It all started when I wrote a review of Dawn Simple Pleasures Dishwashing liquid. Which I received from Charlie at MS&L, who sends me products to review once in a while, and after I’ve used them, I usually write a post giving my opinion. I am not paid in cash, there are no post requirements, there usually isn’t even a deadline. No links, keywords or anchor texts are required, either. It’s just a company spreading the word about their products by asking bloggers for their opinion.
The next post I wrote after that one was an opp for Dentemp OS. I was particularly enthusiastic about it because this blog has a Google Page Rank of Zero, and it is very rare to find available opps for PR0 blogs, let alone ones that pay as well as this one would have paid. I say “would have”, because the post got rejected. According to the reviewer, because I said in the Dawn Dish Soap post that I received the soap free in exchange for the review. The Terms of Service say that receiving any payment of cash, goods, or services, constitutes a sponsorship of the post.
I mentioned the post rejection in a comment on the PPP forum, and it was like I set off a box of fireworks. The Posties are pissed. There are at least three threads going that I know of in which posts are getting rejected for the most unbelievable reasons. PPP is claiming that it is because they just hired a bunch of new reviewers. Maybe so. But you’ve got posts rejected because of a line of text suggesting that first-time readers subscribe to the blog’s RSS feed, posts rejected because the post before it had a link to the writer’s OWN BLOG, and then my dish soap debacle.
Dish Soap Debacle would make a good title for a book.
Cass, from Midlife Musings, has this to say about the dish soap situation-
And it just keeps going on and on over on the PPP forums. As the discussion continued, the topic of giveaways came up. Consider this: I currently have two contests running on this blog, one for a copy of a Hannah Montana DVD, and the other for a Johnny Kapahala DVD. One of the ways to earn an entry in the contest is by blogging about it with a link back to the contest post. Because I have asked you specifically to blog about the contest, and because you probably wouldn’t have written about it without having been asked, then by the Terms of Service , your contest post has been sponsored by me. If you followed up your post about my giveaway with a PPP opp, it could likely be rejected.
That is just
CRAZY
. In my opinion, of course.
I began a discussion with another Postie about it, and she was saying she didn’t understand why I was making such a fuss (actually, she used the words “drama queen”, but that’s okay with me-lol). I gave her this example:
Say I send you a pack of gum that I really like, and I say “hey, blogger friend, try this new gum, it’s delicious! You could even write a post about it if you want!” Have I just “sponsored” your post? If you write about the gum, but you wouldn’t have written about it unless I sent it to you, then according to the PPP Terms of Service, I have, indeed, sponsored your gum post.
I just want to do my work. I don’t know when I’ll have time for things like reading the blogs in MY feed reader, or in my blogrolls, but hey! At least I’ll be following the rules. Unless they change again next month when PPP rolls out Argus.
Oh god, Argus. They had better have worked out every last kink or else it is going to be a huge mess. Please, leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments. But no comments that are just you trying to get your website linked on a Do Follow blog. I’m bloody sick and tired of those, and I’m going to start deleting them no matter what.
As has been said already.. this whole thing is just nuts. This is like the icing on the cake of the PPP mess. What a screwed up company.
And while they blame it on new reviewers (yeah right) my own little conspiracy theory, especially when they throw in the rejections which state “do not resubmit” is that they’re turned into a crooked insurance company who won’t pay out on legitimate claims.
As they say “deny deny deny until they go away”
Ted has had plenty of opportunities to make that company fly right and has blown it. At this point. Ted and the company deserve the scorn received in the rest of the blogosphere.
Oh Elizabeth! Way to stir the pot! Sounds like a real mess.
I’m just here to give you support. I honestly don’t have any opinion on the matter! Although it sounds a bit fishy — I have no experience with PPP so…
Anyway… Good luck and I hope it all works out for you!
I’m sorry, Elizabeth, but I changed my post. I’ve had it with the drama and the cr*p they keep pulling over at PayPerPost and the PPP cheerleaders who sound like broken records. I am officially DONE with PPP.
Ugh what a crock! PPP is royally p!ssing me off too and I haven’t even had anything rejected yet! lol.
Carla-I just don’t know what to think.It makes me look (and feel) stupid to spend so much time talking about how great PPP is, and then have them treat us like this. I wish they would just come out and say, “don’t link to anything in your interim posts”. We can follow rules, we just need to know what they are without having the interpretations change every other week!
Mimi-Thank you for your comment, you are a good friend
Patrick, it’s no problem. I’ve been one of those PPP cheerleaders you spoke of, but my cheers don’t have so much pep these days. We’ll see what happens after Argus.
This whole situation is crazy. I think you are getting the shaft big time.
Woah! This is getting silly! As someone, Cass I think , said in the forum, they will lose so many Posties and advertisers by doing these silly things. I´ve gotten some posts rejected because they simply didn´t check the post correctly and then re-submitted it without any changes and it was approved.
Well as for writing 1000posts per day, do what you gotta do! We, who reads your blog appreciate it anyway! And I´m just signing up to subscribe to make sure I don´t miss anything good!
Hopefully it will all get better for all of us!
Jo-Well, hopefully you won’t have anything rejected, but if you do, it will be for something like your page took too long to load or something. And guess what? Google just dropped everyone’s page rank! yay! (/sarcasm)
I read about this in the forums and it just blows my mind. I’ve only recently started doing PPP, but that’s not the only thing on my plate. Now I need to worry about linking out to other sites, doing product reviews (I did one recently about Senseo) and what else? I’m a little worried.
Anyway, I just wanted to show my support (even though I’m a noob
). I think you’re 100% right to be angry and that does not make you a drama queen.
I’ve followed this at the forums as well. This morning I had a post rejected because the post that followed it was in support of Breast Cancer Awareness and contains a link that supports free mammogram. I personally did not receive a mammogram or anything else for writing the post. I stated in the post that it was NOT a sponsored post and dedicated it to my friend who has breast cancer. If the reviewers would check their facts first we wouldn’t have to deal with this.
Maybe we have to add ” This is NOT a sponsored post” on every non sponsored from now on. Then PPP will definitely be able to tell what is and what is not sponsored, the advertisers will get unhappy and PPP will not get as many advertisers as before… Is that what they want? (Did your PR drop? Mine´s OK so far….so far that is..)