Guy kwacks

I'm a regular reader of Guy Kawasaki's blog. If you're a reader too, you'll know why. If you're not, give it a go. I'm often in awe of the density of ideas in his posts, and his easy and accessible manner. (I'm still working on "easy and accessible", but can still only manage "whiny" at best.)

But I'm concerned about this post, specifically point 4. An intelligent and knowledgable blogger, Guy goes and proves that he is, in the end, just a clogger at heart. He says:

In case you hadn't noticed, most bloggers don't make a lot of money from their blogging efforts. Thus, samples of your product, t-shirts, tickets to the Stanley Cup Finals, etc can go a long way. I'm not saying you can buy bloggers, but you can make them happy pretty easily. Dollar for dollar, schwag for bloggers is one of the best marketing investments.

I know this is a point I've laboured, but the fine line between impartial reporting and chequebook journalism is a fine one. Freebies - sorry, 'review units' and 'lunch briefings' - have always been a perk of being a journo (and one I'm still smarting from giving up).

For Guy to support the practice of buying favours from bloggers just underlines the vital part the 'traditional' media continues to play in protecting public opinion.

I don't blame him for making the point as, sadly, he's right. I just hope his readers exercise caution when trying bribery as a marketing tool.

Tagged: Guy Kawasaki blogging ethics clog