INTRODUTION
The possible monetisation of
blogging has caused uproar amongst many within the blogosphere. The distaste
for this possibility comes with many concerns that may kill the very essence of
blogging in and of itself. This assignment will discuss the negative impacts on
monetisation of blogging. A definition of monetisation of blogging will be given
below as well as the impact on the quality of the content, the type of content
allowed on the blog, readership membership, distrust amongst readers, and the
feel of the blog itself.
MONETISATION
OF BLOGGING DEFINED
Monetisation, from the word monetary
which is defined in the Oxford dictionary as being “connected to money”
(Oxford, 2010: 955) is essentially the making of money through the creative
endeavours, personal thoughts, and opinions that have been are continuously
being posted on one’s blog. A blog being a “website where a person writes about
what interests them” (Oxford, 2010: 145). It is published on the World Wide Web
which is free to the user (blogger) and allows discourse on anything and
everything the blogger feels is relevant, interesting, and important to them. The belief that it is
impossible to work with brands without 'selling out’ is a major concern that
comes with the monetisation and the belief that the restrictions that come with
it will make the experience less genuine. The personal control that a
blogger has over their blog is the cornerstone of the core ideals of blogging
and as Friedman has stated (Levinson, 2013: 95) the models followed by
PayPerPost, for example, pertain to the advertiser owning the blogger’s voice
in its totality.
TYPE
OF CONTENT ALLOWED
Monetisation of blogs
through advertising using Google AdSense, PayPerPost, and Amazon Associates are
three of the five general ways that advertisers try to “buy a blogger’s voice
(Friedman, 2007)” (Levinson, 2013: 95) is seen in many of the blogosphere’s
eyes as “soul-selling”. Advertising
is a way for brands who want to align with bloggers while retaining more
control of how they are presented. This
meaning that the blogger’s voice is no longer theirs but instead it is that of
the advertisers. In extreme cases advertisers have stopped bloggers publishing
certain content as it had gone against the ideals of the advertisers’ brand. It
will always be about emulating the brand’s ‘unique’ voice and signing a
contract will be a part of the package deal (http://www.aliciaradeswriter.com/steps-finding-blogger-emulate-brands-voice/).
The stress of always being put on a leash, so to speak, on what type of content
you are allowed to publish on your own- though it is now owned by the
advertisers- blog, will not make it the once personal journey it was in the
beginning. This might show in the content published.
THE
DECLINE OF QUALITY OF CONTENT
A lot of
bloggers publish content that is not particularly focused and very confused and
in the end readers don’t bother reading them. The relevance of the content
published is important as it is the one thing that keeps the reader coming back
for more. In the case of the commercial blogger, Jeff Goins, the majority of
comments on his blog have been that he had “too much advertising” on the blog
itself and also to “concentrate more on content” as it had declined ever since he
had started monetising it. Another commercial blogger, Sarah Wilson, had
blogged “I read blogs because I
love the little window they give me into another person's world. I read blogs
to be inspired, to learn something new, to be entertained and to be moved:
I don't read blogs for a re-worded media release (and I've written plenty of
those in a former life)” (http://www.sarahwilson.com/2012/11/soul-selling-my-position-on-sponsored-posts-advertising/).
Once a blogger generates
traffic, thus making money off of their blog, they tend to loose inspiration to
write and with it the trust of their readers. They are often criticised for promoting or blogging about products or experience
that they themselves would never pay for with their own money and also for
having no integrity as they would and in many cases do blog anything for
freebies (http://hungryaustralian.com/2013/11/bloggers-and-brands-why-were-mostly-doing-it-wrong).
Others have also been accused of fabricating content just to boost readership
membership on their blogs thus in turn making more money.
READERSHIP
MEMBERSHIP
If
advertisements are not placed correctly they can demolish a blog’s readership
tremendously. The utilization of the hated pop-up ads is, according to Eridon,
the top reason of fifteen things people absolutely hate about the monetisation
of websites- mainly blogs (http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/32307/15-Things-People-Absolutely-Hate-About-Your-Website.aspx). These pop-up ads thus distract readers from the actual
content of the blog and are mainly seen as an annoyance by readers too. According to Eridon, it is the top reason
that websites loose traffic and why new visitors abandon it completely. With
the content unfocused and not worth reading in the readers’ eyes they will move on to something
else and probably not return.
BLOG
ATMOSPHERE
There are so
many blogs out there that look like they have been put up purely to make money
and are plastered with ads. Many of the followers may feel that the pop-up ads
are in abundance and may appreciate the lack of ads. The initial atmosphere
presented by the blogger which attracted readers in the first place will become
lost in a cluster of advertisements. The tone created by the placement of
advertisements in blogs will cause the personal nature of the blog to be lost
completely. It will no longer be the personal space that it had initially been
before.
CONCLUSION
This assignment has
discussed why monetisation is incompatible with the ideals of blogging. A clear
definition of monetisation of blogging has been given as well as the type of
content allowed on the blog, impact on the quality of the content, readership
membership, distrust amongst readers, and the blog atmosphere.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Available at: http://hungryaustralian.com/2013/11/bloggers-and-brands-why-were-mostly-doing-it-wrong) [Accessed 14 August 2014]
Available at: http://www.sarahwilson.com/2012/11/soul-selling-my-position-on-sponsored-posts-advertising/
[Accessed 14 August 2014]
Eridon, C.
2012. 15 Things People Hate about Your Website. Available at: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/32307/15-Things-People-Absolutely-Hate-About-Your-Website.aspx [Accessed
14 August 2014]
Levinson, P. 2013. New New
Media. 2nd ed. Pearson. Boston
Oxford Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary: International Students Edition. 8th ed. 2010. Oxford
University Press. New York
Rades, A. 2014.3 Steps to
Finding a Blogger to Emulate your Brand’s Voice. Available at: http://www.aliciaradeswriter.com/steps-finding-blogger-emulate-brands-voice/
[Accessed 14 August 2014]
