Comments on: Commercial Sites?

By: niki

niki — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:06:13 +0000

I think separates commercial blogs and the non-commercial is the right thing to do. Sometimes commercial blogs is only interested in profits aspect, their writings are sometimes subjective. Just my opinion

By: osorio

osorio — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 06:28:58 +0000

@Bodybuilders Forum I totally agree with what you are saying. In every industry medical or otherwise it's a matter of cohering to a standardized code of practice and its meaning to ensure the viewer that their receiving true relevant information that is clear, non bias and published with a strong sense of neutrality. If a commercial site dealing in health care or pharmaceuticals can conform to such guidelines then it shows the viewer (ie potential client) that their services and products are to a high standard, safe and effective without the need to generate bias information, false claims or to artificially enhance a products appeal just for the sake of a sale.

By: Bodybuilders Forum

Bodybuilders Forum — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:15:47 +0000

Not to beat a dead horse but the heart of the code is that when people see it they are getting a realitively objective opinion (or where it’s not it’s stated why – in the case of sponsorship). A blog to promote a product or service is inherently biased and at odds with the code. But if the same company is just buying advertising space and the opinion is ‘unbiased’ it would seems to adhere. Thanks Rob and Dean – great discussion.

By: Israel

Israel — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:01:40 +0000

@Ian Furst I agree with you. I am contacted day in and day out to promote products, but if I do I wills give an unbiased opinion. I don't let a company sending me something or paying for a review, sway my judgement on anything.

By: Israel

Israel — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:59:54 +0000

This would explain why I have not been accepted after applying a few times over the span of a year. What constitutes a professional blogger? Making a few bucks? Making a living?

I blog mostly about my weight, but I do blog about other things. I have ads up, that cover the hosting and my marketing of my site.

I have not been as involved around here as I would like to be, so I will leave the decision up to the more involved community…

By: dragonfly

dragonfly — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 14:17:36 +0000

Tricky issue. Has anyone else been sent emails asking to plug certain products/commercial website on their website in exchange for cash? I have (they got a big ignoring from me and went straight in the trash). I should maybe change my contact to blahblah at gmail dot com as opposed to having a link. But my reaction was “Seriously? I have a readership of like 80 a day at present. If they are targeting such small fry, imagine the garbage that others have to delete from their inbox”.

By: Ian Furst

Ian Furst — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:01:56 +0000

By: Vijay

Vijay — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:51:17 +0000

I’ve been following this thread and I guess you could call me a ‘waffler’ like Sherill above describes herself.
Here are my revised opinions:

1. I agree that content is king/queen.
2. We are not going to be policing medblogs.
3. We do not want to become an organization tangled in red tape.
4. No problem with ads on blogs as long as the author posts content that does not try to sell / push whatever is being advertised.
5. I have no problems with authors trying to drum up support for books that they’ve written. The same goes for any creative effort (music, videos, etc,.). As long as the author specifically mentions it in their application to the code.
6. I think Rob and Dean are doing a great job.

By: Bernard Farrell

Bernard Farrell — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:37:19 +0000

Vijay : Since we already have different codes for healthcare professionals and patients, I don’t see why we cannot have one more for professional bloggers. There ought to be a clear distinction between two categories of bloggers. 1) Those who are pure amateurs like most of us medbloggers, patient and professional. 2) Those who blog to either advertise/sell products or make money through their blogs in any way - by placing ads or monetizing their content. ...

I respectfully disagree. I'm an amateur blogger and I've been actively blogging for over 2 years. I know my blog gets 4-5k readers every month and 70%+ of them are new readers, so I believe it provides valuable information. But I also have Google ads and I'd have a limited number of other ones if I could. The income (<$500 per year) doesn't even come close to reimbursing me for the time I blog, but it pays hosting costs and gives me some money for geek toys.! So focus primarily on quality of content. Is it valuable, how long has the blog been active for, are there many comments? I know that I see a lot of trash blogs that are there just to get advertising revenue, I think those are easy to spot. Advertising isn't a key factor here.

By: Sherril Johnson

Sherril Johnson — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 02:26:26 +0000

I’ve been keeping up with this lively discussion, and I’ve changed my mind. Call me a “waffler”, whatever. I agree with Amy:

“* that the editorial content is independent of advertising interests (aka journalism model)
* that any ads featured on the site should not contradict the HCBE ethical principles (like being offensive or misleading)

Other than that, I think that labeling an independent physician blogger or patient blogger as a “commercial blogger” is unnecessary, and even sounds rather negative.”