
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©2006 OhmyNews
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