Newstex - Legit or Not?
Everyone just needs to calm down.
Newstex is a legitimate company that is an aggregator of news and blogs and has clients like LexisNexis who are going to push said blogs and news in real time to various academic institutions, news stations, major companies, government offices, etc. Then, Newstex takes the news and blogs and adds category tags, name/stock tickers and so on, to make it easier to search through. Here is a link to a recent press release about LexisNexis becoming a client of Newstex.
So basically, if Newstex contacts you, it means that your blog is worth a rat's ass and somebody thinks that what you have to say is worth reading...and that their clients would want to pay to add you to the mix of blogs in their feed. They just added Gawker Media (Wonkette, Defamer, Gizmodo, etc) and Corante as blog publishers, and I find it really hilarious that some bloggers are so suspcious about signing on...
I mean, come on, if blogs like Mark Lisanti's Defamer and Wonkette and Gawker are taking advantage of the opportunity to get more exposure for their blogs to people that might not normally see it, AND perhaps score a little pocket change to go towards paying for bandwidth, what's the fucking problem?
I was reading a blog tonight that made me laugh...the blogger was questioning the legitimacy of it, and all the other bloggers that were commenting, who are part of that particular collective blogging hub, kept saying "Yes, I think they're sending them to all the Leftyblogs...it's definitely a scam." I don't question initial skepticism by the person who put out the question, but the replies in the comments section were what made me snicker. Everyone just jumped to conclusions.
As if Leftyblogs is the only cool blog collective on the internet, and there is some goddamn conspiracy to overthrow them. I laughed out loud...because although these people have something interesting to say in their blogs (and that's the whole point as to why they are being approached by Newstex) they are really buying a wee bit too much of their own hype.
I mean, come on. The whole reason people blog is to share their thoughts and ideas with the world.
Why am I on this rant?
Because I know the people who run this company, and people who work for the company, and they are really legit. They are starting something that is very cool and giving bloggers who aren't affiliated with major news channels or who just haven't had as much readership as they should a chance to get exposure and a little change in their pocket.
Personally, as a blogger with about five blogs going, the only one of which gets any readership is my MySpace blog, I think that's a damn cool thing. I also hate to see a bunch of people sit around on a blog site comment section bashing my friends' efforts to bring them in on this opportunity. I know someone who sat up surfing the net for excellent blogs, found the Leftyblogs and thought it was cool, and decided to approach them. These bloggers miss the point that it is a compliment that they have been approached. I can understand a wee bit of skepticism, but once they do a little homework, they should be able to see that the company is legit and there's nothing to lose.
Newstex is a legitimate company that is an aggregator of news and blogs and has clients like LexisNexis who are going to push said blogs and news in real time to various academic institutions, news stations, major companies, government offices, etc. Then, Newstex takes the news and blogs and adds category tags, name/stock tickers and so on, to make it easier to search through. Here is a link to a recent press release about LexisNexis becoming a client of Newstex.
So basically, if Newstex contacts you, it means that your blog is worth a rat's ass and somebody thinks that what you have to say is worth reading...and that their clients would want to pay to add you to the mix of blogs in their feed. They just added Gawker Media (Wonkette, Defamer, Gizmodo, etc) and Corante as blog publishers, and I find it really hilarious that some bloggers are so suspcious about signing on...
I mean, come on, if blogs like Mark Lisanti's Defamer and Wonkette and Gawker are taking advantage of the opportunity to get more exposure for their blogs to people that might not normally see it, AND perhaps score a little pocket change to go towards paying for bandwidth, what's the fucking problem?
I was reading a blog tonight that made me laugh...the blogger was questioning the legitimacy of it, and all the other bloggers that were commenting, who are part of that particular collective blogging hub, kept saying "Yes, I think they're sending them to all the Leftyblogs...it's definitely a scam." I don't question initial skepticism by the person who put out the question, but the replies in the comments section were what made me snicker. Everyone just jumped to conclusions.
As if Leftyblogs is the only cool blog collective on the internet, and there is some goddamn conspiracy to overthrow them. I laughed out loud...because although these people have something interesting to say in their blogs (and that's the whole point as to why they are being approached by Newstex) they are really buying a wee bit too much of their own hype.
I mean, come on. The whole reason people blog is to share their thoughts and ideas with the world.
Why am I on this rant?
Because I know the people who run this company, and people who work for the company, and they are really legit. They are starting something that is very cool and giving bloggers who aren't affiliated with major news channels or who just haven't had as much readership as they should a chance to get exposure and a little change in their pocket.
Personally, as a blogger with about five blogs going, the only one of which gets any readership is my MySpace blog, I think that's a damn cool thing. I also hate to see a bunch of people sit around on a blog site comment section bashing my friends' efforts to bring them in on this opportunity. I know someone who sat up surfing the net for excellent blogs, found the Leftyblogs and thought it was cool, and decided to approach them. These bloggers miss the point that it is a compliment that they have been approached. I can understand a wee bit of skepticism, but once they do a little homework, they should be able to see that the company is legit and there's nothing to lose.
posted by Billychic at 9:01 PM
2 Comments:
With respect, have you seen the email and contract they're sending around?
I will not, under any circumstances, give my social security number to, nor sign a contract with, an outfit of which I've never heard based solely on an unsolicited email offer.
People on the 'net have a right, if not a duty, to be suspicious of anything like that, and perhaps your friend's Newstex site could have avoided a lot of nonsense by making the introduction first, explaining better what they do - especially the part about paying bloggers - before having me review and execute a contract of adhesion that requires disclosure of my SSN.
Weird. I've signed on with Newstex and they were really nice and the majority of the contact was done on the phone. I'm fairly paranoid when it comes to online scammers and they checked out just fine by my standards.
regards,
NP
www.nprophet.com
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