Even Hippies Living In Vans Are Shilling For #Brands On Instagram Now

[DuneElliot]

Magnetic signs don't work well on fiberglass.  I know most companies that pay people for ads on their cars also want to be the one to have it installed on your vehicle.  They know if they paid people for magnetic signs, they'd just be taken off 100 yds down the road.

This I know. I have a steel box on the back of my 5W. I would have sold door and panel space on my truck too. It just didn't seem worth the effort in the end for the minimal compensation

 

[ClassyGlobal]

I agree with WABBIT. If as a general source of income for someone that doesn't have any, "affiliations" could be a reasonable resource. But if there is exploitation and fabrication then there is a problem. And that then soils the community overall. I have seen a few, I call them VanSwellers, using vans as props for income but don't actually live or sleep in them.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Yea, I think the ones that pay anywhere near decent want to wrap your entire vehicle. Unless you have a large social media following, I'm sure some of them get a decent amount for smaller ads

 

[DuneElliot]

Yea, I think the ones that pay anywhere near decent want to wrap your entire vehicle.  Unless you have a large social media following, I'm sure some of them get a decent amount for smaller ads

Even those full wraps only pay $200 a month...soooo not worth it.

 

[waldenbound]

I dunno, I can see this in a way. It's a way to make money on the road, just like YouTubers, or campground hosts. They are just looking to make some money on the road.
"When waldenbound hits the road amidst the dripping, lush, green rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, she's never without her Yeti cooler."

It's better than trying for a campground host and some surly, retired campground owner says, "Couples only, and you don't have the right rig. Come back when you have a husband and a class A."

 

[KathyC]

I don't have any problem with folks trying to keep their chosen lifestyle going through corporate sell out - I mean...er..."sponsorship".  

I think it does, however, behoove all of us to pay attention to those we follow/whose opinions we value regarding product recommendations using a healthy dose of skepticism .  No matter how "unbiased" these folks may try to be when discussing products they get for free/a reduced price, human nature tends to creep in and even really GOOD people can be biased.

This is why Amazon stopped allowing reviews from those who received products for free or at greatly reduced pricing.  They knew the quality of the reviews was poor, even if people wrote that it was their "honest and unbiased" five-star review.

 

[caretaker]

as long as it doesn't turn em into a crazed amway salesman type person what the heck,,gofer it

 

[IanC]

As far as these guys and their potato chips - what the hell, it's a microscopic blip in their life's adventure. I seriously doubt the pay-off was that much, probably a couple hundred bucks to hold up a bag of chips. A chip company trying an angle to reach another market. Big deal. But, they are hardly hippies (a term that has been misappropriated from what the original movement was) - just kids having an adventure and can't fault them for that. Let's stop ripping young people a new one for everything they do. Us old fuqs wail when they sit in front of video games and we pick them apart when they're out there doing something. Jeez.

 

[lenny flank]

I haven't seen a real Hippie since around 1975.

 

[Queen]

I haven't seen a real Hippie since around 1975.

My old boss was a hippie, complete with the music, attitude, and approach to bathing.  She was funny as hell; I say "groovy" a lot and that seemed to please her to no end.

 

[closeanuf]

In Texas we have a term for wanna be cowboys; "dime-store cowboys".  There's a lot of dime-store hippies out there too.
(what's a dime-store grandpa?)

 

[matrixdutch]

Article:

#VANLIFE, THE BOHEMIAN SOCIAL-MEDIA MOVEMENT - What began as an attempt at a simpler life quickly became a life-style brand.

 

[AmieW]

It's not just van dwellers that get these requests. I had a health blog for years, and was always getting the most obscure products being pushed on me, some of them which had nothing to do with the topics on my blog at all, although they did have to do with some aspect of health. I started a blog yesterday to trace the progress of my moving to van dwelling, and I'm sure before long, I'll have people wanting me to push everything from coolers to solar setups. I always tell them that I will only review things if they give me one to test and give me 3 months to test it out. Most of the time the ones pushing higher-priced items never get back to me.

I'm already an eBay and Amazon affiliate, so unless they're pushing something outside of that realm that is going to be something my readers can really use and benefit from, nuh-uh, sorry.

 

[HoneyGayle]

In 2004, I had gotten rid of all my stuff and was going to travel with a friend, who contemplated working through temp agencies as we traveled.  She mentioned to the temp agency that she was going to blog about it.  The temp agency wanted to "sponsor us," and she referred them to me for negotiations.  They told me they wanted me to incorporate into our travels stories about them.  They wanted me to come in and apply for a job with them. I explained to them that I had no intentions of working for them, so I didn't see the point.  But it seemed important to my friend, so I did go in.  They had me take the various skills test, but what made me laugh was their "personality test."  The lady who was interviewing me wasn't accustomed to people like me, I guess, so I caught her off guard when I asked her what the personality test told her about me.  She said it didn't seem to be as reliable as usual.  I pressed for clarification and she said, "Well, it seems there are some false biases."  Again,  I pressed for clarification.  Finally, she said, "Well, no one is ever THIS OPTIMISTIC about life."  It just goes to show how trapped people are.  I did not do anything to skew the answers.  I am genuinely a very optimistic person.  I've done enough of the kind of mindset training and hung around positive, optimistic thinkers that my test revealed the truth about me, but they weren't willing to believe it.  I told her I REALLY DIDN'T think we'd be a good fit for each other.