Low rates, lower ethics?

A questionable new business model is raising critique from those concerned it may hurt the overall integrity of online publishing. For seedy marketers looking to buy spam comments on blogs, go to Buy Blog Comments, says Read/WriteWeb.

The service charges $.20 per "quality blog comment." Spam comments in blogs are typically stuffed with links, and can range from comments with links to Viagra or porn, to the kind Buy Blog Comments sells - neutral and on-topic, with a healthy side of ulterior motives.

The service claims that real people make the comments, but Read/WriteWeb calculates that, were this a fact, commenters would be making $1/hour, given the low market cost of the comments themselves.

Buy Blog Comments is run by 20-year-old Web entrepreneur Jon Waraas, who admits on his site that the service specializes in selling to "blackhatters," or those that engage in frowned-upon search engine optimization tactics.