There is an interesting conversation in the blogosphere. The discussion centers on using bloggers to push products and getting compensated in return. Should bloggers accept monetary payment or any form of remuneration for writing about certain products, services or events on their blogs?

Issues and Views

Now that blogging is spreading like wildfire, drawing large crowds of audience, business advertisers, sponsors and the like are one in advocating it as an effective means of advertising – getting a company’s message out. It is now everyday staple to see advertising on personal blogs. Leading companies like Microsoft, Nokia, and General Motors have even joined the “blogwagon’. Top management executives like Sun Microsystems president Jonathan Schwartz and Intel chief Paul Otellini now blog. It is a fact that word from a trusted source holds much water to consumers. Word of mouth is undoubtedly the most effective form of advertising. Marketing people put a lot of weight into pursuing free publicity. Aware of the massive growth of blogs and the increasing clout and its being a trusted medium, it isn’t surprising that bloggers are being used to promote products, services or events. Blogs have the ability to disseminate information instantly to a widespread audience.

Everyday, more companies are paying bloggers in cash or in kind for promotional spaces on their blogs be it in the form of outright sponsorship or product reviews. Most bloggers keen to keep their blogs financially sustainable openly accept sponsorship and carry ads on their blogs.

A problem now looms. Blogging has no established code of ethics regarding bloggers accepting compensation for blog coverage. The immediate issue bloggers will have to address is whether bloggers can accept payment in any form for writing about specific topics. If yes, a subsequent issue is disclosure and transparency. Certain events have brought these issues into focus. These events have sparked engaging discussions and varied views on the appropriateness of all these going ons in the blogosphere.

Marqui, a Vancouver company that sells communication management services for automating websites announced its experimental program – paying bloggers to mention the company in their blogs. The aim is to increase brand awareness among the powerful members of the software developer community. Marqui signed up 20 bloggers. Under the program, bloggers are mandated to display Marqui icon and mention Marqui in their blog posts at least once a week. They are free to write anything positive or negative. They are at liberty to blog openly about Marqui products or pursue a different approach. In return, they will be paid $800 a month. In-depth details of the program rules together with an FAQ section are posted online in Marqui’s own blog. According to Stephen King, Marqui CEO, the program has been a success. Company mentions on Google skyrocketed. Marqui has been swamped with reader feedbacks on its products. Conversely, the program has drawn many criticisms.

Rob Greenlee of WebTalkRadio commented that it is unnatural to think that a paid blogger would post negative comments about a sponsor. Stowe Boyd, president of Corante’s weblog network threatened that the Marqui program will turn the blogosphere into a graffiti-laden slum where the readers won’t be able to distinguish if a blog posting is genuine or a paid message. In his response, King defended that if a reader comes across a blog and sees the part that is sponsored, certainly there will be skepticism. However, bloggers disclose their relationship with Marqui, write both positive and negative comments without fear of any deletion from Marqui. Another blogger feels that the Marqui program just needs some fine-tuning. Disclosure of payment arrangement between Marqui and participating blogger should be mandatory. Contracts of bloggers should not be renewed based on positive write-ups they provided or whether they are amenable to writing product reviews, be it favorable or unfavorable.

Newsweek revealed that 100 influential members of the tech community, Silicon Valley, were periodically offered products or services in return for word of mouth endorsements (or not). BzzAgent, a Boston company enlisted volunteers to call up bookstores to generate buzz for a particular book, feigning ignorance. A recent service called Pay Per Post patterned after pay per click business model pays a blogger a commission for each completed (clicked) post that promotes the advertiser’s product or service. All these different situations point to a need for some ethical standards bloggers should adhere to. Some basic guidelines have to be set.

Blog Ethics and Standards

Bloggers are known to be non-conformists. This distinct characteristic distinguishes them from the rest in the online world. They are typically beholden to no one. They are defiant in the face of authority. Bloggers comment and spread information according to their own unconventional standards. On the contrary, it is also this freedom that may jeopardize their integrity and thus their value.

At present there are no definite ethical standards that lay down a blogger’s responsibilities and provide a clear code of conduct that will ensure his integrity. Bloggers have no definitive code of ethics but there are some general principles that are widely held. Transparency is the hallmark of blogging. It is one of the weblog’s distinct characteristic and greatest strength. A blogger should be transparent with regards to his actions, motives and financial considerations. Since blogging is a trusted medium, it is to every blogger’s advantage to disclose conflicts of interest (monetary or otherwise) when appropriate. A blogger who is given free access to a service he is reviewing or receives a product for review should disclose said fact. Subsequently, there is an implicit understanding that the blogger will be objective and honest. Anyway, a company should not expect a positive review just because the product was provided for free. It will not do the company any good if a reviewer just sings praises. If there is a problem with the product, the company would surely like to be informed to make the necessary improvements. Readers will be properly informed and form their own judgments. A blogger should in all instances maintain independence and integrity. Lost trust is extremely hard to regain, in some instances, never regained. A very important tenet that any blogger knows by heart is to publish as fact only that which he strongly believes is true. He should be open about his sources, biases and actions.

In a nutshell, using bloggers to push products may be acceptable to some, but others may frown on it. As for bloggers, it is a matter of choice. A blogger may be open to accepting payments to help build buzz for a product on his blog or not. If he does choose to accept compensation, transparency and disclosure are of utmost importance. His reputation is stake.