John Hawkins of Right Wing News
slams Pajamas Media:
I mean I understand that some people may love the idea of getting a "guaranteed salary," but is it really guaranteed? Keep in mind, they haven't even gotten started yet, so who's to say they'll even be in business in a year? Take it from me, people, I was running a humor zine on the net back when the tech bubble burst and all the advertising money dried up. There were a lot of people making "guaranteed" money then, too. Guess what? The advertising agencies paying them had to default because there simply were no ad dollars rolling in. Don't think the exact same thing can't happen with Pajamas Media, because it can.
Furthermore, even though Charles & Roger are both talented and successful bloggers, in the world of internet advertising, they're totally unproven rookies starting a brand spanking new company. And start-ups are tough business under the best circumstances. The reality is that most of them don't make it. That's not a slam at Charles and Roger, because they're both sharp guys and I certainly hope they do succeed because the more competition there is for blogger advertising space, the more all of us stand to make in the future.
But right now, Pajamas Media has a very short and unimpressive track record, they're being very secretive (What's going on with syndication and Marc Danziger?), and they're looking for some very long commitments. Until that changes, Blogads is probably the better deal for Bloggers.
Well, you know this is pretty much what I've been saying. If you don't know, my earlier posts are
here,
here,
here, and
here. My main post is the second one, which has a LOT of comments. There are excellent comments in the third one too. It's quite striking that so many people keep telling me to decide on my own whether to take it or leave it and not blog about it. People keep saying they don't understand why I'm blogging about it. Here's one of my (many) responses to this doggedly repeated point ("It's not like PM is with a gun to a blogger's head saying join with us or else. Isn't that what a free market is all about?"):
The reason we're talking about it is that offers are going out which, if you accept, bind you for a year. We're thinking out loud about whether to accept the offer. This thinking out loud is part of the marketplace. You, like many others, are saying: each individual blogger should just decide whether to take it or leave it and not share our analysis with others who are weighing offers. To that, I say: no, no, no, no, no! Let's share analysis. Let's do it in public. This is a market too! The marketplace of ideas. I'm saying: talk about it!
Posts
7 comments:
Eddie: They weren't inviting me to join them at the managment level. Telling me I'm at their level just reminds me why I found the offer insulting! They wanted to put me at a low level, not on a par with them. Really, your comment makes no sense to me. Why would signing on at a low level put me in some special position to take advantage. There's no bargaining position to be gained by locking in for a year!
I won't delve into anyone's personal psychology on the issue, but it's safe to say that bloggers are independent people. So I think a discussion is a good idea, regardless if PM or another blogger starts it, because PM's model, if I understand it, would fundamentally change the nature of personal blogging.
I had assumed PM would have a big general meeting in LA sometime to explain what the business is and what they hope to do, meet everybody, share ideas, schmooze...but I guess not.
The vibe of this discussion mirrors discussions people have about their salaries vis-a-vis their employer. People are clearly uncomfortable about this, and I frankly employers take advantage of peoples discomfort. It's not as there weren't metrics that grade people's performance!
I feel the same thing here; I care about a companies busness model precisely where it intrudes on my business model, where it makes demands on me, where it makes assumptions about me and my behavior and what I want to do, and leaves a lot of things in the dark!
I still stick by Ann's objections.
This topic is too "inside money ball" for me. With all due respect, I am not interested in the financial perils of Ann Althouse and her tough choice.. though I enjoy her website. Just like I love baseball but abhor the unavoidable talk and chatter regarding player salaries and other of its economics issues.
Well, I still can't believe bloggers make money off their blogs at all. All I have to do to form a new stream of income is get in the habit of linking to newspaper articles and call it a blog? It seems absurd to me.. does not seem a damn thing like art, as Ann has repeatedly maintained, and makes this whining about disrespect and being put in "lower levels" seem all the more vulgar. I'm offended that you make money off this is at all, Althouse. It seems many of your other readers feel the same way. I'd let go of your crusade against Pajamas before you lose all your readers, along with your unnecessary, ridiculous extraneous income. Mm..
As Roaring Tiger said, Ploopusgirl (Ploopusgirl? sounds like Barney's girlfriend),...
...I can't tell if your indigant attitude to Ann making money off of her blog is genuine outrage, or a winkie-smiley half-troll (as calling her a butch-sounding "Althouse" may indicate).
What's up, what's the deal?
Are you really that irate such a thing as profit is to be had from readership of a blog?
Do you rip apart newspapers and MSM doing the same, when they sell ad space based on reader/viewer eyeballs?
What's the difference between them, and Ann Althouse et. al., other than the fact that the Highest Beings-to-Large Mammal crowd tend to be more accurate, more topical, and more willing to listen to viewpoints.
Which in fact, is precisely what Ann is doing.
Now, I have no concrete opinions on the case of "PJM v. BlogAds", because I am simply not in the Reynolds or Althouse league (and I don't like to clutter my blog with the more accessible Google ones), but I do feel that she has a right to voice her opinions about this topic, since it has helped more than one major blogger think about the switch, and all its ramifications.
What would you suggest these Big Bloggers do instead? Talk about it at the Big Secret The Truth Laid Bear Meeting? Conduct an email-a-thon privately, so that no one learns the ins-and-outs of such business, and makes mistakes which could've been avoided if not for frank open discussion?
Further, I don't see anything wrong with a blog owner finding any business offer insulting.
Some people have a sense of worth, and yes, it could be their sense of worth is inflated, or even wrong, but that never stopped people from asking their boss for a raise, now has it?
This just in -- America is a Capitalist country.
Don't you get spiteful just because some people have built a better mousetrap.
Cheers,
Victoria
Mr. Pundit: Read the comments in the second post in my series of posts. After I wrote my first post, Roger Simon called me, but he didn't provide any helpful information and in fact, when I talked about my concerns, he hung up on me. I've exchanged emails with him about it too, even after he hung up on me. There is a distinct withholding of information.
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