The Boston Globe has an article on people who are promoting products on the weblogs for cash. I guess I could write something about the credibility of the medium here, but if you haven’t already clued into the fact that there is no “credibility of the medium” when it comes to weblogs, it’s probably too late for you. The truth is that just like everything else, you have to rate the credibility of weblogs on a case by case basis. For what it’s worth, I’ve never been paid to say anything I’ve said here. Heck, I don’t even promote my own books very well. I have been shipped a few free computer books by a certain editor who’s a regular reader, and I specifically asked whether it was his intention that I review them for the site, and he said no. I had wanted to write about some of them anyway but I don’t think I ever got around to it.

Update: You can find a list of shillers using a Technorati search.