Everyone is talking about the new FTC ruling on blogging and disclosure. It may or may not affect the “Shoe Money” monsters out there, I’m not concerned with them too much. Who’s crying for someone who makes $2,000us for one Tweet? On the other hand, I’m here to tell you how it affects the “real” middle of the road bloggers like you and me. We make up the big bubble out here in the ’sphere.
What is it?
The FTC ruled this month that bloggers must disclose when they receive payment for a product review. We have seen this many times in the form of something like:
This was a sponsored review and I received a free pogo stick from the company before I wrote this post.
The above would make a sponsored review compliant with the FTC law.
Note: Text links on their own that are not part of a review are still ok to remain undisclosed, even if the blogger is compensated to include them in a post. For example, I am paid often for “link words” in my post that have little to do with the content of the post. So far, these have no restriction or guidelines associated with them.
What’s wrong with it?
I think this FTC law has a lot of loopholes. Furthermore it fails to fix false advertising on the web. While we all want to destroy the blog posts that say stuff like “I lost 100 lbs in a day!” We can never really know if an author has been compensated for their online writing. For example, If my friend pays me $15 to review his new motorcycle company, how will anyone ever know he is my friend? Now, multiply that times the millions out there doing paid reviews undisclosed and you have the situation as it is.
What does it mean to the average blogger?
My advice to my fuelmyblog brethren is:
Keep reviewing whatever products you think will be relevant to your blog and be honest. Just make sure you let your readers know if you got paid for it.
If you follow that advice, you will be in compliance with the new law.
Related Links:
damienriley.com/ftcs-blogging-for-hire/
pcworld.com/article/173169/ftcs_new_rules_for_bloggers_a_quick_guide.html
dragonblogger.com/bloggers-must-disclose-paid-reviews/
Great post Damien – you can read the full document from the FTC: http://www.scribd.com/doc/20689476/FCC-Advertisement-Changes-Effetive-Dec-2009
I agree with Damien – choose a product relevant to your blog and give your honest opinion on the product tested – you owe it to yourself and your readers.
I have always mentioned on my blog if I was sent something to review etc, I think it’s only right for your readers to know!
very interesting Damien. I will look at the full FTC document over the weekend [I have just got home form a leaving do at work so a couple of drinks have passed my lips so the brain is not up to such a review]… however, I have done several reviews of products where I have eaten, drank, bathed in it and worn them … I have not been paid but there has been a consideration I wonder if this is classed as payment? … in the UK VAT whether payment be a monetary one or a consideration in kind for a service is deemed to be taxable!!
Thanks so much. Yeah, free products given to the reviewer must be disclosed as well.
The FTC prefers production increase and losses decrease. Be happy!
I have already prepared for the event of moving sites to server space located outside the United States.
I have also prepared for the event of sending posts to trusted persons to transmit directly to those sites if necessary.
I will not be controlled or told what to do in expressing free thought, ideas, or aspirations.
With all due respect to my peer bloggers, my country was founded on freedom. Many of my fellow countrymen don’t share my government’s choices.
If our virtual world cannot be free, we will take it a place where it will be. We will still be online no different to end users than before. We will simply exploit loopholes of reality to take control of virtuality.
We are the power. Wars are being waged online. Governments now fight virtual terrorists trying to take down web portals.
VIVA LA BLOG! VIVA LA BLOG! LONG LIVE THE BLOGGER!
…don’t make me start virtually ranting ‘Blogwar’, after 8 years. Sheesh.
Mr. Frac gets free products all the time. We wear them, drink them, eat them, etc. I tried a chocolate company’s product recently. It was awesome. I might tell others it was… but I don’t usually tell them I know so because the sample I got was free. I know so because I ate it, not because it was free. Who cares. As long as the reviews are honest, why does it matter?
I don’t believe blogger testimonials any more than I believe television commercials, so someone lying because it’s free doesn’t affect me any more than the lies we see in commercials. If I believe someone and go by their review, it’s usually because I know them well enough to know that their review is honest.
Really… it’s all just like tv. Maybe they should crack down a little more on dishonest television advertising?
Nicely worded Fracas. I just see it like the red light cameras they just installed by my house. I don’t roll out into the intersection anymore when I see them.
Blogging for me will pretty much stay the same. I’d like to triple my income in 2010 so I better know the laws right?
And I wish they’d find a way to crack down on content thieves who take our posts and place them on aggregators solely for the purpose of earning google ad revenue. As it is, we have to police it and hunt down each thief and try have it dealt with on our own… costing us in time/money. Seems to me, if they can’t crack down on real thieves, why crack down on people who might say they liked some popcorn because it was free?
Just call me crazy, but I think real crime should always come first.
The FTC definitely should crack down on content theft. I don’t even know when people do anymore but I report it when I see it.
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