This one is free

Josh Friedman reports in the LA Times that some bloggers get paid for testimonials they publish about products. Apparently a marketing firm called PayPerPost Inc negotiates these paid ads. (check out their pitch). As Friedman reports:

Posties, as PayPerPost calls its crew of 15,500 bloggers, say their posts are sincere, sponsored or not, and that financial incentives are disclosed.

This disclosure may not be in the actual blurb, however. For example, one blogger that Friedman profiles (Colleen Caldwell) uses an indirect (deceitful?) method of notifying her audience:

Like many Posties, Caldwell typically relies on a blue disclaimer button on her home page that, when clicked, informs readers that compensation from marketers "may influence" the entries on her blog, and that posts "may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content."

This sounds pretty weak to me.

Because my blog is not as widely read as Caldwell, PayPerPost may have little interest in placing blurbs here. In any case, I have no interest in selling out. Everything you read here is freely shared.