When blogs turn corporate, It's nothing too new. But recently 1010Wins reported on fashion blogs disguised as blogs that are new marketing tools for the industry. This applies to all industries across the spectrum. A seemingly innocent Joe-Schmo reviews a new product s/he really loves, under the guise of a blogger, but could really be working for The Man. While I couldn't find the 1010Wins blurb online anywhere, I found Entrepreneur's article exhorting the wonderul ways to manipulate blogs for marketing.
Now how exactly does a media that was supposed to have been more democratic respond when it is overtaken by big business? Corporations stay competitive by buying into the blogosphere, acting as a voice for people, when it is just another advertising ploy. Moreover, it may be true that corporations can do it ("it" being blogging) better.
With small blogs leaning towards corporate structure as popularity rises, the truth is that people like to read well-written, organized, and exclusive information, and sometimes be spoon-fed a tantalizing, steaming, gorgeous, hot plate of garbage.
Everett (not verified) @ Fri, 02/16/2007 - 8:52am
I agree: if a large company is paying bloggers to review their merchandise, then we've got a little bit of an ethical dilemma there's a reason why journalists have rules about integrity, so that in an ideal world people with money wouldn't be able to buy positive coverage of their product, the problem is that when you introduce this kind of monetary incentive into the blogosphere it's very difficult for a blogger to say no. Would you turn down a request for a few positive lines of text in exchange for $50, $100, or perhaps $1000? It's a hard choice to make.
It's good because it offers certain bloggers a opportunity to get paid for what they do, but on the other hand it'll be harder for the audience to be able to trust what they're reading if there's an off chance that a blogger is being paid to praise.