A report from ClickZ published today details the recent acquisition of Performancing, a blog analytics company, by PayPerPost.  We recently used PayPerPost to garner a few honest, unbiased opinions about the site.  Make sure you read the review of the service to find out more about PayPerPost and their existing service.

Under the acquisition, PayPerPost (or PpP) will acquire some of Performancing's technology and assets to add to it's portfolio of services. One of the Performancing technologies bought by PpP has to do with blog analytics and tracking.  The system will allow advertisers to better gauge the linkage generated by PpP's sponsored blog postings and reviews.

Performancing's classified system, which is primarily used as a place to find paid bloggers, will also be acquired by PayPerPost.  PpP says it will use the service to act as a link between advertisers and its network of paid bloggers.  Sounds like a perfect fit, doesn't it?

Even though some people find the idea of paid blogging controversial, PpP has made a good run of it and currently sports thousands of bloggers in its network.  According to ClickZ, the company is also interested in expanding the services it offers by acquiring more companies with complementary services.

What does all this mean?  It could mean that paid blogging will soon be joining the ranks of other growing forms of new media.  However, it could also mean that blogging in general will begin to lose credibility.  PpP has specific guidelines about disclosure of sponsored blog posts.  But there's nothing to say that competitors will do the same thing.  And if it becomes too widespread, people might stop looking to blogs for unbiased information.  If you never know whether or not an advertiser is behind a blog post it throws the whole medium into question.

I guess time will tell.  But what do you think?  Is the growth of sponsored blogging a good thing, a bad thing, or neither?