Michel Leblanc has a post about offers he gets to “participate in group blogs” which he rightfully translates as “give away your content freely and maybe get a link back from a blog with less traffic than your own”.

I’ve contemplated participating in group blogs. Metroblogging Montreal and Midnight Poutine are always looking for more bloggers. Some make vague promises of compensation once the owners are rich beyond their wildest dreams.

But Michel is right. Group blogs want a free lunch so they can make some money off your content. It’s not that they have bad intentions. I fully believe these organizations when they say they’ll share any profits with contributors (I also believe them when they say these projects are losing money). And if the organization is a good one with a good cause, I might consider providing them with some free content.

But when an organization run by people I’ve never met want to offer me the “opportunity” to work for them for free, I’ll have to decline. When someone searches for something I’ve written about online, I’d rather drive traffic to my blog than theirs.

Only I can hire me for free.