“[A] celebrity or other prominent figure with loads of friends on Facebook receives free hotel stays from Hotel Chain X in exchange for running Hotel Chain X ads on his or her blog. If that person then signs up as a Facebook fan of Hotel Chain X–which, remember, could mean that the person’s name can show up for his or her Facebook friends alongside Hotel Chain X display ads on the social network–he or she could be held liable by the FTC.” (info via here:: special thanx)
As for Twitter, the expectation is that, somewhere in that 140 character limit, you must include your disclosure statement. In other words, "if you can't make the disclosure, you can't make the ad"
How is the FTC going to keep track of ALL of the Blogs in the blogosphere?
Great question! When the guidelines were first made public, through a series of interviews, Cleland offerred clarification of the guidelines; as well as, an explanation of how the guidelines are to be applied and monitored. In one such interview, Cleland stated that the education, of the individuals/companies that is effected by these guidelines, of what is expected of them as it relates to the new guidelines is primary and key. He indicated that "the FTC would be 'looking primarily at the advertisers to determine how the relationship exist'". In an interview with CNN, “Richard Cleland . . . admits there will be no new team to monitor all the blogs, and that enforcing these guidelines would be a ‘game of whack-a-mole’ given the numbers involved... The new guidelines are viewed as more of an educational tool than any kind of requirement, and geared at advertisers more than bloggers. If numerous complaints are filed regarding a blog, the FTC is likely to investigate that the advertiser has properly advised the blogger of these guidelines.”
Further, Cleland goes on to say, “…in the bigger picture, we think that we have a reason to believe that if bloggers understand the circumstances under which a disclosure should be made, that they’ll be able to make the disclosure. Right now we’re trying to focus on education.”
Do you have to go back to previous posts and add a disclosure for gifts/payments received prior to this new guideline? One suggestion offerred by Lisa Stone, founder of Blogher.com, is that "...you update your “About" page with your blog policy about payments and review your blog for the current year and disclose any gifts or payments. For previous years, I think you can disclose on your “About” page the date on which you began your disclosure practices. We are not your lawyer, but as a a general practice we recommend that bloggers disclose any kind of payment at the top of every post written because of a payment of cash, goods, or services.”
So what does this new 'partnership' offer as a penalty for noncompliance?
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