FT has 2 million UVs worldwide (1.1 in the USA), and 2-5 million pageviews each day (0.5-1 in the US).

Slickdeals: 7.3 (6.9) UV 10-20M PV
Fatwallet: 3 (2.3) UV 100-500k PV
Facebook: 180 (30) US 20-50 M PV (2-5 M in the US)

Quite disappointing to read about this third degree and inquisition into the personal finances of a longtime FTer. It should not be anybody's business, but his own, as to how he pays for his travel.

Winner.

Maybe we could all pitch in to Eightblack so that we can get some more of his brilliant trip reports? He should definitely be paid to travel :)

What I'd like to know is how many of the bloggers that seem to travel every minute have 1) a "real job" 2) children 3) wife 4) children 5) wife and 6) job etc. I'm not talking about todlers who can go wherever/whenever, but kids that need to be in school, taken to sports, etc... Also, it's great that one person can take a shower on a plane (I really am envious), but imagine the miles needed when you are a family of four or six.

Thanks to the bloggers that do a great job of answering questions via email. I try to use their links for sure.

I'm just pointing out that the basis of the trip reports is to provide content for his blog and they do not seem to be put in place to pimp credit cars.

MMS last trip report (broken into ~27 parts which is a good sign miles/points were used) started off stating how he got what he got... then put in links.

I don't really care how much travel bloggers make. I don't ask my dad how much he makes at his job. I'm just curious as to how the travel is funded. MMS straight out of the gate stated it is was done with miles from credit card sign ups. So when I read his trip report I have a sense that is from the viewpoint of someone who did not pay out of pocket or have a company fund the trip.

I also am taking into account the frequency of the trip reports. If someone is gone 20 days of the month they don't really have time to run to the store to pick up Vanilla Reloads or Mint like methods to pad their accounts. So I'm kind of scratching my head at how it is done. You can stretch miles and points to a certain extent...

Travel blogging is one niche of a huge variety of possibilities online where an individual can be successful without a traditional career. Why do people have to continually question & harass people who have made a successful business out of doing something they enjoy?

A travel blogger's travel is a business expense. I mean, this is their occupation - not a hobby funded with vanilla reload cards. It is their "real job". This is logically how a travel blogger gets the content they need to keep their blog interesting and continue to receive traffic/income (via ad revenue and affiliate commissions).

Why is this business model so hard for people to understand? This same theme keeps recurring on various threads here.

May I ask why the curiosity?

+1

Do I get a chicken dinner too? ;)

I disagree.

There are different types of journalism and writing. It's not just this one blogger. Bloggers use trip reports as content because they can be broken into several segments to give them days worth of material. FTG set the standard on daily posting. The more often you post and more content you have the you are more likely to get page hits.

A blogger doesn't have to tell me anything, but I do have the freedom to come on an open forum and ask what people's thoughts are on the topic. When I read I'd like to know what the perspective of the writer is. Are they reviewing this travel because their job paid for the product, using points, paid for the product out of pocket, because it was given free to them, or reviewing it because a company has paid for their opinion.

What was his response when you sent him an email or a private message asking that exact question?

When someone such as a blogger is promoting a product (airline, hotel, credit card), it's in the interest of the reader to know if the blogger is being paid to promote it or if they're doing so of their own volition.

The credibility of the blooger is what matters. If they're being paid ($, flights, rooms, etc.) by Airline X, I'd like to know as it'll affect how much I believe their assessment of that airlines product. If they disclose that they’re compensated, I can then factor that into how much merit I put into their review. If they give glowing coverage to the new premier cabins on a flight to wherever, AND we know that same airline comped them the flight, they’re just a talking heads who’s opinion is worth little more than the slick ad’s in your inflight magazines.

Though it’s pretty easy to tell who’s shilling a product – just look for the never ending positive reviews, lack of any critical comments, and an overabundance of photos.

I think it's valid to ask yourself what the blogger's perspective is when you read their reviews.

When Lucky has had a stay paid for by someone else, he has disclosed it properly. Example @ http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemil...is-bal-harbour and http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemil...n-win-as-well/

Bloggers in the US actually are required to disclose this sort of relationship according to the recent FTC guidelines on the subject. Seems to me he does this when it is warranted.

By all means you can come to an open forum and have a general discussion and ask for people's thoughts. About the general issue that is, but not about one individual who is also a FTer.

However in your opening post, excerpts quoted below, you explicitly ask some very personal and financial questions about one specific individual. That individual is a longtime Flyertalker.

Please have a look at the FT ToS, and let me know, if you think that it is permissible to ask an individual FTer questions like the below.

Yeah, I don't get it either. Someone doesn't like his twitter post so they say his blog is now jaded? Huh? If you don't like it, don't read it. Or, start your own "non-jaded" blog. Leave Lucky alone.