The DMMA will be hosting a Blogger Debate on Tuesday 17 July from 15h00-17h00.

The closed event, taking place at the Quirk offices in Cape Town, will aim to define the rules of engagement between  bloggers, PR professionals and Ad Agency MDs.

So says the DMMA:

A recent debate has arisen amongst bloggers, advertising agencies and PR agencies on whether bloggers should be charging for blog posts promoting brands, and if so, who they should be charging and what they are entitled to charge. This matter was initially brought to the industry’s attention by Alex van Tonder of Cape Town Girl (here is the blog post which sparked the topical debate).

2oceansvibe pioneered blogging in South Africa and was one of the first platforms to engage brands as sponsors. We’ve seen it all, and if there’s one piece of advice that we can give to bloggers who take their work seriously, it’s join the DMMA. We have, and it’s worth it. But more importantly, get involved in this debate (use the hashtag #DMMAdebate).

The blog of 2oceansvibe.com has since blossomed into a vibrant media company with three arms, namely 2oceansvibe News (which just announced record readership following a site re-design), 2oceansvibe Radio (which just partnered with News24), and 2oceansvibe TV (which just announced its production arm).

The debate is overdue and we certainly hope the dialogue is constructive.

If you have even the vaguest interest in one of South Africa’s most exciting media spheres, then we suggest you get involved in the discussion via twitter. You can post your own questions to the bloggers, and share your opinion. The best way to do that is to:

Follow the DMMA HERE

Search the hashtag #DMMAdebate and include it in your tweets.

The people involved:

Bloggers:

• Dan Nash – Bangers and Nash (@bangersandnash)
• Dylan Savage – Life is Savage (@LifeisSavage)
• Dax Villanueva – Relax with Dax (@RelaxWithDax)
• Ishay Govender – Food and the Fabulous (@Foodandthefab)
• Mike Sharman – Retroviral (@mikesharman)
• Victoria Tatham – Kiss, Blush and Tell (@toritatham)

Public Relations and Advertising/ Digital Agencies:

• Nicole Capper – Mango-Omc (@ncapper)
• Adele Kruger – Ogilvy (@Adele_Kruger)
• Tracy Jones – Positive Dialogue (@PDCcoza)
• James McKay – Quirk (@thejamesmckay)
• Ben Wagner – Native (@BenWagner)