Perhaps I'm too simple-minded, but paying bloggers to talk about your site just sits wrong with me. I thought that part of the reason blogging has become so popular is because the traditional media outlets were getting to be too influenced by money and politics, so blogs were inherently more honest and interesting. To see some of the same practices occurring in blogs spells decline in my opinion; if enough of them succumb to these mechanisms, blogging will lose its credibility or honesty just as other media outlets have.

</rant>

I still thought the article had some good suggestions, and I'll be sure to keep it in mind when launching my own site.