http://webbalert.com/whatsthis.html

The most obvious is Digg. I see the same sites EVERY day on Digg, and almost all of them are FM properties. I find it hard to believe that the majority of the sites people Digg just happen to be FM properties, and I’ve seen research done to show that anything that has certain keywords (cough cough FM domains) magically gets dugg more than anything else. Whether it’s FM or the sites themselves (or some ninja team who just does it for fun), there is no denying that this goes on. It’s just glorified link sharing. If you join FM, your site gets dugg and mentioned on other FM sites.

Now don’t get me wrong – I think it’s a pretty slick operation that probably goes over the heads of most readers. An ad network’s job is to make money for the publishers and themselves, and FM does that and then some. I just think people should at least be aware that the sites get some degree of favoritism.

Perhaps the reason the initial buzz is from Federated Media affiliates is because they were some of the first to hear about the new site? After all, Federated Media sent out an e-mail to its publishers with news of the new show.

Not everything is a conspiracy.

In my case, my readers know I’m as clear as water in everything I do, so I’m not worried about losing my credibility with them. On the other hand, when random readers such as you first visit my site and see the PPP badge at the top, I get the reaction you just gave me. This is the price I pay for my affiliation with the company. I don’t regret it.

Arrington posted two days in a row… he’s obviously pushing the show. What does *he* have to gain from it?

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Wacky Labs — This is supposed to look like a sig!

Jesus dude, you already blew your credibility out the window. You have an ad right at the top of your site for payperpost. “PAYPERPOST – Get Reviewed! Have us write about you on this site!”.

I guess that does kinda say that you would admit if you were paid… but no one ever accused you of it. The only two instances of “paid” on this page are the author saying “I’m not saying they were paid…” and you saying “I wasn’t paid, as was suggested”.

Kinda sad that you openly affiliate yourself with payperpost…
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Wacky Labs — This is supposed to look like a sig!

I did watch the first (and second) shows and did a review on the first even before I thought anything about the FM deal.

I still don't get why people think "Morgan is great at what she does." Not just from you either, so far I think Richard (and kind of Mike) to explain.

I’d like to think that this just happens to be a coincidence and Federated Media is doing some good PR to market its “authors”, and that a lot of FM sites have really good content, so that’s why Webb links to them.

In terms of the comments, when new web shows come online, the comments on the site are usually one big lovefest. I think that people are generally jazzed to see new, semi-professional video content, and feel compelled not to be too critical just yet. It’s still a very new space.

And in terms of the Rocketboom comparison, that’s nothing to be suspicious about. Rockebtoom was the first of its kind and anything that even resembles a news show with someone sitting at a desk will draw the comparison. WallStrip is Rocketboom on stocks, Technorati’s defunct BuzzTV was Rocketboom with a guy and a different camera angle, etc.

I think Federated is pushing hard to find what works in monetizing via ads and they’re doing some more innovative things, and it’s GREAT for the industry because as a publisher myself (I own StyleDiary.net and have a blog), I know first hand how disrupted advertising has been with all the things going on, and how hard it is ultimately to make money off sites.

But, it’s going to leave them open to making mistakes, growing pains, finding what works, etc., and people are going to talk about it. That’s it :)