If you read blogs at all you probably heard of ReviewMe by now (maybe  here, Here, Or perhaps here).  There really is no need to me for explain what it is... but I will anyway... why?  Because I need to write 200 words or more to get my cut of $25,000.   That's right this blog post is bought and paid for... $30 to be exact.

What is it?
So, first of all what is ReviewMe?  ReviewMe is a pay per blog post advertising service.  Like other pay per post services ReviewMe pays a commission to blogger that post on a particular topic.  Unlike these other services ReviewME requires that the poster disclose that the post is sponsored and they do not require that the post is positive.  Also unlike other such systems ReviewMe doesn't allow every blogger to post on every review topic.  Instead ReviewMe has established a per post price for every blog (my post price is $60, I get $30).  An advertiser can then decide if they want to pay that much to have a review written on that blog.  The only requirement is that the post be 200 words or more.

Is that ethical?
Well, if you look to your right (my left) you will see a ads (if your screen width is > 800 px).  These ads generate some petty cash for me (very petty).  So in a way this blog is already sponsored.  Now you know that the ads on the right do not influence my posts so you are probably very comfortable with that.  What about paid posts?  Well, let's think about my type of blog for a moment.  I don't blog that often.  Most of my posts are the ever mediocre links of the week.  Other then that I usually post about a my programming projects, a blogging tip, or a skeptical rant.  Most of the posts I write do not drive repeat traffic.  Visitors come to my site for one purpose and one posts.  That means mostly only people seeking information on a particular topic visit my site.  Most people will never see any of the sponsored posts unless they are specifically looking for information on that topic.

But also scattered around my blog are a few product reviews.  These posts usually contain an affiliation link.  So if you click on the product I may earn some more petty cash (again not much).  So in a fashion these posts are already bought, and bought very cheaply I might add.  Do these posts influence my opinion?  Obviously not otherwise my blog would be filled with them.

So the ethical question is should I accept sponsored posts of significant value?  Is that ethical?  Well, let's look around the world for a while.  Sports stars are paid to sip the latest sports drink.  All television shows have sponsors commercials.  Just about every major Internet site has a high priced adverting deal.   In all of these cases there is usually a high paid advertisement sales staff behind the deal.  In my opinion ReviewMe is simply an advertising sales staff for the small time blogger.

Will it work?
Well, actually, I think it will not work for me and my blog.  First of all ReviewMe requires the advertiser to find the blog.  That means advertisers have to look though all the blogs on the ReviewMe site and for some reason feel that having a post on my blog is worth $60.  Now lets say they do (silly them) and they offer to sponsor a post.  I will not be writing any reviews unless I think I have something interesting to say... good or bad.  I doubt I will  receive many requests for reviews and if I do most will not be interesting to me.  And believe me it has to be pretty interesting to get me to write 200 words.

Another reason I think ReviewMe will not work is that the posts are not required to be positive.  For me freedom to write negative reviews is a requirement for my participation.  But if you are an advertisers looking for blogs to have review your product/service would you pay for a post on a blog with a history of bad reviews.  I suspect most advertisers will not.  I think pretty soon bloggers taht post bad reviews will find that they don't get offers.

So, I have signed up for ReviewMe.  I'll collect my $30 for this post and see what happens.  I'm not boking it in my monthly budget just yet.

**is this 200 words already?**