I am too Naughty for Social Spark.
As some of you may know and remember, I signed up a while ago to payperpost.com. It’s a chance to line my pocket with some extra change and practice writing whenever a subject or product comes along that I can write about.
Payperpost.com opened a second site, which is in beta, called Social Spark. Social Spark has quite a bit in common with Payperpost given they’re created and backed by the same company. Social Spark, however, carries a lot of features to inspire community that aren’t in Payperpost. So I decided, what the hell, they’re from the same company, right? I like payperpost.com, and I’m liking what I’m seeing so far with Social Spark.
So I go through the same rigmarole more or less for Social Spark as I did their other site, Payperpost. I put in their code, I wait for blog submission–this goes without a hitch. Then I submit 2phatgeeks.com to their Customer Love. I can’t take any opportunities without blog acceptance.
Our blog for Social Spark was rejected.
Apparently, Social Spark’s standards are much higher than Payperposts? Because I use(d) strong language in several of my posts, Social Spark denied 2phatgeeks.
That started a whole lot of head scratching on my end. Are they more concerned about how Social Spark looks than Payperpost? Do they not care at all about what’s seen on one site, while they do the other? Why the difference to begin with?
I can’t really see myself as that much of a rebel, but according to Social Spark, I am.
I would have recommended this site. But if you have the habit of writing anything that’s not sparkles, unicorns and roses all the time there’s a high chance your blog will be rejected. So if you like to write your gut feelings, or curse, or let off steam, or get worked up, or write passionately, or call people names (because you know, nobody ever does this.) you might have to go through your blog and edit every post to fit Social Spark’s taste. If that doesn’t sound like an afternoon of giggles and fun for you, I’d recommend passing Social Spark and seeking other avenues of getting paid for blogging.
This got me thinking though: If you can’t write what you want on your own personal blog, what’s the point? Why do something you enjoy (aka: blogging) but be forced to write in such a manner or voice that makes it no longer enjoyable?
Would you have gone through every post you’d ever written with strong language (if you have. Some of you don’t, and I don’t know whether to applaud you or be scared.) and edit it for website that may pay you?
When you visit a personal blog, do you except it to be church-lady clean and think it should be?
Squeaky clean sucks… what were they thinking?
mantras last blog post..Outside Voice, Inside Elephant
I’m not sure, either. Especially since I used “strong language,” on several of the older posts on 2phatgeeks when I was in the process of getting approved for payperpost. Sense! This website makes none!
Yo, I was too dirty for Pay Per Post, even. I thought Pay Per Post wanted me to be a filthy whore!
The Junky’s Wifes last blog post..The Future Tense, Or The Conditional.
Wow. They just screwed themselves out of a really good author.
This probably sounds pedantic, but “profanity” or “offensive language” is almost never used in business writing, and all but the edgiest advertisers shy away from that sort of stuff when looking for a place to hawk their wares. If you’re looking at your blog as a business or a source of income, it might be a good idea to avoid George Carlin’s “Seven Dirty Words” and the like.
You should use whatever angry words work for you. When I visit a personal blog, I expect the writing to be clear and honest. . . not snow white, squeaky clean, and bland. There’s not much shock value in expletives anymore, but people who regularly use f–k, s–t, or c–t (yeah, self censored, I’m at work) come across as perpetually enraged, frothing at the brain, and/or possessed of a sadly limited vocabulary. The words lose their impact.
I learned the hard way to lock my foulest rants behind a password, or keep it to IMs or phone calls.
I don’t necessarily disagree with what you are saying, and in fact what you responded with is something I’m aware of. I didn’t think it was precisely all that giant of an issue however, for the company that already approved my blog on one site but not the other. That’s the only thing that’s making me head tilt.
Thank goodness I’m not looking at this blog as the soul source of income–I’d never get paid anyway. Half the things they want me to write for I’ve never used/heard of/care for anyway :D.
Yeah, it is really strange that they have different criteria for what seem to be virtually identical sites.