May Change Everything

Remember the old payola scandals of the 1950s (or, as recent as the late 1990s with some DJs) in which record labels were paying money directly to radio station personnel to play certain records more than others?

FTC has weighed in this week to say that bloggers fall under the same guidelines. Quoting from today's WOMMA newsletter:

On Monday, the FTC revamped its "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." Bloggers are now officially part of the marketing and advertising game. They must adhere to disclosure rules or face fines up to $11,000. These changes may affect your favorite blog or not. Many bloggers who were accepting gifts and/or payments openly disclosed this to their readers prior to Monday. But those who didn't should change their policy ASAP.

So if you're getting free Starbucks to drop them into your Tweets or blogs, you'll need disclose or get a visit from the feds. Think we're kidding? This from Ad Age's website:

Within the text of the new rules, the FTC gives many hypothetical scenarios, including that of a college student who maintains a "blog where he posts entries about his gaming experiences." If that student receives a console from a gaming company and posts a review, "the blogger should clearly and conspicuously disclose that he received the gaming system free of charge."

So much for those 30K Tweets.

We ask these questions now. If you get Adobe educational discount software working at a college and mention them in blogs, disclose?. If you get free swag from your athletic department's apparel contract and say nice things about your running shoes, disclose? Company car? Other allotments? WOMMA ads this extra note about how the FTC ruling may end the era of the pro blogger and bring back more amateurs. Scary side note, that links back to the old home town paper.

Worms, exit can, stage right.