This photo comes from flickr user Tom Coates. In the description, he describes his discomfort with people looking at his blog as a marketing vehicle. You should click on the picture to go to his flickr page for the whole story.
He writes, in part:
For as long as I have it up, plasticbag.org will never display anything that I’m asked to display. I will write about my employer only when I want to, when I’m proud of something they or I have done, not when I’m asked. And I will absolutely never talk about something that I receive through a press release, or as a consequence of someone giving me a freebie.
There has to be one place in your life where you’re absolutely resolutely not for sale. For me, that place is my personal site, the representation of me online. I’d no more let someone else compromise that voice than I’d let them tattoo their logo on my children
I’m wrestling with similar issues here at Kellypuffs Central, even though I’m not nearly as popular or famous as plasticbag.org.
We all get spam comments. Yucky, icky spam comments. Hate them, hate them, hate them. I feel no ambivalence here. Spam commenters should be relegated to Dante’s Ninth Circle of Hell.
I had a couple of email requests, one just a couple of days ago, to place advertising on my blog, one from a small company selling promotional goods, and another from a foreign drug company. In neither case did I have any connection with the company or its product, nor was it aligned with any of the topics I usually cover on this blog. So, the answer to those requests was easy ….
NO.
I’ve had a couple of comments on my”IBM is Moving to Littleton” entry from locals, one a local realtor advertising for clients, and one from a homeowner highlighting his house which is for sale in the area. Not nameless, faceless corporate marketing entities, but real-life people looking for another way to advertise their goods and/or services through my blog.
After some soul-searching, I have decided to delete those comments as well, mainly because they didn’t have the courtesy to ask me if I minded my blog being used in that way, nor did they offer me a cut of the proceeds from any business generated from my blog traffic.
Not that I would have accepted it.
I still wrestle with the concept of blog advertising. I still think if the right company came along, with content compatible with the overall tone and message of my blog, I might, MIGHT, consider accepting paid advertisements.
But until such time, I will subscribe to the plasticbag.org credo above.
If I write about something, you can be assured it’s because *I* want to. Because I believe it is important and in line with the kellypuffs brand. NOT because someone else wanted me to.
Because kellypuffs.com is all about me.
You’re not the boss of me.
You can’t tell me what to do.
🙂
Kellypuffs 
I’m reminded of Tevya (Fiddler on the Roof) who is challenged many times by his daughters and the changing world around him. In one poingnent scene he’s trying reason a daughter’s request.
It goes something such as this (with sincere appologies to Sholem Aleichem)
One the one hand “because its all about me” this blog must be free of outside influences as they are not about me,
On the other hand, if I consider those outside influences, then it is still about me, as this is me doing the considering,
But on the other hand, outside influences may conflict with me consideration of outside influences …
Wait, there is no other hand, just, just …
… tradition (couldn’t resist).
freedom to delete
ah it’s a wonderful thing
blogger’s prerogative
the thing is, some people could be put off blogging for the examples you cite. fact is, you do have control of your own blog – you *can* delete, update, modify, and even *edit* comments. if you wanted to be really nasty you could have changed the wording on those spammy comments {evil laugh} but I would not do that, no never…..
🙂
I had to pay 500 bucks to get this article written finally!
lol @ himself – fantastic!
If Himself really had paid 500 bucks, she would only have gone right out and bought a new iPod. And then blogged about it, providing free publicity for Apple. No favouritism here, of course.
I know what you mean about the spam! I was about to write a post the other day and then realised that actually I was getting stupid amounts of spam because the filter wasn’t on lol.
I get ones on my friend’s account recently got hacked. Since then we’ve all recieved spam from him which is really annoying. I am a youth worker and quite alot of my youth group have access to my myspace last thing I want is having rude spam on there.
There’s a little hiccup in there somewhere as it randomly deleted words when i posted how strange!
It should have said “I get rude ones on my MySpace as friend’s account recently got hacked”