Intermission - The Golden Donkey

The Golden Donkey is the newest of awards. It's given to an elite group of naysayers who blog very insulting and inflammatory remarks about PayPerPost. The thing is, they don't have a clue what they're talking about. They have uninformed and uneducated opinions. The only thing they do have going for them is a website or blog that has a large reader base to soak up all the gossip and rumors. The likes of David Berkowitz and Mike Arrington have blogged in this manner, though it's obvious they haven't done their homework.

You can read all about The Golden Donkey award that is being awarded to Mr. Berkowitz at PayPerPost's blog. It's an enlightening article and you'll learn the real facts surrounding sponsored or paid posts on blogs. You'll also learn some other things, such as how this form of advertising is many times more effective than running other sorts of ads on the Web.

As far as advertising goes, you find it everywhere. Even in a movie such as those I post about here, you'll find brand name items such as Reese's Pieces or Coca Cola included in the movie. Those aren't there by accident. They are sponsored. Not only do advertisers use movies for getting their name out to the consumers, they use television, and I don't just mean commercials that are the obvious interrupters of our viewing. Products can actually be placed after the show is filmed. A box of Ritz crackers on a kitchen table can just as easily be replaced by a box of Golden Grahams or some other brand name item. While the characters don't actively use or promote the item that's been digitally inserted, the audience does still see it.

Because we do live in a digital age, it's only natural that advertisers want to expand their base and have begun to use blog marketing as a way to get their name and their product in front of people. Adding a link to a blog post, or to hundreds of blog posts, is a great way to spread the word and generate traffic, and it's cost effective as far as the advertising budget is concerned. It's even more effective if the posts surrounding the sponsored post also relate to the advertised topic. The flow is more natural and the results are better.

The Golden Donkey, therefore, goes for those who aren't forward thinking enough to realize this is an honest and viable way for advertisers and writers to come together.

Who would you give such an award to and why? I've been thinking about that question myself. I'd give it to the district manager where I work for harassing us at our store and withholding repairs of much needed equipment when, in fact, we are the number one store in the district for sales and other areas of business. I'd give it to him for treating our store like the red-headed step-child of our group.