I get approached a couple times a month by folks offering to give me great exposure to their gazillions of readers if I’ll agree to let them have unlimited access to anything I’ve written here. In a few cases (very few) it makes sense – WorkCompCentral is probably the best example of a site with significant overlap with MCM’s readership that selectively posts relevant stories from Managed Care Matters.
But most are just looking for free content, and the quid pro quo is heavy on the ‘quid’; they get my intellectual property and I get exposure to their (usually really small) readership.
Not much of a deal; in the almost three years I’ve been publishing MCM I’ve written over twelve hundred posts, commenters have added their own thoughts and contributions, and well over a thousand people a day visit the site. These aggregators want to take that work and use it to build their business, without any compensation. No surprise, I’m one of dozens of bloggers that get the same personalized request from really important folks blowing smoke up my skirt about how great my blog is and how wonderful it will be to work together.
The other business deal I get from time to time is requests from advertisers and agencies looking to place ads on MCM. I’ve resisted so far and see no reason to take ads any time soon. That’s not to say I disapprove of other bloggers’ decision to sell advertising; that’s their business and their decision entirely. For me, accepting ads might add a whiff of potential bias, a decline in objectivity, and that’s not a direction I’m interested in going. And I certainly don’t want to do have to check out potential advertisers who may be sketchy/unprofessional/have skeletons in their closet, skeletons that would then take up residence in my closet.
Which leads to my final point.
I get pilloried from time to time by (usually nasty) readers accusing me of bias towards my consulting clients (list is here). My response is always the same – I always identify a client if that client is referenced in a post, and because I know my clients, and the rest of their industry well, I’m very comfortable discussing issues that involve them. After a dozen years running my consulting practice and another ten in the managed care business, I’m fortunate enough to be able to work with clients I like and respect, and not work with anyone I don’t like or respect.
Am I biased? Sure, biased towards individuals, companies, ideas and strategies that make sense and deliver value honestly and ethically. Will some readers take issue with my opinions, think they have a better business model, get upset and ticked off? Sure. And if they are professional and have a good point, one backed up by solid research and data, I’m happy to listen and happy to share their criticism with you.
Aug
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