Paid Failed Memes are Blog Poison

Moisture is the essence of wetness. — Derek Zoolander.

A blogospheric shitstorm raged this weekend over top bloggers writing soundbites for Microsoft’s “People-Ready” ads. While people are busy pointing fingers at each other, I’ve come to realize that a large part of the blame lies with the failed meme itself. If the phrase “People Ready” weren’t so frickin’ lame, bloggers wouldn’t have gotten into hot water for using it in advertorials.

Here’s some advice for Microsoft marketers: if you’re going to wave money in bloggers’ faces, tempting them to compromise their integrity, at least give them something substantial to work with. Oh, wait, that’s right: Microsoft marketers wouldn’t know substance if it kicked them in the face.

While bloggers shouldn’t endorse crap they don’t believe in, advertisers shouldn’t give bloggers unbelievable crap to endorse. Just because we’re not huge media conglomerates doesn’t mean they can use our mouths as their assholes. If an advertiser keeps paying bloggers to spew failed memes which piss off their readers, that advertiser’s money will become poisonous to bloggers.