Paid For Blogging - A Damaging Proposition
The Bloggers Blog reports that some Universities are paying students to blog about University life.
I'm not sure that I'm a fan of this. Sure, I blog about my classes and The Journal, but if SMU paid me to do this then it would inevitably obscure reality and be misleading for future students. And even if the blogger was being genuine in their depictions - if readers ever found out that the student was being paid, then this would be a huge credability blow to the school.
As you can see in my sidebar, I read the Prettier Than Napoleon blog. This particular blogger, Amber, is a graduate of Harvard Law School. I read her bog while she was attending, and still keep tabs on it. If she was getting paid for blogging, it would hold absolutely no value to me. It would be pre-meditated, unoriginal, and biased (or at least percieved to be). In a broader sense, I would be questioning the values of Harvard as an institution and most likely resent them for being deceitful.
This doesn't just apply to educational institutions. If a corporation had an astroturfing-like blog (what does astroturf mean?) and readers found out the truth - this could be hugely damaging.
However, it's no secret that company blogging is a huge trend these days. I'm all for blogging for an organization if the blogger is honest about their relationship with the company/institution. These blogs can provide insight into the company's goals, progress, and day-to-day events. They can also serve as a medium to get customers involved and excited about the company offerings and opportunities. The BusinessWeek blog is a great example of this.
In fact, most of the blogs listed in My Blog Fellowship are by people who own their own businesses. I cannot speak on their behalf, but to me, having a blog is more about forcing yourself to remain active and up-to-date on the newest and latest than it is to attract clients. It's about staying abreast of industry develpments, new services, and trends.
Owning a professional writing and editing company, my blog also allows me to freely exercise my writing skills.
It's always interesting to track a blog throughout the business development phase. If the company becomes famous, you have the satisfaction of possibly knowing the successful strategies that the company executed in the start-up phase. I came across A Thought Over Coffee last summer, when Jason Duncan, the blog author, was just in the start-up phases of his fair-trade cafe enterprise - Cafe Evoke. Even though I have no aspiration of owning a coffee shop, there is a parrallel of ambition and drive that I see in his blog. It's motivating. I hope that my blog serves the same purpose to someone someday.
Keep Bizzy!
I'm not sure that I'm a fan of this. Sure, I blog about my classes and The Journal, but if SMU paid me to do this then it would inevitably obscure reality and be misleading for future students. And even if the blogger was being genuine in their depictions - if readers ever found out that the student was being paid, then this would be a huge credability blow to the school.
As you can see in my sidebar, I read the Prettier Than Napoleon blog. This particular blogger, Amber, is a graduate of Harvard Law School. I read her bog while she was attending, and still keep tabs on it. If she was getting paid for blogging, it would hold absolutely no value to me. It would be pre-meditated, unoriginal, and biased (or at least percieved to be). In a broader sense, I would be questioning the values of Harvard as an institution and most likely resent them for being deceitful.
This doesn't just apply to educational institutions. If a corporation had an astroturfing-like blog (what does astroturf mean?) and readers found out the truth - this could be hugely damaging.
However, it's no secret that company blogging is a huge trend these days. I'm all for blogging for an organization if the blogger is honest about their relationship with the company/institution. These blogs can provide insight into the company's goals, progress, and day-to-day events. They can also serve as a medium to get customers involved and excited about the company offerings and opportunities. The BusinessWeek blog is a great example of this.
In fact, most of the blogs listed in My Blog Fellowship are by people who own their own businesses. I cannot speak on their behalf, but to me, having a blog is more about forcing yourself to remain active and up-to-date on the newest and latest than it is to attract clients. It's about staying abreast of industry develpments, new services, and trends.
Owning a professional writing and editing company, my blog also allows me to freely exercise my writing skills.
It's always interesting to track a blog throughout the business development phase. If the company becomes famous, you have the satisfaction of possibly knowing the successful strategies that the company executed in the start-up phase. I came across A Thought Over Coffee last summer, when Jason Duncan, the blog author, was just in the start-up phases of his fair-trade cafe enterprise - Cafe Evoke. Even though I have no aspiration of owning a coffee shop, there is a parrallel of ambition and drive that I see in his blog. It's motivating. I hope that my blog serves the same purpose to someone someday.
Keep Bizzy!
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posted by MissBiz | 12:38 PM
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