Comments on: Some Random Thoughts on “Sponsored Blogging”

By: The Progress & Freedom Foundation Blog

The Progress & Freedom Foundation Blog — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:06:16 +0000

IAB's Brilliant Open Letter to the FTC on Blogger Rules...

Three cheers for Randall Rothenberg, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) for having the guts to send this splendid open letter to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Jon Leibowitz about the agency's ne...

By: IAB’s Brilliant Open Letter to the FTC on Blogger Rules — Technology Liberation Front

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:05:24 +0000

[...] and it gets back to a point I made here awhile back when I pointed out that this should really be a matter of journalistic ethics, self-regulation, and [...]

By: andrew_feinberg

andrew_feinberg — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:08:45 +0000

Just saw this reply, John. I think Kara and Walt are the models for the future of journalism online, and communities like SiliconAngle (of which I am proud contribute) would do well to at least adopt some aspects of their news operations in order to give context to the expert opinion and commentary that make the community special. If not by hiring professional journalists (disclosure: I have been accused of being a journalist before) than by syndicating “straight news” content from other “wire” services, whether AP, AFP (my favorite) or some specialized tech wire news service (someone should start this).

By: andrew_feinberg

andrew_feinberg — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:08:45 +0000

By: andrew_feinberg

andrew_feinberg — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:08:45 +0000

By: jefferyw

jefferyw — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:45:31 +0000

Sponsored blog is just a another name for infomercial. All infomercials should be regulated where ever they are distributed.

By: John Furrier

John Furrier — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:33:32 +0000

Hey I'm all for clearing up the noise with signal and quality that is why I started SiliconAngle.com group blog of experts. It is precisely for this reason. To have detailed conversations with pros. Keep this conversation going it's important and relevant.

For me the issue is "You can't regulate what you don't understand."

The bigger picture is that legit publishers need to monetize their offerings in some way and google adsense isn't cutting it.. a new standard has to show up. Everyone can't go out of business (including the newspapers and quality online publishers).

The other issue is understanding the difference between a reporting organization and a community. Both have reporting capability but they are mutually exclusive in terms of their methods of publishing but not in their quality. Communities of peers and colleagues (like my new blog SiliconAngle) can provide high quality analysis and opinion and in some cases news but we are not a news organization per se.

I see two standards emerging as prototypes online: 1) All Things D - professional reporting of news first with analysis and opinion second; more general ; and 2) SiliconAngle.com - a community that provides professional opinion, analysis first, and news second; more specialized.

Your thoughts?

By: andrew_feinberg

andrew_feinberg — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:58:36 +0000

Adam -- I am well aware of the difference between journalistic ethical traditions and issues of interstate commerce that are appropriate for some sort of regulatory regime.

You ask why we must "federalize" the process of transparency. I would respond that we already have.

While you could say this is a first amendment issue, I would argue that giving and receiving compensation for advertising, advertorials and sponsored posts is CONDUCT, not speech. And this conduct clearly can give rise to deceptive and unfair trade practices -- practices that are clearly under the purview of the FTC.

At what point will regulatory involvement become "wise?" I know you'd say very seldom. And I tend to agree. But we already have a regulatory scheme in place, and it only makes sense that we use the same tools against deceptive and predatory marketing online that we do offline.

Cheers