Should Mommy Bloggers Disclose that the New Camera They’re Shooting with is a Freebie?

This is a question being posed by an Ad Age article posted by Lauren Barack. Her question is actually part of a series of questions which include:

A lot of these questions are coming up because the Federal Trade Commision (FTC) is really starting to scrutinize what bloggers of all kinds (not just mommy bloggers) are publishing on their blogs about products and product reviews.

Specifically, FTC is moving to regulate social-media advertising. The FTC is planning to hold marketers liable for false statements published on blogs and social networks—meaning companies or bloggers could get sued for saying a product was good if it really wasn’t (source: PaidContent.org).

so was’sup here? why is this happening?

Well, you can’t blame the FTC for wanting to monitor its guidelines for endorsements and testimonials (first time it would be doing so since 1980) since the explosion of blogs and social media.

Their motivation: companies are increasingly seeding discussion boards and social networks with comments from paid “brand evangelists,” and bloggers are making money off of pay-per-review blog posts. FTC contends that these kinds of social-media campaigns should be held to the new standards.

every story has two sides

In Barack’s article, entitled Don’t Hate Mommy Bloggers for Their Swag, a mommy blogger is quoted as saying, “I worked hard for my swag, okay? … I freaking deserve it.” (IMPORTANT NOTE: this specific mommy blogger makes comments on Barack’s blog post indicating that her quote was said with purposeful satire.  I reference it here, however, only because although she meant her quote to be sassy and sarcastic, her point — satire or not — is actually quite descriptive of the sentiment from the other side of the mommy blogger coin.)

Hmmm…maybe so.

It appears, however, from lots of reporting recently (and in light of the FTC involvement) that this mommy blogger and possibly legions of other mommy bloggers may be challenged with an image problem from the practice of editorial-for-swag (not everyone thinks mommy bloggers are “bad,” but there are always those folks who disagree or disapprove of mommy blogging anything. As an FYI, I am neutral. I see the benefits to advertisers and the benefits to mommy bloggers.)

not just mommy bloggers

Opinions on this matter are as long as they are deep on both sides of the fence. And we can argue whether editorial-for-swag (and disclosing this or not) is right or wrong all day long but this is not the point I’d like to make emphasize.

Rather, I’d like to underscore how important it is for any blogger — mommy, professional, political, independent or otherwise — to take great, great care and caution in how they proceed with any product endorsements given the FTC’s nose-down mood.

related resources

Those who accept freebies from companies and who share testimonials or product reviews on their blogs would do well by researching the matter further.

Here are some helpful resources:

• Can ‘Good Blogging Seal Of Approval’ Help Mommy Bloggers Avoid The Regulators?
• The Feds To Push For ‘Truth’ In Social-Media Marketing
• Mommy Blogger Blackmails Crocs Marketer; FTC Poised to Step In
• News linking and copyright (bloggers, do you know how to properly quote copyrighted material? If not, this is for you)
  

Even if you are not a mommy blogger, the issues being raised are relevant to most any blogger.

From where I’m standing, my primary interest is to see how the FTC involvement and interest in imposing standards of any kind will impact social media marketing or blogging.

I’ll be watching this whole mommy blogger drama with great interest as it continues to unfold…