1. The money. OK, $800 p/mth isn't 'give up the day job' levels. But it's nothing to be sneezed at either, especially when you consider it's in US dollars and not New Zealand dollars.
2. I actually do think this is a "social experiment", as Marc Canter has called it, and I like the idea of being part of such an experiment. This is the first time a group of bloggers has been paid upfront to write about a product. Will it work? Will the 15 bloggers who participate be run out of the blogosphere or virtually lynched in some other manner? Will it raise my profile? Will I lose readers? Will it get media coverage here in New Zealand and lead to a job offer by a progressive kiwi company looking for someone to introduce them to blogs and RSS? These are among the interesting questions that I'm curious to find the answers to. I honestly have no clue how this experiment is going to pan out. Time will tell.
3. I trust Marc Canter (the man who got us this gig). He's got a lot of history in the computer business, he's a very smart guy and I trust his instincts. I've read his blog for two years now and I spoke to him on the phone at length a couple of times back in March, when I interviewed him. So I know him to a certain degree and I'm also familiar with several of the other 14 bloggers chosen for this experiment. That social networking connection is an important part of this for me.
4. Marqui's software is a kind of Content Management System. I know a lot about Content Management Systems, both from my day job as a Web Producer and as a regular topic in my weblog. As the byline to my blog suggests, I regard myself as a Web Analyst and I would dearly love to do it as a living. So the Marqui project is a good opportunity for me to practise my analysis skills, by analyzing Marqui's CMS product and writing up my findings.
I will write one post per week about Marqui and those posts will be CLEARLY MARKED as advertising (actually I prefer to think of it as a sponsorship arrangement, but meh...). I will even differentiate the Marqui posts in my RSS feed, so that readers are absolutely clear that I am being paid to write about Marqui in those particular posts. You'll also notice a Marqui image in the right side of my blog, which is a requirement of the program.
Regarding the ethical issues. None of my other posts will be paid for, so I personally don't see how my integrity will be affected by this. But I realise these are grey areas in the blogosphere right now. So I have no problem with people debating whether the Marqui program is "tainting" the blogosphere and whether it affects bloggers integrity. It may be that this experiment helps flesh out those issues about monetizing the blogosphere. I hope it does, but please remember to play the ball, not the man.
Also remember to Think. I'm a big believer in reading things critically. I try to analyze the facts and the context of each piece of content, then make my judgement on its value or merit. What I'm saying (in a preachy way), is that I would prefer you see how the experiment pans out before you make sweeping judgements about it or about me. That's certainly what I intend to do.
So, what more can I say. I am going to be blogging for dollars, once a week, over the course of the next three months. Is it a good idea? You can have your say if you like in the comments to this post, but for me there's only one way to find out...
]]>To answer the two questions amongst the comments:
1) d asked "What makes Marqui so interesting that you will devote 200-500 words per week to it?"
Richard replies: There's no set level of words I need to write, so I may end up writing short posts. I guess that'll depend on whether there *is* anything interesting to say about the product/service. In another words, I don't know but I will find out along the way.
2. Marius said: "Your options seem to be to "hype it" and lose credibility or "can it" and never get another gig."
What I intend to do is analyze Marqui's product and write up my findings. Whether it turns out to be a thumbs up or thumbs down product, time will tell...
]]>And I do think you're getting a chance to be part of a significant event, and even get to shape it. For the better I'm sure :)
Best wishes and continued success.
BobR MobileRead.com
]]>As a direct marketer who blogs, I am all for such an "experiment," and wish both you and your sponsor all the best. The success of the Marqui Blogosphere Program could bode well -- very well -- for all of us bloggers.
Bob Cargill
]]>In other respected media, there is a clear separation between editorial content and advertising. Writers pride themselves on their editorial independence and are paid by a publisher who maintains a firewall between advertising and editorial. In the blogosphere Google performs a credible intermediary role like that.
And yes, many commercial media have gone away from that "ideal". So we see television current affairs programs which are like down market magazines with a very fuzzy line between advertising and editorial (most of it paid for). That's fine as a marketing vehicle, but a journalist in those programs cannot have editorial independence.
Can the Blogosphere defy gravity?
]]>Richard replies: I certainly don't see myself as a Direct Marketer (no offence to those in that profession). But I also don't see myself as a journalist per se. Sometimes I do journalist-type stuff here - eg my interviews. But overall it's not that black and white / binary for me.
Actually, the ideal situation for me would be to be a writer or analyst for a formal publishing or analyst company, where there is that "firewall" you speak of. Because ideally I do want that separation of content from advertising that you talk about.
So yes I agree that I've sacrificed my "editorial independence" in any post I write that includes Marqui - perhaps even competitors to Marqui? Does that make me slightly uncomfortable because it's not my ideal? Sure it does. But this Experiment is in many respects (apart from the money!) a means to an end for me - as I mentioned in the original post, one ideal outcome for me would be to land a job as a Web Analyst.
So can the Blogosphere defy gravity, you ask? The short answer is: I don't know right now. This is part of the reason I'm doing this, to find out. The main reason, of course, is the money I'm being given. I wouldn't be doing it otherwise. But there are a lot of pros and cons about this and, returning to your questions, I don't know whether it will significantly harm my blog or not. I really hope it doesn't, but the jury is out for now. It's a risk and I'm monitoring it very closely.
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