Alright- don’t anyone shoot me, but I did want to make a point. Regulation is necessary, unfortunately. Because, well, the honor method just doesn’t seem to work in society and on the internet. I think the main point is that the FTC wants bloggers to disclose relationships when endorsing products (or, otherwise reviewing them. even if it’s a bad review) Why? because consumers need to know about any biases that might exist when they’re making buy-decisions.
I know most of us in the Silicon valley consider ourselves to be savvy in these kinds of things, but just think about the rest of the world. Someone has to be there to help them see how this whole process works. In PR/Marketing/SM we always talk to our clients about transparency, so it’s really important that level of clarity pervades all aspects of the comms cycle. Bloggers shouldn’t be worried – in the end it all helps build the trust and relationships on which social media is hinged.
So let’s all be big boys and girls, and accept the fact that with great power comes great responsibility. (credit: Spider Man)
Shanee Ben-Zur 