Paid to blog - Controversy or Natural Reaction?

TechCrunch discussed the issue as they pointed out, despite the controversy, venture capitalists have pitched a few million bucks into the pot to see what happens. The idea of "shills," or "paid reviewers" is an old one - dating back to roadside salespeople, then new anchors and now bloggers. My take on this situation is this: As long as people are speaking their mind and throwing valid, REAL opinions out, who cares if they are paid to do it. When it gets spammy is when people say things that simply are not true. And in a world full of money and greed - this tends to happen. One thing you can count on from Think Blogger is the truth. So if you're going to speak your mind truthfully, go ahead and make some cash with blog advertising.