Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Should TechCrunch Reveal Who Paid For Posts?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 29 posts

Re: Ask HN: Should TechCrunch Reveal Who Paid For Posts?

#11

Post by pplante »

larsr wrote: post #10
pplante wrote: post #6

I think this is much more common than you might expect. I don't like the idea of asking for compensation for a favorable mention, however is it all that different from when a company gives away their wares to someone unsolicited? I suspect that most people in that position will have their opinion slightly altered by the act of getting stuff for free. Many bloggers get stuff sent to them by various companies, some kee…

Consumer Reports has no advertising and they buy everything they review. When possible, they test items in blind trials. The magazine is also published by a non-profit. On the other hand, Amazon reviews have been gamed by both consumers and companies (two examples: Spore, Belkin). You can't be sure the people writing reviews actually bought the products they are reviewing. In my eyes Amazon reviews are better than no…

You have a good point regarding CR.

Re: Ask HN: Should TechCrunch Reveal Who Paid For Posts?

#12

Post by J3L2404 »

pplante wrote: post #6

I think this is much more common than you might expect. I don't like the idea of asking for compensation for a favorable mention, however is it all that different from when a company gives away their wares to someone unsolicited? I suspect that most people in that position will have their opinion slightly altered by the act of getting stuff for free. Many bloggers get stuff sent to them by various companies, some kee…

"Example 7: A college student who has earned a reputation as a video game expert maintains a personal weblog or “blog” where he posts entries about his gaming experiences. Readers of his blog frequently seek his opinions about video game hardware and software. As it has done in the past, the manufacturer of a newly released video game system sends the student a free copy of the system and asks him to write about it on his blog. He tests the new gaming system and writes a favorable review. Because his review is disseminated via a form of consumer-generated media in which his relationship to the advertiser is not inherently obvious, readers are unlikely to know that he has received the video game system free of charge in exchange for his review of the product, and given the value of the video game system, this fact likely would materially affect the credibility they attach to his endorsement. Accordingly, the blogger should clearly and conspicuously disclose that he received the gaming system free of charge. The manufacturer should advise him at the time it provides the gaming system that this connection should be disclosed, and it should have procedures in place to try to monitor his postings for compliance. "

From FTC Endorsement Guidelines http://www.ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides...

Re: Ask HN: Should TechCrunch Reveal Who Paid For Posts?

#13

Post by zephyrfalcon »

pplante wrote: post #6

I think this is much more common than you might expect. I don't like the idea of asking for compensation for a favorable mention, however is it all that different from when a company gives away their wares to someone unsolicited? I suspect that most people in that position will have their opinion slightly altered by the act of getting stuff for free. Many bloggers get stuff sent to them by various companies, some kee…

"Can you really trust the product opinion of someone who hasn't put out their hard earned cash to acquire it?"

Hm, but in this case, I don't think the item he received as a bribe was the same as what was reviewed. (Otherwise it would be obvious which company it was, as he asked for a MacBook Air.)

Re: Ask HN: Should TechCrunch Reveal Who Paid For Posts?

#14

Post by mronge »

I want to add that he wrote a post about my company and product (Rocketbox, http://www.getrocketbox.com), but ABSOLUTELY NO COMPENSATION CHANGED HANDS. I would think that most of the companies he wrote about are in a similar situation, where they did nothing wrong but their article has also been deleted.

It's too bad this happened, I really hope he learns from this experience.

Re: Ask HN: Should TechCrunch Reveal Who Paid For Posts?

#15

Post by gte910h »

ErrantX wrote: post #8

They didn't bribe him. He asked them for the bribe. We dont know what happened in the past (one prior incident is mentioned) so without knowing the details it's hard to even begin to make a judgement. :)

They did bribe him.

There are 2 components for a bribe: One party bringing it up, and one party paying another.

If the person with the power brings it up, it's called "Asking for a bribe". If the other party brings it up, it's called "offering a bribe". In either case, the actual paying the money is called bribery (and the act "accepting a bribe"). The offering is only attempted bribery.

The companies definitely bribed him, and possibly face criminal culpability if anyone gives a crap to prosecute them.

Re: Ask HN: Should TechCrunch Reveal Who Paid For Posts?

#17

Post by anamax »

J3L2404 wrote: post #12
pplante wrote: post #6

I think this is much more common than you might expect. I don't like the idea of asking for compensation for a favorable mention, however is it all that different from when a company gives away their wares to someone unsolicited? I suspect that most people in that position will have their opinion slightly altered by the act of getting stuff for free. Many bloggers get stuff sent to them by various companies, some kee…

"Example 7: A college student who has earned a reputation as a video game expert maintains a personal weblog or “blog” where he posts entries about his gaming experiences. Readers of his blog frequently seek his opinions about video game hardware and software. As it has done in the past, the manufacturer of a newly released video game system sends the student a free copy of the system and asks him to write about it o…

Meanwhile, reporters who sleep with the people who they cover are A-Okay. So are reporters who trade access for coverage.

Govt - solving the wrong problem, and badly.

Re: Ask HN: Should TechCrunch Reveal Who Paid For Posts?

#18

Post by albertsun »

This kind of bribe is not technically a crime, it's just a violation of journalistic ethics. The way I see it, even if the company had offered the compensation, there's nothing wrong with the company doing everything it can to get itself coverage and press attention. It's on the journalist to uphold their own ethical standards.

Re: Ask HN: Should TechCrunch Reveal Who Paid For Posts?

#19

Post by webwright »

I think this is a lot more common than folks realize. Links = SEO win. Links from important sites = lots more SEO win. With my tiny little blog I (weekly) get people emailing me offering to pay me small sums for a review or link.

edit: I want to make it clear right here and now that I will write about any company for a MacBook Air. :-)

Re: Ask HN: Should TechCrunch Reveal Who Paid For Posts?

#20

Post by ErrantX »

gte910h wrote: post #15
ErrantX wrote: post #8

They didn't bribe him. He asked them for the bribe. We dont know what happened in the past (one prior incident is mentioned) so without knowing the details it's hard to even begin to make a judgement. :)

They did bribe him. There are 2 components for a bribe: One party bringing it up, and one party paying another. If the person with the power brings it up, it's called "Asking for a bribe". If the other party brings it up, it's called "offering a bribe". In either case, the actual paying the money is called bribery (and the act "accepting a bribe"). The offering is only attempted bribery. The companies definitely brib…

Well I was referring to the incident we have been told about: where the company did not resort to bribery.

Also I'd point out that really if the way it goes down is "give me a laptop if you want a [good] review" and they pay up that is actually racketeering :)

Post reply on HN