The big topic of the last day or two has been the release of the Zune player from Microsoft and the slamming it has taken throughout the blogsphere.
I’m not going to talk about Zune itself; after all I’m not on Microsoft’s blogger kiss ass list so I couldn’t even begin to offer a review of it if I wanted to. Unlike Om Malik though who got one and then proceeded to inform us on how bad it was.
Here’s the thing though – he get’s a couple hundred dollar toy given to him so that he can do his mojo and potentially influence folks to buy it; but he never tries it. No he goes by all the negative press it had already gotten and gives it a thumbs down. As Ed Bott put it – “The worst non-review ever.”
Well that was money well spent wasn’t it Microsoft. At least the two that you sent to Robert Scoble got an honest try-out; plus he only gets to keep one of them.
That is only two of the influencers that got peppered with a Zune at around $250.00 each so one can imagine the amount of money that was spent getting these things into the hands of the A-List bloggers.
So in effect each of the bloggers who got one and wrote something about it – good or bad – got compensated for their time to the tune of 250.00 bucks. Not bad for fifteen or twenty minutes work plus you have a new toy – damn .. nice work if you can get it.
Wait a minute though .. aren’t these the same folks who called bloggers that signed up at reviewME nothing more than pimps and prostitutes who should wash their hands after writing their works of shill.
So let me get this straight. It’s okay for some A-List blogger to get a $250.00 toy on the premise they will write about it; not even taking into account the advertising dollars they will earn as people hit their pages, but some-one who get’s paid cash to actually try a product and write a review about it is nothing but blogger scum.
Can some-one explain to me the difference here – ’cause I’m not seeing it.
My policy is NO FREE STUFF. I’m not keeping the Zune.
But, I don’t care if you sell your soul as long as you DISCLOSE IT!!!
If you don’t disclose, that’s unethical.
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I wholeheartedly agree with you Robert, and as for the no free stuff policy…. it’s refreshing to see you even have such a policy.
Might I humbly suggest you send your copy to someone else to test and review then? I personally know at least one nutty coder that would love a copy :o)
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Ah gee Arni you wouldn’t be talking about me now would you?
Robert: So what would be your feeling then on the whole PayPerPost and ReviewMe model?
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Although your policy is noble Robert, I don’t think it’s necessary. I don’t know much about PayPerPost or ReviewMe but it seems it’s the same idea that has been around forever. Any reviewer in other mediums (magazines, tv, radio) receives free stuff (music, gadgets, even cars) from companies who hope they will write about them, therefore advertising their products.
The only way to judge a reviewer is by their history. It would quickly become apparent if someone was giving bad products favorable reviews for money.
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[...] I also have written several times on this thing called blogger ethics and the PayPerPost type companies. I have also voiced my feelings on what I see as the hypocrisy of some of the A-List bloggers who are beginning to be seen by the blogging community as living in glass houses. [...]
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[...] also have written several times on this thing called blogger ethics and the PayPerPost type companies. I have also [...]
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