Quote of The Week:
“I will be the first one to tell you that advertisers and vendors are a part of the community. They’re part of the conversation. But the extent to which they can be a part of the conversation is an editorial decision, not a business one. The editorial sensibility runs the media business, not the other way around. Companies and advertisers who are smart understand that, and grow with the industry.” — Rafat Ali, Editor & Publisher, PaidContent.org
As someone who’s also trying to walk the fine line between journalism, art, and business, I can understand where Rafat is coming from. I am definitely not opposed to making money — online or elsewhere. It’s the ‘how’ of making money that will make the difference between the good, the bad and the ugly.
Some people think that making money off blogs (or art, content, etc.) through ads, affiliates, etc. is just plain wrong. I don’t agree.
However, I agree that some practices are shoddy. I know not everyone may agree with me. But, in my mind, these are things that I cannot approve of when it comes to making money online:
Posting other people’s content on your own site or blog – without permission – is wrong.
Tricking people to click on pay-per-click ads is wrong.
Lying about your site’s stats and demographics is wrong.
Showing adult sites on kids’ sites and scam sites are absolutely wrong.
I also loathe spam and spamming techniques of any kind.
What about blinking banners, pop-ups, pop-unders, etc.? I can’t say that they’re wrong. However, I wouldn’t want to use them on my own sites, where I have control over the ads that get shown.
In your case: Do you have any personal guidelines when it comes to making money? Do you consider anything particularly wrong is everything “fair game”?
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I pretty much agree with you. Ads are necessary for sites so that there is some money to pay for the sites, and let’s face it. It also takes time to write a good blog or keep up a good site, so I think people should get paid for time like this if possible. However, some thought needs to put into what is advertised.
good story