Posted on: 2004-08-06 11:55:44
Domo-Kun Turns In Grave
Fark.com is one huge news/blog site with unbelievable daily traffic. Every day, hundreds of links to strange, daft, odd, crazy, kitten-related news are thrown out to an eclectic mix of people who then rip it/everyone else apart like a wild pack of news-hungry dogs.
We are advertising on that very site at the moment and have received a nice trickle of traffic - not bad considering our subject matter.
So to receive word that Fark is accused of selling links - and putting those sold links in with the mix of news links left me so upset I couldn't even breath for a minute. I had to sit down. Okay, I feel better now.
Alas, the truth is often less enjoyable than a hyped up story created during these long, slow summer months where everyone is on holiday and nobody cares about the Internet.
First, a section of the Wired article:
Fark.com, one of the most popular blogs on the Net, has been accused of selling out -- joining a growing list of new-media outfits willing to bend old-media rules.
According to a veteran new-media publisher, Fark has been selling preferential placement of story links without informing its readers. Jason Calacanis, publisher of several rival Weblogs Inc. blogs, claims Fark offered him highly placed links to his sites in return for several hundred dollars.
"I was shocked because I had come to trust the brand, and the person behind it," Calacanis said. "Anything that is an advertisement should be labeled as an advertisement. This is not rocket science."
Wired Article
And part of Drew's response:
Wired called me the other day and asked me a few questions about Calacanis' comments regarding an ad representative selling links. I gave no descriptive comment because I'm not in the habit of airing difficulties that I have with individuals. I don't call people out on their mistakes in front of others to shame them.
Drew's response
