molly.com
Friday 28 January 2005
marqui: challenging the model
A HIGHLIGHT OF the Blog Business Summit was meeting the folks from Marqui and being able to talk to them face to face about their marketing goals.
Much of the discussion surrounding Marqui’s approach to paying bloggers as a means for marketing a product have been profoundly controversial. A major argument against Marqui’s approach has been the concern that despite their desire to be “transparent” doesn’t necessarily represent other companies that might try to do the same thing. That, along with the fact that some bloggers might not fully disclose what they are doing and why.
Certainly, we should always question new approaches. I question the entire approach myself, for numerous reasons which I’ll go into over time. But tonight I want to point out that sometimes there is no better way to measure the integrity of how a company works than by its people. This week, I had the good fortune to meet some Marqui folks face to face. And I have to tell the naysayers out there: If you haven’t met this group, you need to.
Most people have good bullshit detectors. I like to think mine is, at this point in my life, pretty well refined. Every interaction I had with Marqui during the Blog Business Summit was honest, fun, genuine. These folks aren’t out to take anything away, if anything, they’ve been putting their own product out there in a way that challenges our beliefs about what marketing on the web is, and what is should be.
Interestingly, when I returned home, there was a call from Google (a company I also respect greatly) wanting to talk to me about adding Google ad options to molly.com. It’s getting difficult in light of the popularity of this blog to not begin thinking in terms of how to support the hours I spend on maintaining it. I have extremely mixed feelings about this, and yet contrary to popular opinion, writing books does not typically make one rich. Or even able to make the mortgage payment.
So, advertising has a place. Whether its place is here on my site, I’m not entirely convinced. But I also can’t help but be interested in improving my own financial circumstances. I want to do it with integrity, and with companies that have integrity, such as Marqui or Google. If I do it at all over the long term.
Let me ask you, dear readers, which you would prefer:
- Clearly marked advertorials from Marqui no more than four times a month
- Google ad options
- Conventional web advertising
- All of the above
- None of the above
Have a different opinion, or a concern or question? Sound it out here.
Filed under: professional, blogging, blog slut
Posted by: Molly | 11:19 pm |
January 29th, 2005 at 4:25 am
Was that your Marqui quota for the week and how much did you get for it?
It’s not really up to us - the occasional readers of your site - but yourself to decide how you best make your way in the world. I would not have thought any reasonable person would take umbridge at any of the methods you have cited.
January 29th, 2005 at 5:53 am
This is a difficult question. To advertise (in any form) on a blog is controversial. I know people that would immediately leave a blog that carried ads.
I would think that as long as the “sponsored postings” were marked and/or the google ads were invisible to a printer, you would maintain most of your readership.
Personally, I would continue to read your blog under those conditions.
Thanks for asking!
January 29th, 2005 at 6:06 am
I, for one, would rather have the Marqui model.
Google ads take up space that was devoted to content and are omnipresent. They’ve reached the ignorability of banner ads.
Banner ads are too ignorable and ruin a beautiful visual design.
The Marqui model is much more of a marketing technique and much less of an advertisement. I have found that I agree with Molly on many topics and would love to be able to ask her opinion on every web product I was going to try. This method is quite transparent enough for me and as long as the general consensus is that Marqui isn’t trying to slip something by and we’re really worried about how other companies are going to abuse the same technique, then I’ll worry about that when it starts.
I agree with Molly, it’s a way of trying something new out to see how it works. Plus, unlike ads, I can choose whether or not to even read them since they’re clearly labeled and not stuck poking out of “unbiased” Molly commentary (quotes because I don’t believe her post-vertisements have been influenced by Marui). Now if only that were true with the other ad revenue methods mentioned above.
Keep it up, Molly! I’ll even read the Marqui posts because I am looking for info on CMS tools and I’m interested in how a veteran sees one.
January 29th, 2005 at 7:16 am
Advertising on one’s site is a reflection of the image that one is trying to portray. Any advertising or marketing quickly turns it into something more than just a personal site. I feel the content that I get (a paid review of a product is a-ok) is worth the cost (the ads that I see). You have to be careful then to draw the line between the personal and business information that you provide and how you provide it.
January 29th, 2005 at 7:18 am
Thanks for asking, Molly. The question deserves lots of thought. Seems to me that blogs are still evolving. I see lots of Google Ad Sense ads around. They don’t bother me at all anymore, though they did at first.
I can’t help but feel that you’re going to have to decide if you want your blog to tilt towards an evolving blog review format (a sort of e-magazine) or not. Magazines are supported by advertising. While most decry it, advertising dollars influence which products get full reviews in most magazines that do product reviews.
You have devoted a fair amount of your monthly space to Marqui. You have to decide what proportion of your time and space to devote to product reviews.
If you go with too high a proportion, I might read you less, unless I’m interested in the subjects. I was interested enough in Marqui to read what you’ve written. But if you had 3 or 4 such contracts at a time, I doubt I’d read them all. And you would be becoming a professional reviewer. Is that what you want to do with your blog?
January 29th, 2005 at 8:41 am
[…] ommons License.
January 29, 2005
The ethics of
Molly has asked an interesting question of her guests and readers: Let me ask you, dear rea […]
January 29th, 2005 at 9:12 am
I’d rather read about a sponsor in THIS context (”These are my sponsors. They’re good people and they support this site.”) than in the context where you talk about a product you’re not that interested in. In fact this is the only Marqui post on any weblog that has actually increased my respect for Marqui.
Barring that, I’d rather see Google ads.
The thing that continually strikes me about Marqui is that it’s a CMS - something you could run a site on, like a weblog, right? Movable Type is a CMS, and Wordpress is a CMS. Both of them are talked about on all kinds of weblogs constantly, because webloggers use them, and are interested in them. Marqui is talked about because webloggers are paid to talk about it. This does not give me any confidence in Marqui, all of the “buzz” seems very fake.
I have lots of experience with Google ads and conventional advertising on various sites. I could probably give you a good estimate of how much you’d make with those if you email me with a rough idea of how much traffic (unique users per day) you have here.
January 29th, 2005 at 10:53 am
You might want to look at what John Gruber is doing (http://daringfireball.net/2005/01/promotional_consideration) to make his blog more self-sustaining.
January 30th, 2005 at 3:32 am
Patronage
Nearly 2 months into my 3-month Marqui sponsorship, so I thought I’d write down some of my thoughts at this point…
January 3rd, 2007 at 6:00 pm
We have recently tried the exact same thing and almost immediately it yielded excellent results.
May 21st, 2007 at 10:52 pm
http://www.sh-scpv.com/ pump
http://www.sh-scpv.com/ china pump
May 22nd, 2007 at 1:43 am
http://www.sh-scpv.com/Diaphragm-Pumps.html Diaphragm Pumps
http://www.sh-scpv.com/Screw-Pumps.html Screw Pumps
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Hello! Good Site! Thanks you! wqepzdslrh
August 8th, 2007 at 2:07 am
purchase celebrex
Trackback
August 19th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
purchase sibutramine
Trackback
August 23rd, 2007 at 8:07 am
ionamin
Trackback
August 23rd, 2007 at 2:36 pm
discount ionamin
Trackback
August 26th, 2007 at 4:23 am
Hello
Need sex with local girls click here aarens dating directory online services
http://aarensdatingdirectoryonlineservic.blogspot.com
G’night
August 26th, 2007 at 4:33 am
Hello
Need sex with local girls click here aarens dating directory online services
http://aarensdatingdirectoryonlineservic.blogspot.com
Bye
October 25th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
wet ass
hello
October 30th, 2007 at 12:05 am
busty shots
hello
October 30th, 2007 at 12:41 am
busty secretary
hello
October 30th, 2007 at 1:27 am
busty pornstars
hello
October 30th, 2007 at 1:57 am
busty passion
hello
October 30th, 2007 at 2:12 am
busty nurse
hello
October 30th, 2007 at 2:40 am
busty moms
hello
October 30th, 2007 at 2:57 am
busty mom
hello
October 30th, 2007 at 3:12 am
busty models
hello
October 30th, 2007 at 4:36 am
busty lesbian
hello
October 30th, 2007 at 5:21 am
busty japanese
hello
October 30th, 2007 at 5:37 am
busty indian
hello
October 30th, 2007 at 6:59 am
busty fuck
hello
October 30th, 2007 at 7:14 am
busty ebony
hello
October 30th, 2007 at 7:28 am
busty dusty
hello
October 30th, 2007 at 7:36 am
busty cops
hello
October 30th, 2007 at 7:53 am
busty chicks
hello
October 30th, 2007 at 9:07 am
busty blowjob
hello
November 7th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
lipitor online
Blog
December 5th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
discount lortab
Trackback
December 12th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
cheap accutane
Trackback
December 13th, 2007 at 8:13 am
buy accutane on line
Trackback
December 14th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
best price accutane
Trackback
December 14th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
generic accutane
Trackback
December 15th, 2007 at 1:33 am
lowest accutane price
Trackback
December 15th, 2007 at 7:20 am
buy acomplia
Trackback
December 15th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
buy acomplia on line
Trackback
December 16th, 2007 at 10:59 am
free asian pofree asian porn web sites byeyumii
December 17th, 2007 at 6:17 am
generic acomplia online
Trackback
December 17th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
drug propecia
Trackback
January 3rd, 2008 at 3:57 pm
payday online
Trackback
January 4th, 2008 at 2:59 am
I was looking for sites about buy acomplia via Google, and your this page (’marqui: challenging the model’) was in results. Not very relevant, but still interesting to read
January 6th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
cash advance ca
Trackback
January 7th, 2008 at 1:48 am
cash advance arizona
Trackback
January 8th, 2008 at 8:34 am
payday advance arizona
Trackback
January 8th, 2008 at 9:01 am
payday advance nv
Trackback
January 8th, 2008 at 10:27 am
payday advance nevada
Trackback
January 8th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
payday advance de
Trackback
January 8th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
payday advance mi
Trackback
January 8th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
payday advance massachusetts
Trackback
January 17th, 2008 at 2:09 am
cash advance california
Trackback
January 17th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
cash advance massachusetts
Trackback
January 17th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
cash advance ninnesota
Trackback
January 18th, 2008 at 6:25 am
cash advance virginia
Trackback
January 18th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
buy aciphex
Blog
January 20th, 2008 at 8:32 am
100% guarantee cash advance
Trackback
January 30th, 2008 at 5:12 am
Antiepilepticos
Trackback
February 9th, 2008 at 4:00 am
where can i buy valium in the uk
Trackback
February 13th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
ephedra 50 mg
Trackback
February 14th, 2008 at 7:03 am
buy vicodin in the uk
Trackback
February 14th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
order vicodin si
Trackback
February 16th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
buy ephedra products
Trackback
February 16th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
ephedra plants for sale
Trackback
February 16th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
ephedra pxs
Trackback
February 17th, 2008 at 4:08 am
buy liquid ephedra
Trackback
February 21st, 2008 at 2:26 am
buying vicodin online legal
Trackback
February 21st, 2008 at 8:20 am
side effects of vicodin
Trackback
February 26th, 2008 at 4:31 am
www.89iz.com
February 26th, 2008 at 4:32 am
www.89iz.com
February 26th, 2008 at 4:33 am
yotube
April 7th, 2008 at 2:05 am
it is easy to find it, i think u just search on google or yahoo
April 8th, 2008 at 6:05 am
but, i think it is another thing which you have
April 8th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
i like it
April 8th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
interesting, thanks
April 9th, 2008 at 6:18 am
do you know everything about css?
April 9th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
how can i find everything about css?
April 10th, 2008 at 4:54 am
what do you want to learn about css? we can help easily
April 11th, 2008 at 8:12 am
i want learn too, i want start at the beginning of css
April 11th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
it is good t see u
April 21st, 2008 at 6:20 pm
thats the matter i want to learn
April 21st, 2008 at 10:29 pm
ok,thanks
April 24th, 2008 at 5:47 am
hi, umit. how is going on