The very controversial service PayPerPost, which pays bloggers small sums for writing about the products of advertisers, will change its name tomorrow to Izea. Izea will be the parent entity of a wide variety of services the company provides, from PayPerPost to various other projects that I’ve never been able to hold my nose long enough to look at closely. Darren Rowse at ProBlogger.net reported first on the change. Rowse says it’s a good move as the company’s varied services are used by some bloggers who love the PPP brand (like the charming Chad W. Smith in the video below) and others who hate it.
PayPerPost is a venture funded Search Engine Optimization scam that threatens to torpedo the reputation of the already widely questioned blogosphere. It may also be a perfectly fair way for small time bloggers to make a living, depending on who you ask. You won’t see a lot of moms or retirees among the more financially comfortable A-list blogger set, though those bloggers making substantial sums of money from blogging have had to work almost as hard as a mom to get where they have.
None of us are pure and there are few firm lines established regarding what is and is not acceptable when you’re trying to make money blogging (I called a paid review service brilliant just last post) – but disclosure of payment is one of the most basic requirements for paid blogging to be ok. Even with disclosure, PPP is a sketchy operation; the disclosure story at PPP has always been a little murky. The company instituted a requirement of some on-site disclosure at the end of last year, but even some major brands patronizing PayPerPost require “no in-post disclosure.”
Just a quick note so that the next time you see the name Izea, you know who you’re dealing with.
