I normally don't write bad posts about other bloggers. I might critique their site, but I normally don't mention names when I'm not too happy about something that's happening. Unfortunately I felt like ranting about one specific A-list blogger today. It's not the blogger himself who I'm upset with. It's the practices he uses when it comes to ReviewMe. John Chow is getting paid huge bucks by advertisers who want him specifically to review their site. In fact he makes half of each $400 review, but yet I see a nice little Paypal donate link at the bottom of his latest ReviewMe post. The Paypal donate occurs at the bottom of each post on his blog, but is it fair to the advertiser to also include it on paid posts?
I personally believe if the advertiser is paying me to write a post, I shouldn't be pimping out my donate button on that post. Then again, John Chow is an A-list blogger who can get away with just about anything he wants when it comes to his blog. What do you think? Is it okay to include a button on a post disclosed as paid asking people to donate to you to support your efforts blogging? Is it greedy or do you think it's acceptable?
2 comments:
I think it's really tacky to ask for a donation within a paid post, let alone every post on the blog. He doesn't need donations but if he really wants to get donations a highly visible donation button in the sidebar should do.
That review wasn't even written by him. I know for a fact that when an advertiser decides to off Johnchow.com a review they more than likely think that John will write it.
I know for sure that that's the case with one advertiser that I also did a reviewme review for who I've since become friends with and have a working relationship with now. He took out a review with John fully expecting that it would be him writing it - it wasn't. Plus, just like this review that you used in your example there were links within it to John's site (there's one in the review you linked to) and other sites! Bad form! Very bad form.
John also has advertising for ttzmedia.com at the bottom of his posts ... not between posts, but at the bottom of each post. Bad form again.
For someone that's been very vocal about one particular paid blogging company I wonder why John doesn't have a disclosure policy on his site?
I had noticed many of the other issues, and just didn't mention them since that wasn't what I was ranting about at the time, but it really drives me crazy to see all of this!
I never even noticed that there wasn't a disclosure badge anywhere. I completely overlooked it. I do see that he marks all the review me posts for the review me category, but to be such a A lister, he has very poor habits.
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