FTC Warns Bloggers: Truth OR Consequences

[4too]

FTC Warns Bloggers: Truth OR Consequences




Heard this spin around web media with latent conflict of interest issues, on the radio last evening, and again this morning.

Googled "bloggers to reveal gifts" and picked the top 2.

http://www.watoday.com.au/breaking-...l-ties-behind-endorsements-20091006-gkmr.html

A series of US Federal Trade Commission guideline updates, which have been recently approved, require bloggers to reveal freebies or pay related to online commentary or else face hefty fines. ...

http://news.sg.msn.com/topstories/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3625218

...
"The post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement," FTC Secretary Donald Clark said in an 81-page notice of revised guidelines.
"Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service." ...

Interesting that a US FTC guideline might challenge the flood of "false witnessing" that we consumers must navigate daily.
Or more likely add a deferential rippling in the waves of all bandwidths.

Doubt that the so called game industry journalists, hence forth dubbed the "Commercialists",
will blink as they amaze us with their feats of misdirection. It's just a guideline.

Consider we all *prey* at "The Church Of Capitalism" in this brave new, nex gen, 2.0 age.
It's o.k. to lie in the pursuit of fame, glory, and treasure as long as we don't get caught.
Well "it's just a guideline", until, some poor dumb SOB gets picked out of the communications stream and fined.

Yeah, enter our demon-heros, the lawyers!

Does this guideline apply to just any cosmetic or snake oil sales ,
or will the 'cloud' of Commercialists that band wagon each successive game release
have to 'tell all' the free games, insider information and perk bundling at trade shows?

Can see this confession of pay off being turned to a plus by Commercialists,
the one with the most 'Payola' is the grandest commercializing Commercialist of all!
Worthy of the "Hero Of Capitalism" merit badge, and a paid speaking tour to all local infomercial / used car salesmen trade shows!

Win - win for going along to get along!

All you got to do is light your blog's candle, then ... kiss the ring ... of which everlasting game corporation is to be worshiped this day!

And, the rest of us ...

will have to fall back on the noble tradition of buyer (or believer) beware

as old and honored from those hazy days that cast "sine cera" and retooled it into "sincerity".

Surely all Commercialists reek, from every orifice, the heady essence of "sincerity"!
And full frontal disclosure will benight' our 2.0 age!






4too

 

[victor]

Brilliant post, as usual.

At least the US isn't going as far as China or parts of the Middle East when it comes to trying to control blogging and the Internet in general.

I recall a young, blonde blogger here being busted by tax officials because she didn't report the very freebies and pay she received from endorsing products, either through reviews or direct advertising. I think we've had these laws for quite some time.

 

[Cimmerian Nights]

Doubt that the so called game industry journalists, hence forth dubbed the "Commercialists",
will blink as they amaze us with their feats of misdirection. It's just a guideline.

Read this story on the front page of the paper today, and that's the first thing I thought of. The expense-paid trips, the schwag.

It's currying favor to sway public opinion, but I don't see how you can ever police or enforce this, the article I read today quoted someone as saying it would be like "herding cats".

Just as worrisome in gaming industry journalism is the practice of spoonfeeding content and blacklisting those that go off the script.
http://www.cvgames.com/?p=2722

 

[Phil the Nuka-Cola Dude]

How are they going to investigate/enforce this? There's got to be millions of bloggers out there, and the internet is a very big place... so how on earth can they police it?

 

[Dragula]

Brilliant post, as usual.

At least the US isn't going as far as China or parts of the Middle East when it comes to trying to control blogging and the Internet in general.

I recall a young, blonde blogger here being busted by tax officials because she didn't report the very freebies and pay she received from endorsing products, either through reviews or direct advertising. I think we've had these laws for quite some time.

Blondinbella or Kissie?

 

[4too]

The Untouchables

The Untouchables




Could envision the rampant viral marketing as *competitive* interacting waveforms that covertly construct fractal patterns of agreement and dramatic product predestination.

Nothing so entertaining may remain.

Is there any real competition left standing?

After reading Cimmie's link ...

... I then was given a list of things I had to say if I mentioned any details about graphics, art, interface, gameplay, characters, etc. If I wanted to show what the final graphics we’re going to look at, I needed to point my browser to a specific website and view the images there. ...

... we as critics are often told what we can say and when we can say. ...
...
(1) Always be positive
(2) Remember this is an early build
(3) Element X Y Z will be fixed and changed upon release
(4) Disobey any of the above and you will be banned
...

Looks like "the fix is on", and maybe no single game corporation has a monopoly, it appears, by intimidation, that the marketers are not only drowning free speech but forcing awesome 13 out of 10 reviews
OR banning the hold outs from first round news releases.

Is this gaming of the medias good PR pontificating or just racketeering?

Gangsta's! Holy Eliot Ness! Maybe a Fed with a pencil can exploit the tax laws so we can separate the journalists from the Commercialists!





4too