“Influencer bloggers” are bloggers who claim that, with all their
\nsocial media connections and activity, they can give a service
\nbusiness, product, or brand significant “exposure” in the
\nmarketplace.<\/p>\n
What many of them want in return are freebies, and not always
\ninexpensive ones. These include free meals in five-star
\nrestaurants, free stays in nice hotels, free products, and other
\nfreebies.<\/p>\n
Well, in a recent social media flap, the owner of an inn in
\nDublin slapped an “influencer blogger” on Facebook for asking him
\nfor a free stay for a couple of days in exchange for her
\ninfluencer services.<\/p>\n
He stated: “The sense of entitlement is just too strong … and the
\nnastiness after a blogger was not granted her request for a
\nfreebie is giving the whole (blogging) industry a bad name.”<\/p>\n
As a result, this innkeeper now bans all bloggers from his hotel
\nand caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n
The offending freeloader in question defended what she did,
\nstating that social media influencer is her “job.”<\/p>\n
She also said that her business model — blasting out positive
\nreviews widely on social media in exchange for free goods and
\nservices — is a “collaboration” between blogger and business
\nowner.<\/p>\n
She complained that the hotel and caf\u00e9 manager didn’t understand
\nthe social media world or how it works.<\/p>\n
Well guess what?<\/p>\n
He doesn’t have to.<\/p>\n
Whether she thinks he is making a mistake turning down her demand
\nfor free stuff, it’s his right to do so. Do these blogging
\nmooches really not get that?<\/p>\n
The caf\u00e9 manager shot back at freebie-requesting bloggers:
\n“Perhaps if you went out and got real jobs, you’d be able to pay
\nfor goods and services like everybody else.”<\/p>\n
It’s true that some companies routinely offer free samples or
\nreview copies of products to TV and radio producers, newspapers,
\nand magazines.<\/p>\n
The difference is that the circulation of the print media and the
\naudience of the broadcast media are strictly audited and
\ntherefore no secret, but rather published so that anyone can see.<\/p>\n
Most bloggers, on the other hand, don’t have verified audit
\nstatements to prove their audience. You have to take their word
\nfor it.<\/p>\n
Also, bloggers can get downright militant about getting denied
\ntheir freebies, and victimize the offending business with nasty
\nposts and negative reviews — as if the business owner is
\nobligated to give away what he sells to anyone and everyone who
\nasks.<\/p>\n
Writer Harlan Ellison calls this the “slacker mentality” on the
\ninternet.<\/p>\n
He says it sickens him. And I don’t love it, either. A sense of
\nentitlement? Absolutely. Justified? Hardly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“Influencer bloggers” are bloggers who claim that, with all their social media connections and activity, they can give a service business, product, or brand significant “exposure” in the marketplace. What many of them want in return are freebies, and not always inexpensive ones. These include free meals in five-star restaurants, free stays in nice hotels, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1848,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1848"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1620"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.bly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1624,"href":"https:\/\/www.bly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1620\/revisions\/1624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}