Day 52 - FTC announces new rule

Oops! I promised to bring you up-to-date results from my comprehensive research project as they came in (this is the project concerning DVR usage) and I have not done so. My apologies. It is coming along. But seriously, I've had to study for five tests, complete two papers and prepare a presentation … blah, blah, blah. The sun was in my eyes and the dog ate my homework, too. Anyway, I will have some details to present here within a week - I hope!

What do you think about the way advertising blends with Social Media?
Please forgive me for making another shameless plug and asking you to peek at the banner ads at the end of each of my posts. As part of this ongoing media and marketing education, I recently became an affiliate marketing representative for a few companies. As a test, I've linked banner ads to each blog post - not to be confused with those familiar links Google is running everywhere these days.

So far, I can (sadly) report that my affiliate effort has generated zero results. Perhaps it's just too early to tell if this could ever be a viable source of income - for anyone. As I sign on with more quality companies and products, I am hopeful that diversity and some good deals will attract interest. Feel free to comment on this. You are part of the conversation!

The Big Picture: Is TV's future blurry?
According to a report by the Internet Advertising Bureau and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the UK has now become the first major economy in which advertisers are spending more on Internet advertising than on television, reporting a record 1.75 billion (pounds) spent online in the first six months of this year. This marks a significant turning point for the overall TV industry - the leading ad medium in the US and UK for more than half a century. It took the Internet just over a decade to become the biggest advertising sector. The US is not far behind the UK which bodes poorly for the industry.

Why you should care about an FTC ruling
The Federal Trade Commission has revised its guidelines concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising. This is a watershed event for bloggers and anyone using social media. These revisions focus on us. Everyone online will now be required to properly disclose if they have received payment in the form of either money or product from a company or organization they have recommended or produced content about online. Word is bloggers will be fined up to $11,000 per post for failure to disclose. This is interesting, folks. Let me be the first one on my block to say that I have not earned a penny of compensation in exchange for anything I've ever blogged about here. Whew! What a relief. But seriously, who says what constitutes compensation? In an example I read, a person who receives a sample of Tide in the mail can not tell her friend on Facebook that she preferred that detergent over another unless she first disclosed that she received a free sample. Ridiculous! How will this be policed or enforced? That is the question on the minds of online marketers and bloggers.

It's been real. I am heading back to my research effort. I hope you'll come back tomorrow for more juicy news (and views)!