I don’t know if any of you read the Wall Street Journal but there was an article on the front page of yesterday’s edition about new FTC guidelines that bloggers must disclose any money or freebies they receive in exchange for writing a product review.
What does everyone think about this? I think it is a good thing since it is the latest way corporate America is marketing their products.
What does everyone think about this? I think it is a good thing since it is the latest way corporate America is marketing their products.
I don't think it will affect a lot of bloggers. Most blogs don't have enough of a following to get the kind of corporate freebies or money that they FTC is concerned about. And in all the blogs I read, the author does disclose if they get freebies, most of which get given away in a contest. I think the FTC is more concerned about keeping the companies that use bloggers for marketing on the up and up, not so much the bloggers themselves.
ReplyDeleteI hope it doesn't. But I will surely be stating that I received the product in exchange for the review. So far we have realllly liked everything that I have reviewed so I haven't had much bad to say. One book that I recently reviewed used artificial sweeteners and I posted that. I will take more notice in future reviews to try to find "cons" even if we really like the product.
ReplyDeleteI won't pretend to understand all the issues here in order to have a really strong opinion, but off the cuff, I think it's a good idea to at least have to note somewhere that the blogger is receiving some sort of reimbursement for the review. This way we can tell the difference between honest to goodness recommendations from a fellow-blogger's heart, and a recommendation that may be primarily motivated by $$$. I sort of like to know when I'm being marketed to.
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