I agree. I love the "To the FTC" on the sidebar! I added a disclaimer to my blog, but now some of the publishers want something printed on each review.
Well, us bloggers can thank those bloggers who were receiving cars, computers, etc. and couldn't provide UNBIASED reviews and have ruined it for the rest of us.
To be the devil's advocate here, I can see where the FTC is coming from. For consumers who don't know the ins and outs of blogging, they believe what is written is a true review but they don't know that the item was provided for free and that the reviewer was paid to make sure that the review of said product is POSITIVE. THAT is unfair to the consumer. Just like those infomercials where it says "This is a PAID actor", etc. This has NOTHING to do with your taxes or even it being necessary to report this to the IRS. IRS and FTC are two completely different entities.
All you have to do is have a disclaimer saying the book was free and that it being free doesn't affect your ability to being unbiased.
Many of the blogging community have taken this sooo far out of context and are overly dramatic. Wouldn't you be mad if you were reading a blog about a product and bought the item because of this blogger's post and you found out that the item is crap and the blogger was paid $300 to post about it? I know we are just book bloggers and this isn't an attack on the book blogging community but on bloggers general thanks, like I said above, to those bloggers receiving a $50,000 car, even HOUSES!, $600 Dyson vacuums, $4000 subzero refrigerators.. shall I go on?
yes I agree that it is very sad..and utterly ridiculous-just my 2 cents 🙂
I agree. I love the "To the FTC" on the sidebar! I added a disclaimer to my blog, but now some of the publishers want something printed on each review.
Gosh… I think I have to do one of these things…
It is sad 🙁 Going after bloggers when people are getting killed in the streets, or getting robbed.
For goodness sakes.
Well, us bloggers can thank those bloggers who were receiving cars, computers, etc. and couldn't provide UNBIASED reviews and have ruined it for the rest of us.
To be the devil's advocate here, I can see where the FTC is coming from. For consumers who don't know the ins and outs of blogging, they believe what is written is a true review but they don't know that the item was provided for free and that the reviewer was paid to make sure that the review of said product is POSITIVE. THAT is unfair to the consumer. Just like those infomercials where it says "This is a PAID actor", etc. This has NOTHING to do with your taxes or even it being necessary to report this to the IRS. IRS and FTC are two completely different entities.
All you have to do is have a disclaimer saying the book was free and that it being free doesn't affect your ability to being unbiased.
Many of the blogging community have taken this sooo far out of context and are overly dramatic. Wouldn't you be mad if you were reading a blog about a product and bought the item because of this blogger's post and you found out that the item is crap and the blogger was paid $300 to post about it? I know we are just book bloggers and this isn't an attack on the book blogging community but on bloggers general thanks, like I said above, to those bloggers receiving a $50,000 car, even HOUSES!, $600 Dyson vacuums, $4000 subzero refrigerators.. shall I go on?