According to an article from Associated Press Internet Writer: "Bloggers Must Disclose Sponsored Posts."

If you're writing about something in your blog that is related to a financial exchange for your blog, like advertising or product placement, then it may be legally necessary to report such. So says the Federal Trade Commission, as that could otherwise violate consumer-protection laws on deception. Keyword: "could."

However, according to the policy of PayPerPost Inc. -- the first major company to enact this change in policy -- if you are giving a negative or neutral review related to that advertising money, no disclaimer is necessary. While not clear as to what "neutral" is, among those advertising with PayPerPost are OfficeMax and News Corp.

Ted Murphy from PayPerPost spoke publicly about his company's new policy noting that some advertisers -- and their advertising -- may be lost, but the "transparency" will be better for the long-term, as the clients they "really want to go after, the Fortune 500, the Fortune 1000" had disclosure obligations as it was.

David Sifry of Technorati also applauds such, saying: "I think that people have learned that without trust, all posts become suspect."

And the relevance of this post to you readers of BRANDEblog? Besides this being a blog, yesterday's post was about the expected surge in online advertising in the near-future. But if bloggers have to be clear about their affiliations, which some may argue to be a violate of Freedom Of Speech, then content may change. If content changes, will readership change? All remains to be seen, people...

Labels: Blogging, Blogs, FTC, Online Advertising, Technorati