Selling my Soul or Entering Reality

By Ian, on November 11th, 2006

This post is sponsored by ReviewMe

This is an experiment. How do those words at the top make me feel? I am 40, have been a journalist for seven years, a website author for eight years, but a blogger for less than six months. This is how it has worked when it came to professional magazine reviews — I’ve been lucky, having entered the profession at the editor position and therefore having had a lot of control over what I did.

(a) I chose the stuff I wanted to review. I reviewed it positively or negatively as I saw fit. If it’s rubbish, I call it.

(b) I have never written an advertorial that did not appear clearly marked as advertorial. But I have written advertorials.

So ReviewMe — a new service that pays hacks like me to review ‘stuff’ to order. You can be positive or negative, and have to declare your financial interest. How do I feel about it?

Well, I guess it comes down to the reasons why you want to blog. I set up this blog as a personal database. After a while, I realised it had an audience. I started to find people and have conversations with people as a consequence. The blog started to become a personal network, a soapbox and an information base for my own purposes. I’m also trying to use it for career progression. It’s my online CV, to a much greater degree than linkedin and so forth can provide. So those words at the top, “This review is sponsored by ReviewMe”…

How does ReviewMe affect that? I only really have meanderings about that.

My readers matter more to me than the money. I haven’t carried adverts for a while, but decided that was a bit silly and am hoping to have some soon. None of my readers would stop reading the publications or blogs they like on that basis, I think.
It makes this blog more like a publication but is it less of a personal conversation? That’s the bit I find pretty hard. I’m not really here for the money, but if I can get some… fuck it. Nothing will change in that regard, I can’t do it.
If I get feedback that this is shit, and “I thought you were with us, Ian, but now I realise that you’re just a stooge for the MAN”, then I will stop.
When I read a magazine I like, I normally flick past the ads to the articles I like. It doesn’t stop me liking the magazine. Can a blog be like that?

Sometimes, as a magazine writer, the ad-guy or girl comes up to you and says “I’d really appreciate it if you talked about PRODUCTX next issue. It could really help us.”

I say, “I will if it’s interesting.” That remains my policy.