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For love of money: the death of the blogosphere

Scobleizer chimes in after the Federated Media / Microsoft dustup over the weekend, asking why its “ok” for some tech-pundit types to sell their voices and not for others. Roberts asks the key question: would Leo Laporte be talking about GoToMyPC if they weren’t paying him? Likely not.

Blogging and the blogosphere began with an implicit promise: that those who participated did so for the love of their community and interests, not for a paycheck, and that what they wrote was an honest snapshot of their opinions.

That promise defined the blogosphere: it created a fifth estate characterized by passion, opinions, and a chorus of overlapping, contradictory views - all in marked contrast to the dry, “objective,” produced mainstream media. That promise has encouraged millions to join “the” conversation as authors, free to be honest to themselves; those honest author’s personalities, opinions, and insights have created the world’s biggest reader base.

There are successful bloggers out there, however, that seem to have lost sight of what it means to be a blogger - presumably swept up in the opportunities of success. Can Leo Laporte sell his voice? Sure - I consider him MSM, living principally in TV and Radio, and thus compromised by the very nature of those industries. Can Michael A. and Om Malik shill whatever they want? Sure - go ahead. But when you do, your failing yourself and your readers, breaking the promise that you made to the blogosphere to speak your mind - not advertiser’s. Its disappointing to see.

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