Comments on: Social Media Ethics: Resources to Help You Stay Out of Trouble

By: Disclosure & Social Media Ethics: Do You Kiss and Tell? Tricomm Strategies

Disclosure & Social Media Ethics: Do You Kiss and Tell? Tricomm Strategies — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 19:12:48 +0000

[...] Social Media Ethics to Keep You Out of Trouble [...]

By: Victor

Victor — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:09:00 +0000

Perfect! Thanks for the feedback!

By: Pam Dyer

Pam Dyer — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:07:00 +0000

Yes! An example of needing to disclose would be if, for example, Chris Brogan paid me a fee to review his new book. I write a glowing review, urging readers to buy it, but I don’t divulge the fact that Chris paid me. (And/or I provide an affiliate link which isn’t identified as an affiliate link.) These things would put me on a slippery slope as far as the FTC is concerned. But in your case, it doesn’t sound like you’re doing anything like this — you’re writing a review of something that you think is valuable for your readers and there aren’t any strings attached. Make sense?

By: Victor

Victor — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:35:00 +0000

Gotcha! Sounds like the key is disclosing the partnerships. So if I have no relationship (and just use a plain non-affiliated link) with the review I am writing about, then I am all clear?

By: Pam Dyer

Pam Dyer — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:27:00 +0000

The FTC is cracking down on bloggers vis a vis disclosure. In your case: if you write a glowing review for XYZ product on your blog and you’re paid by the company that produces it to write that review, you have to make it very clear that it’s a paid review. If you don’t do this and/or you include an affiliate like without identifying it as such, the FTC won’t be pleased. So it’s about being upfront and open about disclosure.

By: thevictorchen

thevictorchen — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:09:10 +0000

Perfect! Thanks for the feedback!

By: Pam Dyer

Pam Dyer — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:07:06 +0000

Yes! An example of needing to disclose would be if, for example, Chris Brogan paid me a fee to review his new book. I write a glowing review, urging readers to buy it, but I don't divulge the fact that Chris paid me. (And/or I provide an affiliate link which isn't identified as an affiliate link.) These things would put me on a slippery slope as far as the FTC is concerned. But in your case, it doesn't sound like you're doing anything like this — you're writing a review of something that you think is valuable for your readers and there aren't any strings attached. Make sense?

By: thevictorchen

thevictorchen — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:35:19 +0000

Gotcha! Sounds like the key is disclosing the partnerships. So if I have no relationship (and just use a plain non-affiliated link) with the review I am writing about, then I am all clear?

By: Pam Dyer

Pam Dyer — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:27:31 +0000

The FTC is cracking down on bloggers vis a vis disclosure. In your case: if you write a glowing review for XYZ product on your blog and you're paid by the company that produces it to write that review, you have to make it very clear that it's a paid review. If you don't do this and/or you include an affiliate like without identifying it as such, the FTC won't be pleased. So it's about being upfront and open about disclosure.

By: thevictorchen

thevictorchen — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:50:26 +0000

Awesome, but what makes for bad ethics? If I run a simple personal blog, could I be running into any trouble?