Poll: The FTC Blogger Guidelines
From the desk of Elaine Schoch…
There has been a lot of talk about the recent FTC blogger guidelines – some good, some bad and some simply panicked. The guidelines address the issue of disclosure. Meaning, as a blogger simply have to tell your readers if someone gave you their product, paid you to try it out, invited you to attend an event for free, so on and so on.
Is it really that much of a problem? Does it create another level of trust or does it hurt bloggers? Tell us what you think.
Categories: Blogging, FTC Guidelines, Social Media
The FTC rules I think will ultimately bring great things to the blogosphere. It puts some added control into the context of what’s being posted. Disclosure and Transparency have always been at the heart of the social web – so requiring it should be nothing more than a formality. While some individuals may get hurt by this (because they haven’t been disclosing all their relationships), most will benefit.
As a marketer, it forces us to really reach out and develop relationships with bloggers and communities because we are also responsible for handling disclosure. I’m excited to see how these relationships evolve over time…