Donations vs. Begging vs. Beer O’Clock
The blogging beerophiles may be clinking virtual glasses over the clever new donation plugin that comes in a ‘buy me a beer‘ guise, but I will NOT be buying you all a beer, sorry. You shouldn’t drink and blog. Or at least show some ID first.
But it does raise a good question: is asking for an online donation just cyber-begging? I’ve never tried it, although I don’t have anything against it; I once donated $30 via PayPal to a blogger who kept me entertained on a daily basis for free. But that was in 2004, before monetizing a blog with text ads etc. was a common thing. These days isn’t visiting, leaving comments, ad-clicking (if genuine) and purchase of products or sign-ups via someone else’s blog already a form of payment if it’s contributing to their monthly earnings? Just a thought.
If you’re a committed cyber-beggar who wants to go further than the beer plug-in, you can visit this site and set up your own page asking the general population for donations. Scanning the member pages, it’s pretty heart-rending stuff: veterans, orphans, the disabled, star-crossed lovers. But there is also the guy who just wants a new car.
What is the difference between asking for a donation and begging? Is it purely semantics? Homeless people beg on the streets. Charities ask for a donation. What is the difference, really, apart from the fact that ‘donation’ implies your money’s being better spent?
Of course, if you’re regularly reading a blog then you’ll know the quality of service and information that blog provides, and you may want to show your appreciation. Some people ask the blogger if they can donate. But how much is the right amount? Consider that an annual magazine subscription may cost $40-$50, but we read blogs on a daily basis, maybe more than that if they post more often.
Thoughts on the back of an envelope, please.
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Friday, May 25th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
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Quite an interesting post… Here are a couple of my own thoughts on the subject.
I’ve never donated to a blogger or website, just for articles. However, I’ve made a few small ($2-3) donations for WP plugins or other little bits of helpful code. The big reason I started doing that is that I’ve shared code with people via my blog, and a donation (however small) really helps justify the time required to program it.
I definitely don’t think a tip jar is begging. It’s more like the guy playing his guitar on the sidewalk. He’s doing something valuable, and a few people will toss some change in his hat.
Andrew
May 25th, 2007 at 7:40 pmThanks Rich Minx for your post and the link.
Is asking people to buy you a beer = cyber-begging?
Markus Allen ran an experiment some time back. He sold an ebook for I think $10 or so. But one day, he removed the payment button for that ebook.
Instead, he wrote that people can read the ebook for free now. And then pay whatever they felt the information was worth after they’ve read the ebook.
Many people didn’t pay him anything. But many others paid him $2-5-10-15-20. A few even paid him $100.
Yes when you read a person’s blog, he will be getting paid from ads. But if his post is really really helpful, this beer plugin will come in very handy. Because it allows his readers to show their appreciation and donating as much money as they think the information was worth.
Its not begging because the blogger is providing some value before anyone can donate money.
May 26th, 2007 at 12:04 am[…] Donations vs. Begging vs. Beer O’Clock […]
May 26th, 2007 at 10:54 amWhen I first read about the buy-me-a-beer plugin, my reaction was not positive. Granted, I read about on JohnChow.com, and the man simply does not need donations.
But the plugin wouldn’t exist if people weren’t donating, so who am I to say readers shouldn’t be able to give money to their favorite bloggers? Even if I don’t quite understand it myself.
May 26th, 2007 at 11:54 pmGreat article. I found your blog through the comment you left at ProBlogger.
I agree with you and the comments here - there is nothing wrong with offering a way for readers to donate some cash in return for the free content they are consuming.
However, when people like John Chow start asking for donations in addition to the saturated advertising already present, and in addition to charging people $10 to have the ‘no follow’ attribute removed from their comments it leaves a very bad taste in my mouth.
- Martin Reed
May 27th, 2007 at 6:54 ami hv a buy me coffee button!! i got 1 single cup for my efford and hard work on blogging and trying to post everyday and helped some people … i guess my single cup was well earned!!! i sweat it off but i didnt bed for anything yet!! YET!!
May 29th, 2007 at 4:40 pm