Hypocritical commentary
I'll hop in here...
I haven't found any bloggers on Marqui and since I am building with it (and since my site is informational) I want to provide visitors with relevant information. I'm not wild about the bloggers who have never used the product writing about it (the posts I've seen are usually talking about talking about Marqui). Either way, though, since I do know I would be writing about it as they are in PDX, why not join the program?
The purism is appreciated... it's healthy. But from this ex-journalist who left the profession when my editor tried to have me attack a coach in print (without basis), I'm less a purist and once again enjoying the art of providing information I believe useful and relevant.
Cheers...
-scrubber
Scrubber,
Thanks for reading. The comments are much appreciated. I always enjoy a thoughtful post.
So, (if I'm reading this right) if you were to get a Marqui deal--you personally--you would be one of the first Marqui bloggers actually using Marqui to blog? This, I find even more interesting. There is a PR opportunity there, if I ever saw one.
Marqui, you listening?
I can only speak for myself, but my decision to leave the Marqui program after the three-month contract ends is not based on backlash, or any of the factors you list above.
I found that my feeling about blogging changed because of the Marqui contract--I felt obligated to post things to balance the Marqui posts, and my blogging suffers when I see it as an obligation.
And while I felt I adequately differentiated the sponsored content, I felt that there was a dangerously slippery slope ahead that I didn't want to tread upon.
Liz,
Thank you so much for stopping by and reading the blog. And thank you even more for responding. Great great great.
I'm glad that my lame attempts at digging into the issue didn't preclude you from providing some much-needed insight. It's really interesting to hear that, with the sponsorship, blogging moved to more of an obligatory task. And when I say obligation, I'm not talking about the obligation to Marqui, mind you, but the obligation you feel to your readers to remain objective and balanced. Very cogent.
Thank you, again, for taking the time.
I can't say if I would be the first or only blogger using Marqui (outside of their own blog, that is)... But of the first several I found and tracked with bloglines.com I didn't see any relevant posts to what I was looking for. For example... how would one build with it? How do you estimate a project involving Marqui? What are its true capabilities... can you have server side includes (yes) can you have flash (yes), etc. Those two yes's come from my having built stuff with it, not from any blog post I've seen.
So... in the spirit of how much I benefit from the community of flash developers out there... talking... building... writing... sharing, I'm compelled to share what I'm learning about this product. And through the last year a lot of those flash developers were more than happy to receive Macromedia appreciation kits (hats & paraphenalia & more). So... given that, is there a difference? Really? I don't think so. The ethics about what you write are the same... if you receive that gift and keep it, that's your call, and in my estimation it is then the responsiblity of that blogger to disclose that information so the reader can make an informed opinion of the information they're providing.
Scrubber,
Thanks for coming back and keeping this going. It's truly appreciated.
And, you raise an interesting point there. If I like a product, and decide to post it in my blog, and then someone from the company sends me an appreciation pack, does that change my view or cause me to blog about them more affectionately? I think you're right. I think it probably does.
But if I don't know about a product and someone pays me to blog about it, then that's a little different. These folks weren't blogging about Marqui and paid, as fas as I can tell. In fact, it seems it was quite the opposite.
But I'm twisting, because I do agree that it's really two-sides of the same coin. And a bit of a chicken-egg conundrum. Blog-pay-blog or Pay-blog-pay.
If I really want to remain objective, I don't accept anything. But if I reject that which was offered, does that make me feel a bit more negative about those people trying to buy my love? Does it taint my objectivity to say no?
Again, this is great. And it's keeping me thinking. Thanks for taking the time to continue the conversation.
Okay, where should I start on this one. First, thank you for your blog...particularly since we didn't have to pay for it. 
I sincerely wish we could respond to each and every post or comment about Marqui. We monitor Technorati on a regular basis (seriously, I check it 2-3 times a day) and respond to as many as we can. It's simply become a time issue. I'm also somewhat uncomfortable with how to deal with the positive posts. We’re always excited when someone says something nice about Marqui , but if we post a comment thanking them for their time/thoughts, will people read into it? Will they think this is somehow part of the program? I'd be interested in your input on that.
In terms of your questions about phase II of the program, we issued a press release about it on Tuesday, provided ample info to our bloggers, etc. I think people have grown tired of discussing the "controversy" though. It's been covered by most major media outlets and hundreds of blogs. What else is there to say?
Moving forward, we will try to map out the ROI of the program and I think that will give folks some new material to talk about. Indeed, one of the burning questions to date has been: will it work? So far it has, but we’d like to put some numbers with that statement.
Finally, we decided NOT to blog about the second stage of the program in Marqui’s blog, since we are trying to make it more of a resource for marketers, as opposed to just an ongoing commercial about Marqui. (It's hard enough for corporate bloggers to be taken seriously!)
Now that I think about it though, updating people on the status of the program is worthwhile. Other marketers are considering whether to implement this type of thing and in that sense, knowing how/why we've adjusted various elements of the program will be helpful.
Tara,
As I say, I'm always happy to complain for free.
Thank you so much for taking the time to post your response. I really do appreciate your, and Marqui's, willingness to take a public stance on this stuff.
To respond to your question on the "positive post" comments, I think it's important for people to see how active Marqui is in the blog space. If all I hear are negatives about the program and only see Marqui responding to negatives, then my negative perception is enforced. However, if I see Marqui as participatory in all aspects of blogging, positive and otherwise, it really starts to shift my perception. I'm not saying you need to go to all of the positive posts and say "You're right. We are cool." All I'm saying is that, if the opportunity presents itself, you should further the conversation on positive posts the same way you do on negative ones. Am I making sense?
Thanks for answering my questions. It's actually more than I expected, as I generally just lob questions into the air, with no expectation of them being answered.
And, honestly, It is my sincere hope that the questioning of the program helps you make it better, because it really is an interesting study that raises some very intriguing questions about the ethics of blogging and journalism and where the two meet.
Great great great. I love this.
Rick, thanks very much for all of your input. We'll be better at responding to more blogs, especially the positive ones. And BTW, you're right, we are way cool.
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