How corrupt are France’s top bloggers?
Today, two famous French bloggers completely lost their credibility and independance.
Both Loic le Meur and pointblog posted exactly the same feature (see image above), dedicated to a new service offered by French travel agency Voyages-sncf.com. The service, Ecocomparateur, lets you choose a departure and a destination, and compares the cost of the journey via train, air, and road.
The content of both posts is exactly the same, but the embedded links are different. Neither link points directly to the Ecocomparateur homepage, but each one is channelled to smartadserver.com. The link in each blog contains a different code, which makes it possible to track the amount of clicks they generate. And I suppose, money will flow in accordingly.
Mind you, there’s nothing wrong with advertisements in blogs, but it’s a bad idea to disguise ads as blog posts, even if they are marked as “publirédactionnel” or “publicité“. Will these bloggers ever have the courage to be critical about Voyages-sncf.com and the Ecocomparateur in the future?
Recently, both blogs were announced as the top-2 in a list of 100 most influential French blogs. It’s now clear what “influential” means. It’s just another word for “corrupt”.
Oh, and what about the Ecocomparateur that was the subject of these posts?
It sucks.
I tried it with several journeys from major towns in the south of France to London, and in all cases it came back with the message that there were no low-cost airfares for those journeys, even though Ryanair flies from Montpellier and Nimes to Stansted airport every single day…
Tue 17-Oct-06 | Posted in: Economy & Biz
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Comments
Comment from Guillermito
Time: October 17, 2006, 7:48 pm
I think “corrupt” is a perfectly chosen word, as it means “dishonest”, or someone who accepts money in exchange of influence or favors.
Comment from Deeder
Time: October 17, 2006, 8:09 pm
So corruption is everywhere, behind everyone… In a same consumption society as our led by money attracting. The evil is dominating the world. You’re so pessimistic… I prefer see the best in all of us. ;)
Comment from Guillermito
Time: October 17, 2006, 9:42 pm
Oh, I like the nice side of people too :) The problem is that whenever money suddenly appears, it doesn’t reveal the best side of all of us. Money corrupts people (that includes me, and you’re welcome to test this affirmation :) ). As blogs are supposed to be about personal free expression, it’s better without this kind of dirty advertisement tricks. There already are completely fake blogs made up by advertisers, big gifts from corporations to blog authors to influence them (cell phones, laptops), so where is the limit ? Who can we trust ?
Comment from Gilles Klein
Time: October 18, 2006, 12:15 pm
I am journalist (printed newspaper) and online journalist : I do 7 days a week Pointblog.com. Like any other media, daily, weekly, monthly, radio, TV and so on, Pointblog accepts advertising.
We use an different color for the ad et we mention it as “publiredactionnel” so it is clear for eveybody it is not a story or a report made by a journalist
This is the third advertising campaign available on Pointblog since the beginning of this blog Feb 2003.
What do you think about Google Ads used by so many bloggers ? What do you think about PayPerPost (advertising without saying it is ads ?) used by bloggers ?
Comment from romke
Time: October 18, 2006, 12:55 pm
Gilles, I am not against advertising on blogs, but I am against ads that look like blog posts, including PayPerPost. A different color and a “publiredactionnel” mention may escape more readers than you think.
SNCF-Voyages could have booked advertising space outside the blog area, but they chose their own version on PayPerPost, hoping (and knowing) that many people won’t see the difference with a regular post.
Anyway, have a look at the comments on both Pointblog and Loic le Meur and you’ll see I’m not the only one…
Comment from romke
Time: October 18, 2006, 12:59 pm
Guillermito: I complete agree with the last four words of your comment (who can we trust?). That’s what this all about: the two most influential French blogs are suddenly not trustworthy anymore. That’s a sad development.
Comment from Gilles Klein
Time: October 18, 2006, 1:59 pm
The title of your post with the word is a clear slandering as the beginning of your post “Today, two famous French bloggers completely lost their credibility and independance.” I am a journalist, I do online journalism, I do not write to follow advertising, whatever I was writing in Liberation, or ELLE newspaper which have a lot of ads…., or today.
It is easy to insult somebody, to mix everything, and you do it like an ayatollah. It is your choice ;-)
Bloggers are readers. The red color is very different than the white color used for all of our posts. There is a clear mention wich said advertising. My signature does not show under the post. The same as in printed newspaper.
During 2005, on Pointblog there was two campaign like this, and there was not insult of this kind ;-)
The only unfair and rude commentary was from Guillermito on Pointblog, mixing eveyrthing and following his own crusade against any advertising, anywhere. That is his problem. Not mine, like all the media, when it is said “adevertising” “publi redactionnel” it is clear in Le Monde, le Figaro printed newspapers, as it is online.
It was not the same situation on Loic le Meur post, wich was similar presentation. By the way, Loic Le Meur is leading the European subsidiary of an american blogging platform, Six Apart his blog make regularly promotion of his company, it is corporate blogging.
Comment from romke
Time: October 18, 2006, 3:45 pm
Gilles: let’s just agree that we disagree…
Comment from Gilles Klein
Time: October 18, 2006, 5:05 pm
Pointblog started in 2003, Pointblog is an online publication wich accepts advertising like any media.
You can disagree with anybody on any subject, :-)
But you cannot insult me and my work as a person and a professionnal journalist, saying I am corrupted.
It is not fair, neither moral and the law prohibit this online and offline.
“How corrupt are France’s top bloggers?” this is an insult, a charge and (en Français) “de la diffamation” I formally ask you to change the title of your post and this part of the content “Recently, both blogs were announced as the top-2 in a list of 100 most influential French blogs. It’s now clear what “influential” means. It’s just another word for “corrupt”.
Regards
Comment from romke
Time: October 18, 2006, 10:09 pm
Gilles> OK, since you appear to want to pursue this to the bitter end I can tell you that I’m not going to change my blog post.
The heading is just a question, and doesn’t refer to you specifically.
The conclusion of my post (as quoted above) is just my definition of the term “influential”. When I refer to “corruption” I use it as: “the improper use of influence and power for private gain, coming from interested outside parties.”
One more thing: you compare me in your comment with an “ayatollah”. Is that not “diffamation” according to French law?
Come on Gilles, stop this nonsense before it gets worse!
Comment from Gilles Klein
Time: October 19, 2006, 12:10 am
“The heading is just a question, and doesn’t refer to you specifically.” You said ? The beginning of your post is this exactly :
Quote
How corrupt are France’s top bloggers?
Today, two famous French bloggers completely lost their credibility and independance. Both Loic le Meur and pointblog
Unquote
It does not refer specifically ?
You make a bad confusion with advertising you can not like, and personnal attacks on my reputation and my work.
“Today” ? Wrong.
This is the third advertising campaign with this format on pointblog (Audi and Radio France in 2005)
Your are happy to use the word “corrupt” about my work as a “top blogger” ?
And you explain that I do ““the improper use of influence and power for private gain, coming from interested outside parties.”
I am journalist and I have “completely lost” “credibility and independance” ?
It cannot be worse for me as a human being and professionnal to have my work associated with the word “corrupt”
You can be proud of you.
Post Sriptum : (”according to Technorati” should be a good precision, how accurate is Technorati with his ranking of blogs, US and other countries, since the first day ?)
Comment from name
Time: September 20, 2007, 8:39 pm
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Comment from name
Time: September 30, 2007, 8:49 pm
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Time: October 1, 2007, 5:34 am
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Comment from Deeder
Time: October 17, 2006, 6:49 pm
Hello, I’m a french blogger and I’m just discovering you blog. The lasts posts seems to be pessimistic about the french contry and his citizens. I want to underline the fact that you take extrem examples in your posts against the french people are themselves revolted. You musn’t do those facts some generality.
In this case, the “corruption” is a strong word. There’s no report between influence and corruption. The french blog named Pointblog made a disclosure before this post “publiredactionnel”. This is a blog made by unpaid people and the money earned by the advertising is mainly used to pay the hosting. For the “Loic le Meur” case, i’ve no reply to provide to you, even if that’s his blog and he do want he want on it…
But I agree with you when you said that’s shoking to see that on blogs and I hope that will no too frequent. ;)