Tuesday 19 August 2014

THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OG BLOG MONETISATION


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



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]