A question was asked via Fleegle's Blog regarding the ethical dilemma of being compensated for writing reviews for a yarn shop.
Let me first say that I agree that there should be a disclaimer that states compensation took place for a review. But let me also say that if one thinks that a "famous blogger" is doing reviews out of the goodness of their heart, then they must be foolish, because no one does anything for free anymore.
Let me explain. I, being a not-very-well-known blogger, do reviews and am able to share my real opinions because I am not on anyone else's payroll. However, I have no compunction about accepting a yarn for free as a payment for reviewing it. This does not of course mean that my review would be all flowers and sunshine. But once one is on a payroll, the words in the review must be carefully chosen.
For example: Knitter's Review is sent dozens if not hundreds of submissions for review every month. Big name yarn companies along with smaller time ones all vie for the chance to be reviewed by Clara Parkes. Keep in mind, that Clara Parkes does explain that this occurs. And if you read her reviews carefully, you can find whether or not she liked a yarn. She has a disclaimer that explains that any yarn submitted for review will be reviewed honestly. Big Name Blogger, but still honest reviews, despite COMPENSATION.
Back to Fleegle's Post, there is absolutely no reason that she should not be able to have a disclaimer stating that there was compensation for the review. My feeling is that the shop owner did not do any proper research before making a statement like that.
What do you think?
2 comments:
Well, I never thought to make money with my blog. All the yarns I have reviewed I have purchased. Nobody has ever sent me anything for review, probably because they know if I don't like it, I might say so.
I don't like the idea of being paid for reviews and told the shop owner that I would do it for free and only talk about the yarns that I thought were wonderful. That sounds like a nice compromise.
I think that's a fair compromise! What did the shop owner say to that?
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