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Jason Calacanis vs PayPerPost. Why?

29 April 2007 | 0:19 by Wolfie
Filed under: Blogging, Internet

I started writing this as a comment to this post on CodeHappy, but as it went on, it got longer and longer so I thought I’d pull it out and make a proper post of it:

I’d never heard of this Jason Calacanis guy until today but jeez, what a guy(!). I wasted some time reading his various posts about PayPerPost and you guys really do seem to have upset him; his morals and ethics are obviously highly offended. Oh wait, they can’t be - he’s doing just the same thing.

He doesn’t seem to realise that this is the real world; “covert marketing” as he insists on calling it has been around since there have been products to sell. The only difference now is that blogs and the Internet make it all more widespread.

At one point is he (or one of the blogs he links to, I forgot which and I’ve lost the link) makes the comparison with product placement in movies. Is there really ANY part of the Net that isn’t just one big advert? If anything mentions a company or product, don’t you think - as an intelligent individual - there’s at least a chance this is an advert?

And what of the PayPerPost posties? Jason seems to be calling them - by association - horrible and evil. Really? Just for taking a few dollars to talk about a product? If I recommend a product to a friend ‘cos I think it’s good, does it really matter if it’s by telling them directly or by putting it on a page on a website, where other people might read it too? I don’t think that makes me evil. Evil is Hitler. Evil is people dying of starvation in the Third World while the West gets morbidly obese. Taking money for talking about products is journalism.

Jason also talks about disclosure. He says that every one who is paid to blog should disclose this fact in the blog. There may be some value to this but if you’re going to start doing it with blogs, then shouldn’t you do it everywhere? I see blogs as being similar to newspapers - just with more staff writers. Does every newspaper journo disclose all the various little deals that he makes with companies to “enhance” their reviews? How many magazines sell editorial content along with display advertising - content that is not disclosed as bought space? The PayPerPost posties make the decision to disclose or not on a post-by-post basis; they’re the ones writing, it’s their decision.

So Jason, leave the guys alone. You’re only worried ‘cos they’re muscling in on your action.

(Just so’s you know, Jason, I was not paid by PayPerPost to write this post, I am not one of their posties or one of their advertisers but I do know Peter Wright. OK? Thanks.)

Tags: Calacanis, PayPerPost