Comments on: Is this site “One giant credit card advertisement”?

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:14:30 +0000

I just love it when I post a comment and then go back to read it and see an obvious error

earning money IS A part

I feel better now..

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:12:10 +0000

I appreciate your credit card posts… I like to see what’s out there so I’m glad you will continue to post them.

I think you have certainly established yourself as a trustworthy source of financial information, ideas, thoughts, etc. and everyone’s gotta pay the bills, earning money are part of the blogging world now.. It’s come a long way from the days of online journals… We are all grown ups and can read the fine print to see if it’s something that would be beneficial to our current situations… So hooray for kick backs!

By: anonymous

anonymous — Fri, 16 May 2008 21:48:23 +0000

Totally agree. A blog is not an unbiased news source nor should it claim to be or pretend to be. That’s why i appreciated your honesty about this issue which stands in stark contrast to many PF bloggers who claim, in my experience falsely, that their affiliate links don’t impact what they post.

I was taking issue with this quote:
“Also, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with sites making affiliate income as long as it doesn’t interfere with the integrity of the articles there and so far it seems that CleverDude is doing just fine.”

I believe that demonstrably the affiliate links *do* impact the integrity of the articles, at least as I would define integrity in this context (not impacted by outside financial influences).

By: Clever Dude

Clever Dude — Fri, 16 May 2008 20:26:58 +0000

@anonymous, I understand what you mean, but I’m not a magazine. I own a blog and there’s no “editorial department” vs “advertising department” here. With magazines, you rarely get a chance for discussion on articles or even input into what you’d like to read (or not like to read). You get that here. You get a real person, not a corporate entity.

A blog is not a magazine. It’s not a newspaper. It’s not cable TV.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:06:50 +0000

What does “integrity” mean?

To me, it means that the affiliate links do not impact what the blogger chooses to post.

For example if a blogger blogs for a year, never thinking that Iams dog food is worth blogging about, and then suddenly decides that Iams *is* worth blogging about as soon as Iams offers him $5 per posting, that tells me that the blogger is for sale.

That’s why reputable magazines separate their advertising from the editorial departments.

By: Schoon

Schoon — Fri, 16 May 2008 14:13:51 +0000

To me, if you are in debt, and can manage it, moving money around from card to card can be beneficial. My wife and I have done it in the past to pay the minimum interest on debt we owe. If you owe quite a bit of money then these cards with 0% interest can be very helpful, we’ve saved literally hundreds of dollars in interest using these methods.

Also, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with sites making affiliate income as long as it doesn’t interfere with the integrity of the articles there and so far it seems that CleverDude is doing just fine.

By: The Impecunious Investor

The Impecunious Investor — Fri, 16 May 2008 14:03:21 +0000

Personally I appreciate your credit card posts. I like to see what’s out there, compare offers, etc. Whether you get a kickback or not doesn’t matter to me.

By: Clever Dude

Clever Dude — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:18:58 +0000

@anonymous: I wouldn’t say I’m for sale for anything at the right price. There are certain things that would simply ruin this site. On the other hand, I guess if someone offered me a million to post a sex video (not of me), I wouldn’t turn it down, but I’m being realistic about the “right price” thing.

As for opening multiple accounts to take advantage of intro offers, I tried it and while the little amount of time it takes to earn up to $200 a pop can be worth it, the maintenance of all those accounts was too much for me.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Fri, 16 May 2008 05:20:33 +0000

“Ok, prior to July, 2007, I didn’t promote any credit cards because I was not an affiliate.”

I appreciate your honesty. Many PF bloggers claim that they do not let money affect their content. It is refreshing that you are acknowledging that you are for sale for the right price. It is nothing to be ashamed of. It is good that you will admit it, and it is important that your readers realize it.

Most PF blogging sites are the same. Do you *really* think it’s a great idea to open online banking accounts at 4 or 5 different sites, just to get a $20 kickback from each? Of course not. But it is in the bloggers interest to get as many of his or her readers to sign up as possible.