Should I Sign Up With Blogcritics?

February 3rd, 2007

BlogsI’m thinking about signing up with Blogcritics, a site that gives you stuff to review in exchange for reviews. They don’t pay for them. I poked around the site a bit, emailed an editor, and they seem welcomingly free form and open to different points of view.

I’m interested because they offer free review material, which would help me write movie, music, and book / comic reviews, as I already do. I’m not interested in paid compensation as I feel it conflicts with my credibility and reasons for writing this blog. I also don’t want money to impact what I’m writing about and my opinions on said items. Maybe that’s silly, but I care more about writing relatively objective reviews, building an audience, and integrity than being paid.

However, I’m planning on keeping my technology-related ranting seperate, since that seems to something I should keep more objective and that’s what is being noted by Techmeme and Megite. So this isn’t a way to get a free Zune and review it. I feel my smattering of credibility in those areas is better left unquestioned.

The nature of this blog wouldn’t change. I’d still post reviews on this blog, and add a disclosure paragraph where appropriate.

Three of my goals for 2007 would be affected by this:

1. Figure out a way to get people to give me free stuff to review (music, movies, tech products).

2. Maintain my integrity - I won’t “sell out” or diverge from the purpose described on my About page.

3. More comics and book reviews.

So as you see, goal numbers 1 and 3 would be achieved through signing up with Blogcritics, but I’m not sure if it would mean breaking number 2.

Here are some possible advantages:

1. Since the posts are reviewed by editors, my writing would hopefully improve.

2. I’d get free stuff to review.

3. It might drive more traffic to Webomatica. Blogcritics stuff shows up on Yahoo! and Google News.

4. More people might read my writing and comment on it.

Here are some disadvantages:

1. Handing my content over to some other site so they can put ads on it and make money.

2. Duplicate content showing up in Google searches, and people would probably end up on Blogcritics rather than Webomatica as I’m certain it has a higher page rank.

3. Maybe I should just stick with what I’m doing, since it’s working okay.

4. You might think I’m a sell-out and stop reading.

So, I’m opening this decision up to my handful of regular readers. What do you think? Should I sign up with Blogcritics? Or not? Do you think this blog is better off on its own? Or is this a non-issue?

Lastly, does anybody out there write for Blogcritics and can tell me about your experience?

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  • Mike
    Just my opinion...but in the end, it's your blog. Free stuff sounds pretty good. I like the reviews (though I don't read them all), so if this means more reviews...that's pretty cool. :)

    Am currently liking the new Web 2.0 sites you look at. I wouldn't have joined MyBlogLog if it weren't for Webomatica.
  • Cool... thanks for the input.

    I'm trying to do "disclosure" one step further and ask folks if I should even enter into this relationship rather than disclosing it after the fact. Admittedly it's pretty minor in the larger scheme of things, as I have very few readers, but I still feel obligated to check.

    And yeah, MyBlogLog is pretty neat! I'm still finding more stuff to read, sometimes just by whose face shows up in people's sidebars...
  • Go for it, Jason. I like your writeups. :)

    I know a few people have been questioning whether blogs should have paid reviews. One poll I saw preferred paid reviews, as long as the review was truthful.

    You review stuff for free, so why not for something in return? The disclosure thing is probably the only consideration -- and I'd do so after the blog post if the review service allows for it.
  • Tamar, thanks for the input. Well, I'm still holding back on expecting payment for reviews... just doesn't totally sit well with me, because I started this blog with the idea that it's not a money-making endeavor. But this way I'll get to review stuff I wouldn't normally and get more feedback.
  • I'm part of blogcritics. In terms of getting review material they are top notch, in terms of getting traffic to your blog, not so much. It's hard to get the really popular review material, for the obscure stuff that no one else is interested in it's good.

    Being part of blogcritics will keep you out of 9rules.

    In terms of getting the free review material -- library + bit torrent works much better. :)
  • Heh engtech I should have known - so what is the process for getting the review material? You sign up on a list and they send you it? Is there a comic book / graphic novel selection?

    Good point about the library - I need to go there more often. Maybe I'm just ignoring the obvious routes.

    9rules sure looks prettier.
  • I don't remember seeing comics/graphic novels on Blog Critics.

    I've had really good luck getting graphic novels from my local library or by downloading CBZ/CBR files off of bit torrent and then using CDisplay to view them.
  • I saw one review of Persepolis on Blogcritics which made me wonder. So far I'm pretty close to signing up - I think I'm going to bug some of the people on MyBlogLog who write for Blogcritics for one last informal survey.

    Oh man... the bittorrent. I should do a post on my experience going legit. I've been pretty good for the past year or so.
  • Decided to take the plung & sign up to Blog Critics...I really like the idea of editors viewing my posts & giving feedback. I plan to keep my blog too, as I don't review products there as such.

    Hope to see you in the 'groove', so to speak!
  • Yeah, I did finally sign up... I hope to have something cool by the weekend!
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