Just Like (a) Human

Preamble: This post is actually a bit rougher than usual in its language. Shoot me, it’s three in the bloody morning, and I’m angry.

Therefore, in the interests of sanity, you’ll need to directly view this entry, rather than just view the front page.

Okay.

I was digging through PayPerPost, to see what opportunities popped up with the new system they have in place, and I came across an opp.

In this opp, we, as PayPerPost bloggers are presented a pair of blog entries (link condoms abso-fuckin’-lutely quite intentional — had to actually look up the markup for it), and then asked if we think we’re creating spam? Do we think we’re slimeballs?

So, I read the posts.

All I can say is this:
Jason Calacanis is far, far from informed, and in my eyes, quite hypocritical.
To complain about a different method of advertising, whether it be done in an attempt to look more natural, almost like an endorsement, or to be a bit more direct and state that it’s an advertisement is something I find stupid. This is especially true, since a number (no fake stats here, baby) people have basically blocked the more traditional forms of advertising.
I, personally, for example… am absolutely startled when I see a pop-up or pop-under ad, and ask, “what the hell is this!?” — This usually happens when I’m not at home, using my particular setup and preferences.

When it comes to a PayPerPost entry, I’m one of the few who discloses on just about every single PPP entry I’ve made.
In fact, speaking of disclosure, I’d like to direct your attention over to the Town Hall Meeting we had earlier in the day.
They understand that some of us have to disclose that it’s a paid ad. I disclose, because I want to.
In fact, it looks like I’m gonna have to take a couple of days off to learn about WordPress’s current Plugin API, and see about writing my own disclosure plugin.
Incidentally, I COULD use the meta fields offered by WordPress, and go from there. Might have to add meta to the template here, but it’d be worth it. Eat cake.

Initially, I was going to simply make the entry for free, with no need for compensation, but as I read Jason’s entries, I noticed his blog advertising.
I’m on a screen at 1280 by 980 pixels. I’ve seen tower ads shorter than the ones on his blog. Longcat is LOOOOONG, and so are his ads. The irony? His ads were roughly the same kind of content that I’ve seen coming out of PayPerPost users.
However, they seem to NOT stop in one spot.
In fact, there are NINE of these on EACH of the aforementioned articles. You can call ‘em what-the-hell-ever you want. They’re still advertising. Does that mean we can drag you out into the stocks, too?
After seeing that, I decided, I’m going to rip at this, AND earn a few dollars for it.

Why does this smell like another case of “I’m a fucking A-List blogger, so I deserve money. You all are NOT, so I don’t want to see you have the opportunity to have your weblogs making money. Anything you do, therefore, is a scam!”

I say this because:
1) I’ve already seen elseweb, others who think that PayPerPost is evil for having the kind of business model it does: Paying users to post in their weblogs about stuff.
2) It all seems to be the bloggers that most regard as “A-List”, ie: cream of the crop, best of show, whatever.

This disclosure has but one message: Fuck what they say. I’m gonna keep PayPerPosting.