First paid blogging, now paid video deal?

First payperpost.com offered bloggers cash for writing about companies and products without requiring the bloggers to reveal their true objective. (Full disclosure: this project is a production of my former employer) A recent Business Week article about them titled "Polluting the Blogosphere" says, among other negative things,"An undisclosed PayPerPost placement on a little-seen blog isn't the most egregious thing out there, but it's far from honest." A great post on a new-to-me blog also condemns the idea.

Now the idea has come to online video.

Read Revver's affiliate marketing scheme in which you, the blogger, the bulletiner (for lack of better word), the emailer, get paid every time someone views a video you blog/bulletin/email and clicks on the ad at the end of the video. The video maker gets paid as well.

Yes, it's nice for those people who create and those who disseminate to get paid, but is that the function of online video, to generate direct revenue? I think it's true value is in pr. If you're a guy who makes funny scripted videos with your friends, the value for you is getting that video seen by millions, not making immediate money from that specific piece of creative content. That will come later. I think the online video market might be overvaluing it's importance in the marketing chain.

For a marketer (which anyone who makes creative content must consider themselves as) online video is a means to an end, the new way to get noticed by industry people, the new way to show you in action in your latest skit or project.

Also, If I posted a revver video here on this blog, now that you know about revver's pay plan, wouldn't you wonder if I was posting it because I really thought it was neat/funny or because I wanted cash? My initial take on this is that I think it deflates the integrity of the blogger/bulletiner/emailer. Source: New York TImes

Mark Baratelli: myspace, personal blog