Sorry in advance- these is one of THOSE rants-you may agree or disagree, but there is no getting around WHAT has been passed and is in writing. It's out there folks and it's scary the way bloggers are being singled out. And I feel I HAVE to let you guys that aren't aware of the new rules, about how some of your favorite blogs may be changing!
I don't know how much you may have read on the new rules being imposed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on bloggers, effective Dec 1, 2009, but I felt it was necessary to step away from my "no politics" rule to speak out on the new 'rules'............
Basically what it comes down to is that the FTC feels that you, my readers, are hapless ignorant dunces and can NOT read, NOR make your own decisions without us, bloggers, TELLING you what to buy or what to do. Yes, it really is THAT simple. Even though I TELL you that Company A sent me something to review in my post, they want an EXTRA caveat posted in the beginning of my post, that I am receiving COMPENSATION for said review, and therefore basically my opinion is skewed, and YOU should not take it seriously.
I know I know- don't email me- here's the link to the ACTUAL text of the guidelines from the FTC- I read thru the whole thing-it is SCARY what FOUR people on ONE commission can decide that affects literally EVERYONE in the country in one way or another.
Now come on, we who were raised by Southerners or raised in the South, grew up with the caveat "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all", BUT if we don't like something, we're gonna tell you we DONT like it and why, but we will find something nice to say with it. THATS how we were raised.
For example, I can say that the soap doesn't work well, doesn't make clothes smell clean, but I might say I like the packaging however. Well, according to the FTC, I'm an endorser for Company A and am being compensated to put out a POSITIVE review...........uh, hello, that would NOT be considered a positive review in anybodys logic, except THEIRS.
The funny thing is if I, as a consumer, go and request a sample FROM Company A myself, then I can blog all day long about it and I don't have to put ANY caveat in my postings....but if I belong to say BzzAgent and they send me a sample to review, then the FTC considers me a PAID endorser and if I make ANY claims that the product solved whatever problem I had, then I, MYSELF, are liable to be fined by the FTC for violating endorsement rules.............Confused yet????
Oh, but as a book reviewer, if I return the book to the publisher, then I don't have to worry about the caveats or endorsements codes so much......Wait, they're gonna send me a book, but then I have to pay myself, to send it back, instead of donating it to a school or public library (like I usually do, after i rotate it among friends to read and Top Shelf contests are over). Now what to you think is gonna happen?? That's right:
A) returned books will then be donated by publishing companys to schools and libraries BECAUSE under the FTC OTHER rules, they can't sell them as new (thus doing what I ALREADY would have done) OR they will be destroyed because they aren't new and can't be donated under SCHOOL rules...SIGH....
B) publishing houses will realize the program is costing THEM money and stop it ( thus ensuring less books being sent to public libraries and school)
C) authors will suffer as their publishing companies will have their hands tied as to how they can get info out on the new boosk-big name authors will be ok, but what about 1st time authors?
D) how many more trees are we gonna kill sending these books BACK, so we don't get deemed a PAID endorser subject to strictest rules possible? Gee, that's not very environmentally friendly and conservationist like our new powers that be want us to be like, now is it??????
Edward Champion called and spoke with Richard Cleland of the Bureau of Consumer Protection by telephone, to try to get clarification of the new FTC rules, and Cleland pretty much said bloggers were different from newspaper and magazine reviewers, and that was why they were being singled out. I'm sorry, I've known reviewers for media outlets- they ALL got to keep whatever swag was sent their way to do a review, it did NOT become property of who they worked for. Seriously, what is a newspaper gonna do with a full size shampoo sample that has been used 3 times then turned over to them by the reviewer? That's right, round file into the garbage, therefore WASTING product and contributing more items to landfills.
And I'm sorry, but I'm more worried about a travel reviewer who is offered an ALL inclusive PAID hotel stay at a luxury spa for 7 days, than I am about a blogger getting a carseat to review. Really, WHOSE review is gonna be more skewed? You and I both know it will be the travel critic-they're gonna want to get another freebie from the spa, so they won't be saying anything negative. Think how many travel reviews you read in your newspaper or local magzines, see anything negative? Now what about reviews for a carseat or stroller. RIGHT, bloggers tell you like it is, good, AND bad.
The end result in all of this is that companies may have to CUT OUT direct marketing completely to consumers and bloggers. Gee, wonder how many jobs that is gonna cost, because you and I both know companies now have designated positions JUST for direct marketing. What about companies like BzzAgent? If people can't use social media to spread the world about new products, will they stay in business or fold and more jobs be lost? Does NO ONE know how to think thru a problem or action, and see potential FUTURE problems with what they are deciding on anymore? WHEN did that stop happening/being taught???
AND it gets WORSE- If I review an item sold on Etsy or anywhere else, I CAN NOT tell you where to BUY the item. That's right, I can NOT give you the link to purchase said item, without falling under the FTC guidelines on 'direct payment for items bought' ruling. Yeah right, like Buycostumes or the FTC is gonna figure out that my little blog got Buycostumes 4 extra purchases and make me liable because I am NOT a PAID advertiser for them, and be FINED up to $11,000 ??? Oy vey............so now I have to subtly directly you, I can't give you the LINK to said item's location. Anybody else got a headache yet?
If I try a product that say is supposed to make my hair stronger and I feel it has, I have to make sure I put a caveat that "my experience is not typical and should not be taken as truthful for that product:" Color me So confused. Don't we, as consumers, WANT to know about someone we trust's experience? If the product says it is supposed to do something and I tell you it did, I can STILL be held accountable under the FTC rulings. HUH? What happened to truth in advertising, in its ORIGINAL intent????
I got into reviewing as it is one of my forte's and I thought adding it to the blog would be FUN. I have never sought to be PAID by any company, and I DON"T criticize those that are. To each his own has been my motto. But now, we're all in the SAME boat and being treated the same- illogically and wrongly!
So forget the article by yahoo tech- they OBVIOUSLY don't read the blogs that I read- you know, the ETHICAL ones, course I wonder when items are sent to yahoo tech for review who gets to keep them? Do the reviewers get use of them? Isn't that paid compensation, HUH?????
This is what it ALL comes down to in a nutshell. Somebody in the administration, whether it be FTC's or higher up, decided that when we bloggers receive a "free" product to review, we are really being PAID to work for said company AND since they don't have a way to TAX us YET, this is how they can make it problematic and horrific for us, so that we will STOP receiving items and reviewing them.
Remember, history repeats itself if we don't learn from it. And what have we learned? They ALWAYS start by taking the books away- books contain things they don't want passed on, they educate people to a different way of thinking-they INSPIRE.
AH, don't you just LOVE the march to curb free speech?????
I don't know how much you may have read on the new rules being imposed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on bloggers, effective Dec 1, 2009, but I felt it was necessary to step away from my "no politics" rule to speak out on the new 'rules'............
Basically what it comes down to is that the FTC feels that you, my readers, are hapless ignorant dunces and can NOT read, NOR make your own decisions without us, bloggers, TELLING you what to buy or what to do. Yes, it really is THAT simple. Even though I TELL you that Company A sent me something to review in my post, they want an EXTRA caveat posted in the beginning of my post, that I am receiving COMPENSATION for said review, and therefore basically my opinion is skewed, and YOU should not take it seriously.
I know I know- don't email me- here's the link to the ACTUAL text of the guidelines from the FTC- I read thru the whole thing-it is SCARY what FOUR people on ONE commission can decide that affects literally EVERYONE in the country in one way or another.
Now come on, we who were raised by Southerners or raised in the South, grew up with the caveat "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all", BUT if we don't like something, we're gonna tell you we DONT like it and why, but we will find something nice to say with it. THATS how we were raised.
For example, I can say that the soap doesn't work well, doesn't make clothes smell clean, but I might say I like the packaging however. Well, according to the FTC, I'm an endorser for Company A and am being compensated to put out a POSITIVE review...........uh, hello, that would NOT be considered a positive review in anybodys logic, except THEIRS.
The funny thing is if I, as a consumer, go and request a sample FROM Company A myself, then I can blog all day long about it and I don't have to put ANY caveat in my postings....but if I belong to say BzzAgent and they send me a sample to review, then the FTC considers me a PAID endorser and if I make ANY claims that the product solved whatever problem I had, then I, MYSELF, are liable to be fined by the FTC for violating endorsement rules.............Confused yet????
Oh, but as a book reviewer, if I return the book to the publisher, then I don't have to worry about the caveats or endorsements codes so much......Wait, they're gonna send me a book, but then I have to pay myself, to send it back, instead of donating it to a school or public library (like I usually do, after i rotate it among friends to read and Top Shelf contests are over). Now what to you think is gonna happen?? That's right:
A) returned books will then be donated by publishing companys to schools and libraries BECAUSE under the FTC OTHER rules, they can't sell them as new (thus doing what I ALREADY would have done) OR they will be destroyed because they aren't new and can't be donated under SCHOOL rules...SIGH....
B) publishing houses will realize the program is costing THEM money and stop it ( thus ensuring less books being sent to public libraries and school)
C) authors will suffer as their publishing companies will have their hands tied as to how they can get info out on the new boosk-big name authors will be ok, but what about 1st time authors?
D) how many more trees are we gonna kill sending these books BACK, so we don't get deemed a PAID endorser subject to strictest rules possible? Gee, that's not very environmentally friendly and conservationist like our new powers that be want us to be like, now is it??????
Edward Champion called and spoke with Richard Cleland of the Bureau of Consumer Protection by telephone, to try to get clarification of the new FTC rules, and Cleland pretty much said bloggers were different from newspaper and magazine reviewers, and that was why they were being singled out. I'm sorry, I've known reviewers for media outlets- they ALL got to keep whatever swag was sent their way to do a review, it did NOT become property of who they worked for. Seriously, what is a newspaper gonna do with a full size shampoo sample that has been used 3 times then turned over to them by the reviewer? That's right, round file into the garbage, therefore WASTING product and contributing more items to landfills.
And I'm sorry, but I'm more worried about a travel reviewer who is offered an ALL inclusive PAID hotel stay at a luxury spa for 7 days, than I am about a blogger getting a carseat to review. Really, WHOSE review is gonna be more skewed? You and I both know it will be the travel critic-they're gonna want to get another freebie from the spa, so they won't be saying anything negative. Think how many travel reviews you read in your newspaper or local magzines, see anything negative? Now what about reviews for a carseat or stroller. RIGHT, bloggers tell you like it is, good, AND bad.
The end result in all of this is that companies may have to CUT OUT direct marketing completely to consumers and bloggers. Gee, wonder how many jobs that is gonna cost, because you and I both know companies now have designated positions JUST for direct marketing. What about companies like BzzAgent? If people can't use social media to spread the world about new products, will they stay in business or fold and more jobs be lost? Does NO ONE know how to think thru a problem or action, and see potential FUTURE problems with what they are deciding on anymore? WHEN did that stop happening/being taught???
AND it gets WORSE- If I review an item sold on Etsy or anywhere else, I CAN NOT tell you where to BUY the item. That's right, I can NOT give you the link to purchase said item, without falling under the FTC guidelines on 'direct payment for items bought' ruling. Yeah right, like Buycostumes or the FTC is gonna figure out that my little blog got Buycostumes 4 extra purchases and make me liable because I am NOT a PAID advertiser for them, and be FINED up to $11,000 ??? Oy vey............so now I have to subtly directly you, I can't give you the LINK to said item's location. Anybody else got a headache yet?
If I try a product that say is supposed to make my hair stronger and I feel it has, I have to make sure I put a caveat that "my experience is not typical and should not be taken as truthful for that product:" Color me So confused. Don't we, as consumers, WANT to know about someone we trust's experience? If the product says it is supposed to do something and I tell you it did, I can STILL be held accountable under the FTC rulings. HUH? What happened to truth in advertising, in its ORIGINAL intent????
I got into reviewing as it is one of my forte's and I thought adding it to the blog would be FUN. I have never sought to be PAID by any company, and I DON"T criticize those that are. To each his own has been my motto. But now, we're all in the SAME boat and being treated the same- illogically and wrongly!
So forget the article by yahoo tech- they OBVIOUSLY don't read the blogs that I read- you know, the ETHICAL ones, course I wonder when items are sent to yahoo tech for review who gets to keep them? Do the reviewers get use of them? Isn't that paid compensation, HUH?????
This is what it ALL comes down to in a nutshell. Somebody in the administration, whether it be FTC's or higher up, decided that when we bloggers receive a "free" product to review, we are really being PAID to work for said company AND since they don't have a way to TAX us YET, this is how they can make it problematic and horrific for us, so that we will STOP receiving items and reviewing them.
Remember, history repeats itself if we don't learn from it. And what have we learned? They ALWAYS start by taking the books away- books contain things they don't want passed on, they educate people to a different way of thinking-they INSPIRE.
AH, don't you just LOVE the march to curb free speech?????
This is Balderdash--a nice way of saying it. Freedom of Speech is in our constitution. What do we do to stop this? Any ideas? Dec. 1 is nearly upon us.
ReplyDeleteMarj M.
i dont have a clue! I knew they wanted us to state WHERE we got the items from, but all the additional and the hefty fines was news to me. I guess i would say start with your senators to put pressure on the FTC to rethink the guidelines. Course with the health-care debate, not sure if it will get addressed anytime soon...SIGH. I am also contacting my PR abd publishing people to get their take and see what their plans are as well.
ReplyDeleteDo what we can by getting the word out is the best I can say.
I first saw it on twitter, so I went and read the article yesterday. I told my husband last night about it, and his input was, are they trying to track it as self-employment taxes, you know their trying to get ebay sellers to have to pay taxes on the money they make. I asked him was there anywhere that the government didn't stick their noses anymore?
ReplyDeleteyup, my thought too- i pulled back from selling on ebay for that reason. it's amazing how the biw wigs get all the loopholes for themselves, but we who are just making a decent living are getting nicked and dimed....
ReplyDeleteWell, I think you about covered it.
ReplyDeleteThis sucks.
We should start a petition or something.
All this is making me a nervous wreck. Do I just stop receiving books for review? I'm pretty sure that I'll stop all other reviews...and just when I started getting "picked up" by companies that I was really interested in:-(
ReplyDeleteYou know I'm an upstart. Screw them. Write and do what you want. Then if they come after you, take it to the Supreme Court if you have to. You know I love a good battle. When they know you are not afraid, they back off. Fight a good fight sister!
ReplyDeleteThe LA Times site says that "A blogger can, however, accept a free sample of a product for review purposes without disclosure, 'provided that the product itself does not have such a high value that would make its receipt material (e.g., a car),' according to the revised rules." (link: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/10/bloggers-must-now-disclose-if-they-got-paid-to-write-a-review-.html ) Wouldn't that exclude single copies of books, bottles of shampoo, tubes of lip balm, and other small items?
ReplyDeleteYour paragraph in red is what I wondered, too: when we will have to start paying income taxes on the full retail value of review products? I think that will be the end of the blog review system as we know it.
I'm trying to stay out of the political debate, so I'll just sign this as Anonymous.
re la times- I don't think they read the full guidelines guys. If you have a HISTORY of receiving items from the company/pr rep, then IT COUNTS, no matter what the dollar amount. That's why I spent an hour reading and reading the fine print in the guides...
ReplyDeleteIt's all a muddled mess to me. Darned if you do, darned if you don't. I'm not quite sure what I am supposed to do or not do. I always put a general disclaimer at the bottom of my posts that I received the product for review and that the opinions within the post are of my own and that people need to do their own research before purchasing any products. Is that not good enough?
ReplyDeleteCan you tell me where in the FTC document I can find the passage about not telling readers where they can buy a product? I couldn't find that by searching; I didn't read the entire 80+ pages, though!
ReplyDelete