Blog with Integrity
Pro-bloggers are going to have to reveal affiliate partnerships and then come up with actual ideas for copy.
I just read this article on TechCrunch. It looks like the US government is bringing in laws which enforce Bloggers to reveal their revenue streams. Being the proud 52nd state that we are, I’d say Australia is next. In other words, Bloggers must clearly indicate when an objective product review is really just a sponsored ad. Pro Bloggers will no doubt be a bit nervous about this because it means that their loyal customer base may revolt – especially if customers feel they’ve been duped by a trusted friend. I personally think all this is a good thing. It means that some Bloggers will have to stop writing affiliate adverteese on a daily basis and actually come up with an idea. I hope this law extends to other info sites, too.
Transparency, it would seem, is The New World Order.
There was an article on Flying Solo today about an airport booking that went horribly wrong. In it, the author chose not to reveal the identity of the airline. Do such conscious missives effectively forgive business misdemeanours? Rick Levine’s The Cluetrain Manifesto talked about business responsibility back in 1999. Not revealing a problem (for fear of upsetting someone or possibly losing an affiliate) is tantamount to settling out of court. It’s great for the person who settled, but everyone thereafter has to suffer because there is no new legal precedent …
I’ve got a tricky shoot this afternoon. I have to film a mentally-challenged, non-verbal guy who walk’s in an upright wheelchair. He’s in a scene where he’s hangin’ with the boys after dinner. Then there’s another scene where he’s rolling about in a man-sized plastic bowl. I can’t wait to shoot this.
I’m not so much worried about the subject – he’s a natural – but the bit-players (other filmmakers) are non-actors and they are always a pain to work with because they are soooo self-conscious (reveals a lot about human ego, doesn’t it?) … Hmm. Maybe I can co-star in this one? Keep all the egos in check!
5 Comments
The article on the airline (from Flying Solo Blog) was spot on ,
Transparency is the keyword for business.
I agree that the airlines name should have been mentioned.
It would help other customers of airlines to know what airline to avoid.
Good luck with your film shoot. Hope it works out well.
I Will look forward to reading about what happened and if it went well or not .
cheers
It was a hot topic at flyingsolo.com.au. Thre’s a huge debate raging over whether the author Sam should reveal the airlines name or not.
Hi Edwin,
Funny how the web works. I just posted a comment re the Flying Solo article, then saw you’d responded in turn to the blog I mentioned in my comment. So I checked out your site (and really enjoyed your posts)…and came back to this comment, which reminded me of a post on Small Business Owner (which is another myBRC blog) about whether or not it was appropriate to use a blog to name and shame an ISP company.
Thought you might find it interesting: http://mybrc.myobnet.com/2009/05/07/naming-rights/
Wow! Thank you so much for posting, Megan. Sometimes blogging is like writing a diary to yourself! And thanks for linking to that article here, too as it’s a doozy topic. A VERY hot topic. We are so used to “settling out of court” aren’t we? But by doing this, those next in line have to pay the price and businesses are allowed to make the same blunders again and again. they’re always talking about “naming and shaming” in the world of Footy, but maybe it’s a good thing. I suspect that transparency is the new world order of things – and so it should be. The end result of transparency in business is probably fewer profits (if you have to tell someone you got it for $100, it might be difficult to on-sell it for $1,000) but perhaps the world, people and the environment as a whole will be much better off if we did honest trade. Sounds like you’re on a similar quest to me there. :) Let’s make this a better world!
Hi Edwin,
It definitelty is generating some pretty heated debate. Funny you should mention footy, I used to do issues management for a footy club so the thought of name and shame makes me break out in a cold sweat…baggage! It’s a weird feeling for me, because I’m torn between my own personal bent towards transparency, and my professional experiences from ‘the other side’ that give me more compassion to understand that sometimes it’s not black and white?
I made a comment myself on that blog (and in the interests of transparency, I’m the myBRC editor – but although myBRC hosts the blog, the bloggers themselves are genuine small business owners who write about whatever they want to write about – we just give them a place to do it).
But back to my comment…while I support transparency, I do get a bit scared about context. When you tell a friend over coffee about your bad experience, you’re only telling one person. And that person knows you and your standards/expectations/behaviours/credibility and can judge for themselves what level of gravity to attach to your gripe.
Whereas when you publish online, you can tell thousands of people – and yet those people don’t have the same context.
I guess I’m wary of unqualified rants, if you catch my drift. But at the same time, I appreciate forewarning. It’s a tough one…
And keep at it with the blogging, your stuff is interesting…and as I’ve discovered, albeit at arm’s length, it’s a gradual process!
Even though you didn’t agree with Paul’s stance on Small Business Owner, I hope you pop back there sometime, it’s great to have thoughtful input.