Monday, 3 January 2005
mamamusings sells out?
Well, not exactly. But I’m sure some of you will think so.
Along with a number of other bloggers whom I like and respect, I’ve decided to enter into an agreement with a company called Marqui, which makes content management software. I blog about their product once a week, and they pay me a not-insignificant amount per month for doing so.
They do not control what I say—I could, for example, complain bitterly about the product’s shortcomings, so long as I linked back to them. And I’m free to note clearly in the posts that it’s a sponsored post (which is why this post has a category of “sponsored,” and a funky box around it).
However, I wouldn’t have agreed to the gig if it wasn’t a product that I found interesting, and a business model that intrigued me. For those of us who put a lot of time and effort into creating content for our sites, it’s nice to find a way (beyond Google AdWords) to be compensated for that effort. The model that Marqui is trying out (with the guidance of Marc Canter) is one that I think has real potential. It’s an above-board way of building buzz, without (to my mind) compromising content. They’re not dictating what I write (although they are providing suggestions for content), and they’re not demanding that my site be overrun with advertising.
So, we’ll see how it goes.
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What an interesting approach to marketing a product. It seems like a good idea (especially if the product is actually good) just because people that can trust a blogger's word for a product are good to pull into a product.
Don't worry. I don't think you are a sell out ;-)
There is nothing more powerful than word of mouth, especially wide-spread word of mouth. It will make or break anything, particularly when well-known, respected individuals begin voicing their opinions.
It will be interesting to see how this works.
Hmm, that's really intriguing. I went to their site, but didn't want to commit to the 5-minute demo to see what they're about, so I'll just read what you have to say as it appears on your site.
I watched part of the demo and the app reminded me of a more beefed-up version of Macromedia Contribute. I'm curious about how the content is actually being syndicated to the company's site (does it just act as another XML feed?). In any case, it seems like a pretty powerful application.
The blogosphere program is pretty intriguing and a sign that blogging is "growing up." I can see this blogging sponsorship model evolving into a rotating sponsorship model. For instance, instead of only blogging about Marqui, bloggers would sign up to blog about a variety of products and services through a third-party site. Companies would benefit by not having to administer their own blogosphere program.
It's an interesting model for sure. What happens when everyone (currently up to 21 bloggers) runs out of things to say about the product?
Hmmm, reminds me of The Who Sell Out. Or maybe it's Jerry Garcia, who when asked about selling out said, "We've been selling for years. No one's been buying."
I don't see what the big stink is, as I noted over on CollabuTech.
Well Professor, I certainly do not think you are selling out. Quite the contrary, I think you are embracing the natural evolution of weblogging. Many other much respected wblogs contain some form of advertising. Some use simple forms and others base the entire blog around its advertising campaign, take Gawker Media for example. Congratulations on the recognition, I personally see it as a mark of achievement.
As long as you start the titles with "Add:", so I easily can skip those posts, it’s ok with me...
I won't be prefacing the posts with "Add:" (or "Ad:", or "Adv:"). However, I'll generally mention Marqui in the title, and they'll all have a category of "sponsored." And since there will only be one a week, you won't have to worry about being deluged. :)
Jeremiah, I assume that there aren't many (if any) people who read all of the bloggers participating...so I'm sure there'll be plenty of overlap. The idea isn't so much that we'll have lots of "new" things to say, so much as we'll keep the name in people's minds, and perhaps spur them to consider the software for their sites.
SELL OUT!!! TRAITOR!!!
(oh, c'mon, you knew SOMEONE would say it!!)
*grin*
I put a big image right in each post that I make on Marqui... the latest one can be seen here: http://foo.ca/wp/index.php?p=7225 with it's huge, red logo making it quite plain about who's buying baby a new pair of shoes.
That image is in the RSS feed as well, so there's no question regardless of reading method.
In response to Jeremiah's question up the thread about bloggers running out of things to say: we're bloggers! Since when do we have a shortage-of-words problem? Heheh.
Welcome aboard, Liz. It certainly is an interesting experiment from the 'inside'.
When someone is talking about something that they normally wouldn't talk about due to someone paying them money....that is a SELLOUT! This is one of the main reasons I dislike Robert Plant, Peter Townsend and the rest of the SELLOUTS in the music industry. Both of the above mentioned at one time stated they would NEVER promote Corporate America with their music and now they are on every other friggin’ commercial. So, I for one am a bit disappointed that you will follow this trend. As for Bobby Weir and the rest of the family, gotta love em' for not succumbing to Corporate America's B.S.! “May the four winds blow you home again”
Kelly, isn't that what most jobs entail? After all, I often have to teach things that I'm not all that interested in, but I'm being paid to teach. Is that a sellout?
If it is, and you're disappointed in me...well, I'm okay with that. In a perfect world, I wouldn't need money to feed my family (or buy them Tamagotchi connections). But it's not, and I do.
C'mon!!! I can understand IMM and the other low level mandatory courses. I think you love your job and the research you do to come up w/the bleeding edge technology courses that you offer. I thought this blog was a personal hobby of yours not part of your job. If it's part of your job, then I take back the disappointment statement and I understand. We all have to do assignments at our job that we aren't interested in doing. I guess I was more surprised than anything. Either way, your still my favorite @ RIT.
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