This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on July 14, 2009 1:21 AM.
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Remember years ago, when the Marqui people paid me to just mention their service once a week? Man, that was good eatin'. The checks, drawn on a Canadian bank, weren't super-easy to cash, but there was a way.
Since then, the "pay-to-blog" pipeline has dried up. I have splendid advertisers, whose generosity helps defray the cost of this blog, but nobody offering to sneak me a case of this or that, or some dead Presidents, just to say something nice about the goods and services they peddle.
Apparently other bloggers are more fortunate than I, and are cashing in nicely by offering "reviews" of stuff in exchange for payola from the makers and sellers of said stuff. This article in yesterday's Times sheds some light on the practice, and notes that the Federal Trade Commission is planning to start regulating that kind of blogging under its truth-in-advertising rules.
Oh, dear. I don't want to be regulated. I just want a case of Eberle red wine every now and then, a free pass on everything Clear and DirecTV sell, a grand here and there for a positive review of the latest smart phone, and a week a year to collect my thoughts on life in the fast lane in Las Vegas. Is that so much to ask?
Comments (5)
The Oregonian ought to be paying you for leads.
If you start hawking Sham-Wows or bragging about innovation at the Port of Portland I'll make BlueOregon my homepage.
Because propaganda is more heartfelt when Kari writes it.
I've written car magazine articles for years and free stuff is standard practice in the business. Getting the parts for free really is the only practical way for the system to work. The pay from the article often wouldn't cover the cost of the parts so if the parts weren't free then the writer would lose money on each article.
There is of course a conflict of interest but I don't know of any way to avoid it. If I'm provided with parts that don't work I usually just return them and don't mention them. Sometimes I'll damn them with very faint praise while the good parts get the praise laid on extra thick. The readers have to learn the code.
On a somewhat related note, I just finished up my first book. The book project was a lot higher profile project than any magazine article so the part flow stepped up.
Now, how about the income tax implications of those free parts? Ignore them? Declare them at full retail price? How about wholesale price? Or maybe a mfg cost since that is what the mfg writes them off at?
An iPhone application I wrote went on sale just before the Fourth of July and I sent out codes for free downloads out to reviewers. Last week I got back an email from one site that offered "expedited reviews" for $100. No guarantee of a good review, mind you, but if you didn't like the review they'd pull it. I'm fairly certain they're not doing that to the large application developers.
And yeah, a certain amount of stuff is standard for reviewers. As a book reviewer, you get lots of unsolicited material, and most of that's just going to get sold to Powell's or somewhere else. It's one of the perks of the job. But you've got to have some standards.
The common practice of posting a graphical ad or a link to an online retailer — and getting commissions for any sales from it — would be enough to trigger oversight.
Obviously, this includes use of AdSense or similar widgets to help defray the costs associated with running a blog.
Interestingly, the feds remain silent thus far on the question of whether or not costs incurred in the course of running a blog can be deducted from the proceeds derived from any ad revenue.
Now, that said, I've always wondered whether the ads on your blog generate sufficient return to defray in any significant manner the costs that you incur in maintaining your blog, Jack. Speaking from my own experience, I'm going to guess that they don't.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Hope Larson - A Wrinkle in Time, the Graphic Novel
Rudyard Kipling - Kim
Peter Ames Carlin - Bruce
Fran Cannon Slayton - When the Whistle Blows
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 29
At this date last year: 66
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (5)
The Oregonian ought to be paying you for leads.
If you start hawking Sham-Wows or bragging about innovation at the Port of Portland I'll make BlueOregon my homepage.
Because propaganda is more heartfelt when Kari writes it.
Posted by Mister Tee | July 14, 2009 5:43 AM
What about those of us who have no problems with sending you free stuff with no expectation of blogging compensation? What do we do then?
Posted by Texas Triffid Ranch | July 14, 2009 7:29 AM
I've written car magazine articles for years and free stuff is standard practice in the business. Getting the parts for free really is the only practical way for the system to work. The pay from the article often wouldn't cover the cost of the parts so if the parts weren't free then the writer would lose money on each article.
There is of course a conflict of interest but I don't know of any way to avoid it. If I'm provided with parts that don't work I usually just return them and don't mention them. Sometimes I'll damn them with very faint praise while the good parts get the praise laid on extra thick. The readers have to learn the code.
On a somewhat related note, I just finished up my first book. The book project was a lot higher profile project than any magazine article so the part flow stepped up.
Now, how about the income tax implications of those free parts? Ignore them? Declare them at full retail price? How about wholesale price? Or maybe a mfg cost since that is what the mfg writes them off at?
Posted by andy | July 14, 2009 8:40 AM
An iPhone application I wrote went on sale just before the Fourth of July and I sent out codes for free downloads out to reviewers. Last week I got back an email from one site that offered "expedited reviews" for $100. No guarantee of a good review, mind you, but if you didn't like the review they'd pull it. I'm fairly certain they're not doing that to the large application developers.
And yeah, a certain amount of stuff is standard for reviewers. As a book reviewer, you get lots of unsolicited material, and most of that's just going to get sold to Powell's or somewhere else. It's one of the perks of the job. But you've got to have some standards.
Posted by darrelplant | July 14, 2009 9:00 AM
This sad little story broke on 22 June; I read about it here: http://www.openmarket.org/2009/06/22/ftc-to-monitor-bloggers-for-undisclosed-compensation/
The common practice of posting a graphical ad or a link to an online retailer — and getting commissions for any sales from it — would be enough to trigger oversight.
Obviously, this includes use of AdSense or similar widgets to help defray the costs associated with running a blog.
Interestingly, the feds remain silent thus far on the question of whether or not costs incurred in the course of running a blog can be deducted from the proceeds derived from any ad revenue.
Now, that said, I've always wondered whether the ads on your blog generate sufficient return to defray in any significant manner the costs that you incur in maintaining your blog, Jack. Speaking from my own experience, I'm going to guess that they don't.
Posted by Max | July 14, 2009 10:04 AM