One Tweet is worth $10,000???

Up until now I had made a concerted and deliberate effort to keep this wee blog a Kardashian free zone. It is not that I have anything against them personally. I am sure they are all very nice people. But I just don't understand why they are famous? I don't get it. It bugs me a little. So why would I want to give them even more press. What with the sex tape (Kim), quickie marriage (Khloe ?) and the unplanned pregnancy (Kourtney ?), I figured they didn't need any more publicity. Sorry, the only one whose name I am sure of is Kim.

While I was aware that some celebrities were being paid to Tweet, I had no fricking clue that it was so widespread. Or so organised. That there was a company that would hook up celebrities with the products. I guess I shouldn't really be that surprised. It is just like any paid advertising right? I mean stars have been paid to carry specific brands of water (Jennifer Aniston) and even anti smoking aids (Lindsay Lohan - who still smokes so it clearly didn't work).

According to the Daily Mail out of the UK, Kim Kardashian is one of the highest paid to tweet celebs out there at the moment:

Some might question her apparent celebrity status, however Kim Kardashian certainly seems to have acquired some pulling power. According to a report out this week, the U.S. socialite allegedly commands up to $10,000 (£6,300) for every tweet she posts on her Twitter account as part of her contract with in-stream advertising company Ad.ly. Kim, 29, is the highest earner on the company's books and the most popular on their roster of celebrity tweeters.

The former best friend of Paris Hilton currently has over 2million followers on Twitter and Ad.ly have put her tweeting services up for hire alongside U.S. stars such as Lauren Conrad and Dr. Drew. It is thought some of Kardashian's advertisers include Reebok EasyTone and Carl's Jr, the fast food chain. The reality TV star often mentions using products from both companies, in fact out of 30 tweets on her page, five mention products from either company. Which means, if the reports of her earnings per post are to be believed, she was paid $50,000. Derek Rey, co-founder of Ad.ly, told U.S. website PRNewser that Kardashian can command $10,000 per tweet and that his company limits its publishers - as it calls Kardashian - to one paid tweet per day so as to not alienate her audience. 'We're not a polluter,' Rey said.

Source

Kardashian has taken to her blog to explicitly refute the claims that she is being paid to tweet about Carl's Jr. But strangely no mention is made of the shoes - Reebok EasyTone? Hmm.... It is the absence of the rebuttal that makes this so much more fun!

So I went to the site mentioned in the above article and I have to say, that in spite of it's douchebaggery, it is actually a pretty smart idea. According to the site: "The end of every Ad.ly tweet (except tweets for charity) is marked with "(Ad)" notifying your audience that this is an advertisement. In order to ensure authenticity, every Ad.ly Tweet has to be explicitly approved by the Twitter publisher and is disclosed as an ad."

I like that celebs can use it to raise cash for charity. That I am fine with. I still think they should let us know if it is a paid tweet. Big ups to Samantha Ronson, Greg Grunberg and the others who are doing it for charity. I am assuming that they are giving it ALL to charity, rather than just a little. But for the rest of them out there? Get a f*cking real celebrity endorsement. None of this paid to tweet crap.

Oh, and Kim honey, you ain't fooling no-one. You are a paid spokesperson for Carls Jr. Do you think anyone is gonna believe that anything you say about them is sincere? I don't care that it is insincere. I just wish you would own the insincerity. And speaking of insincerity, I am truly shocked that Spencer and Heidi have not jumped on this bandwagon. Srlsly. Wouldn't you think Speidi would be all over this?

XO