BLOGGERS BEWARE
If you thought the government was muscling in on your health care and taxes, you can now add a third item to the list: blogging. In its infinite wisdom, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission issued updated guidelines-the first since 1980-to its Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Beginning Dec. 1, bloggers or other word-of-mouth marketers must disclose their material connections to advertisers-material connections meaning payment or free products. Cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement.
Violations can result in a lawsuit or other action.
How the FTC will monitor blogs is yet undefined. Think government bailout: the big banks got money without appropriate restrictions on how to spend it, so ever more egregious actions resulted.
Do you think the FTC will do any better managing the universe of cyberspace than FEMA did Hurricane Katrina?
I’m speechless. And that’s not a paid position.
If you’ve got a message to communicate, contact us at 720-221-7126. Yes, you WILL pay us; yes we will blog our truth; yes, it works.