Comments on: Mad Crowd Media, The Concluding Post

By: backpacking philippines

backpacking philippines — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 05:10:56 +0000

I was late to learn about this issue due to my spotty dsl connection lately

paid advertisements, common to mainstream media, is now the norm, not the exception. I still read some of them but taken with a grain of salt. Misleading many people indeed still unaware of the “normal” advertising world. Not all media people are like that though. There are still true journalists out there making a difference against unethical writers.

Photography also has that problem. Photojournalists sticking with a strict no photo manipulation against some photographers using photoshop on models to achieve perfect pictures or food photographers taking pictures of fake food that looks so diffrent from the real food served to customers. again, taken with a grain of salt

I adhere to no paid reviews policy on my blog, but I rely on Adsense and banners to earn a little on the side. I need money to travel :P

I’m one of those bloggers always ranting about those payola-ridden lifestyle shows on tv and print media, now i see them on blogs :(

By: ems

ems — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:53:20 +0000

thank you for making a very strong stand on this issue, and speaking out. it’s when people like you do this that us readers remain confident in the blogs that we read.

By: corrrine

corrrine — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:11:41 +0000

“That new media had different rules. Excuse me for wondering how technology would change the concept of right or wrongâ€¦”
A thousand “AMENS” to this, MM. How could it? Never!

Also, one can just imagine how organizations and their ad agencies should rack their brains to respond to that thought provoking article in Newsweek dated June 13, 2005 entitled, “The end of Ads?” Did it ever occur to them that the reason why MM has a large following because aside from the good quality of content, his blog has no ads? It’s like watching tv without the ads…heaven!

By: xkwzt

xkwzt — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:29:49 +0000

Shooting off on a tangent– the rant was effective because it was crafted with organized thought, was well-phrased, and provided sufficient documentation. Nevermind the rabble-rousing rants of other blogs which provide a quick haha in one’s long day; I think your intelligent audience appreciated that you gave voice to a common frustration. Sometimes I think it’s not the fervor that’s lacking in us, but the eloquence and the fluency to bleed color and breathe life into the passions that beat within. And you, MM, have creative juices flowing madly every which way; and we truly adore you for it.

By: wewe

wewe — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 06:41:47 +0000

hello MM,

i am a big fan of your blog and the one thing that i like about it is that it is not littered with advertising. it presents an honest-to-goodness opinion about food. i hate food blogs that are filled with advertising spaces which take half the space of the blog instead of the blog subject itself.

congratulations for being true to yourself. you truly inspire us new foodies out there who are starting our own food blog as well. may God bless you and your family.

By: dizzy

dizzy — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 05:56:40 +0000

Thank you, Mr. MM, for exposing this ongoing practice. I am under the impression, sadly, that there are very few who, like you, would find paid posts unethical. I gathered this from the way MCM approached you, and later on, had no qualms defending making such offers. My guess is, it’s possible that this practice has been deemed acceptable by bloggers who espouse “making money out of your blog”. Not all, but a significant number, I suppose. Disturbing, really, how money, freebies and favored treatment can warp people’s sense of right and wrong. I hope that readers will be more discerning when searching for food, product and restaurant reviews.

And here lies the blogging community’s dilemma: bloggers want to be taken seriously, and yet many feel that the same rules on ethics, fairness and objectivity don’t apply to them.

By: cumin

cumin — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 05:31:34 +0000

I’m glad the ad agency replied. I’m not naive, but even so I was shocked at how kapal the MCM letters were — both the original requests as well as the subsequent justification/defense. Thanks for making a stand, MM. Maybe the bloggers group that organises the annual awards could also organise a forum where bloggers can debate on a code of conduct?

By: BD

BD — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:31:20 +0000

If silence means yes, Nestle’s board should take notice of this and take a hard long look at their governance before the major news org pick this up. This is serious violation of their corporate code of business conduct that applies to their Philippine subsidiary. If Nestle Philippines does not write an apology to this blog in the next couple of days, expect a link of this blog to be sent to their corporate communication and legal departments in Vevey, Switzerland.

By: ajienaissant

ajienaissant — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 02:26:14 +0000

uhmmm… i cant go back and edit so please ignore the first sentence of my comment. I learned another lesson, read before you press submit ^_^

By: ria

ria — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 02:26:00 +0000

sigh.