A lot of bloggers make a little money selling their ‘products’ through their WordPress blogs – self-published books, courses in anything from writing or photography to cookery, using Photoshop or other applications, and a wide variety of other products. Of course I cannot have any objection to that; it seems to me that it’s a valid use of a blog. I have some sympathy also with students who offer something in return for a small ‘donation’.
But when it comes to what amounts to ‘begging’, the on-line equivalent of sitting in the street with a begging bowl, I find it difficult to accept. It works at various levels.
Sponsorship
First there are the requests to ‘sponsor’ a blog, the argument being ‘if you like reading my blog please give me some money to allow me to continue’. What about the millions of bloggers who just give us a good read, often giving excellent advice too (foodie and photography blogs spring to mind), fitting their blogging activity around the ‘day job’?
Donate
Then there’s the ‘donate’ button. This is often accompanied by a text with an explanation similar to that given with requests for ‘sponsorship’.
On-line begging bowl
Finally, there’s the simple on-line equivalent of the begging bowl, a blog post which just asks for money because the blogger needs money for anything from day to day living to help with medical bills.
Many of us will respond to the street beggar with a little money or, better, a hot drink or some food when they seem to be a genuine case of hardship. Money needs more thought as it will often go on drugs. And of course there are the street beggars who have a daily take only dreamed of by many hardworking people with a ‘day job’. Spotting them can be difficult as they are often put on the street by a ‘minder’ who takes most of the money. This is particularly prevalent in Romania.
What brought on this post?
There’s a Romanian blogger who I’ve followed for a few years. As the number of posts asking for money increased my reading of his posts, usually several a day, has decreased. I have in the past bought some of his ‘products’, more as a way of giving a bit of help than that I wanted the ‘product’. But now, for me, he’s overstepped the mark.
His latest story is that he will be made homeless unless he pays overdue rent of several hundred dollars. It began with requests to help with dental bills. I had some sympathy with that as it would be difficult to work well if in continual pain. Bloggers sent him really substantial sums of money. Then he asked for money to buy a video camera to make his video clips. My sympathy evaporated but it seems he received the money. Then the story was that his laptop had crashed and he needed money to buy a new one. Again he seemed to receive it readily. Now he says he hasn’t been able to pay his rent and will shortly be evicted, made homeless!
Romanians to whom I’ve related this story have been furious; it’s the kind of story which has brought Romania into disrepute. Having worked with Romanians for over a decade and spending a lot of time in the country since, I can assure you that most Romanians are hardworking given the opportunity (for many this, sadly, meant emigrating).
As I said above, I no longer read many of this blogger’s posts but was drawn to comment on one recently, one of several which seemed to assume that we all want a large number of followers. I felt obliged to point out that not all bloggers want this and gave the reasons; in my case because I try to respond to all comments and ‘likes’ (with some exceptions) and I just could not deal with large numbers.
How many comments ‘not approved’?
What is really sad is that my comment on his blog, which did include a mild admonishment about ‘begging’, was not approved so no one other than the blogger in question has seen it. So I must assume that any other comments expressing unease about ‘begging’ have been similarly withheld.
So, I have to ask here: do you think this type of ‘begging via blog’ is acceptable or not, and which type oversteps the mark? Do you think I’m being unreasonable?
October 1, 2020 at 4:23 am
[…] by York Press, via grumpytyke, “WordPress with a Begging Bowl,” posted June 11, […]
June 15, 2018 at 9:13 pm
It’s a fine line and one as an emerging artist I’m thinking of right now, I’ve not allowed adverts on my blog and don’t intend to, I’ve also never wanted to do Crowdfunder and others to pay for my tuition fees whilst a student because it feels like begging. However, I did record CDs to try to help me to pay my own way through six years of college which has helped a little. Last week for the first time I put a link to streaming services on the bottom of my post, with streaming services most people are paying a membership fee anyway and you can listen for free which if enough people listen every 1p helps.
I hope you don’t see it in a negative way?
June 16, 2018 at 7:14 am
Absolutely not Charlotte! As I said, I think if a blogger has something to sell to bring in some income I think that is a totally acceptable activity on a blog. There are even some circumstances where the blogger just asking for money would not offend me, eg from a charity.
Certainly making your lovely voice available for a small amount of money, either via streaming or CD, is completely acceptable; I have another friend who made a CD (completely diferent kind of music) and I bought a few copies as birthday presents for friends who would enjoy her kind of music.
I have other friends who sell things they produce through their blogs, or courses in whatever where they have expertise; again completely acceptable.
June 15, 2018 at 3:57 pm
I have no problem with some enterprising people selling their books, items, photos or ideas on their blogs or with those that have SEO/advertisers support. I do however have a huge problem with people begging on line mostly because there is no way to know if your contribution is going to truly help one in need or an opportunist. I find it deplorable that there are people out there that will so blatantly beg on line but then such is life. How many beggars do we see in larger cities on every street corner that make a decent living begging? Just because this person has found a few sympathetic souls willing to just hand over sums of cash to support their supposed problems doesn’t mean that the blogging community needs to support these types. I am not an uncaring person and am usually quite generous but I am a realist and find it hard to believe that one person could have so much “bad luck”. To me this seems like a person unwilling to work for what he/she needs.
June 15, 2018 at 4:17 pm
I agree with you, pretty well my thoughts. If I were to give him advice I would say “get a paid job, even part time, to cover your living expenses, then try to build up the business aspects of your blog to a point where income from that is sufficient to cover you needs. If you cannot it isn’t a viable business.” My wife puts it more bluntly: “Get off your bum and get a job!”
June 15, 2018 at 9:47 pm
Thank you I’ve enjoyed reading your responses to A day in the life of a Latvian mom for a while but just today got around to reading your blog post about begging. Love, love , love your wife’s advice…..I totally agree….get a job!
June 16, 2018 at 7:15 am
😃
June 11, 2018 at 11:42 pm
This is new to me as an inexperienced blogger. Not seen this side of the blog world. I feel blogging is a cathartic exercise of gentle thoughts and reminiscing or analysing. I get one person replying to my thoughts and that is a wonderful thing. Content with this due to an exchange of comments that make me smile or make me thoughtful. Do you remember when we picked up a pen and wrote letters to each other and actually ‘posted’ them in a red metal thingy with a slot and not ‘posted’ them with a tap of a laptop or iPad button? An envelope opened to read a collective of considered exchanges. Then? Times were more focused. Not an activity of how many tens, hundreds, thousands can I get across to. Don’t enjoy self promoting exercise of this nature. Or exploitation.
June 12, 2018 at 6:51 am
I’m with you Gray, and fortunately there’s very little of it on WordPress. I have built up a small circle of bloggers who I regard as friends though I’ve never met any of them. Yet. I hope I can now regard you as in that circle. I like your analogy with the post (in the ‘old fashioned’ sense) and indeed I now correspond with some of those blogger friends ‘off blog’, most usually by messenger or email but sometimes by post.
I wouldn’t want to turn my WordPress blog into a forum with the nasty conversations common on Facebook – in fact I’ve pretty well shut down my Facebook – but I wanted to know what others thought.
By the way, have a look at ‘Blipfoto’ if you don’t already know it. It might appeal to your photographer side. It’s certainly the friendliest ‘forum’ I know and I intend to return to it soon.
June 13, 2018 at 12:15 am
Spot on. Circle? Good description of historical observation. Like minded people who value good discussion and not wholesale Facebook (etc) free for all. I wrote a story called ‘The Circle of Five’. Each of the 5 with their particular expert (sic) insights, which, with respect for each other’s expertise, valued, yet challenged, the others observations. It made the ‘knowledgeable’ think deeply into their own beliefs, ideals and comforts. This expanded the seeking of self analysis. It was a story of how, through friendship, the others gently nudged, through questions, the circle members to explain the rationale of their ideology. In other words…..explain why you think that? What is that? How is that? Challenge, through a gentle process, leads to expansion of thought. Don’t rest on your laurels. Retreat, re-evaluate thought processes, and verbal come back with challenge for even deeper insight. OK….. It was a story! Yet, it was how I believe I kept asking questions for myself. My music, poetry, photography, etc. kept being self analysed and developed. Proffered thought by imagined others and gentle agreement that I was a novice and needed criticism. Way to go! Keep self humble. Life is complex. No one has the all the answers.
June 11, 2018 at 7:57 pm
In my opinion he takes advantage of naive/ credulous people with good intention.
June 12, 2018 at 6:52 am
That’s my view too, but I wondered whether I was being unfair.
June 17, 2018 at 2:40 pm
I agree with P and you aren’t unfair. But, everyone can do what s/he wants, it’s up to you being “naive” or not 🙂 This won’t work on me! I don’t like beggers-(so-called)-bloggers!