Huffington Post put the story on the home page today – link
A great discussion on the original post from Sunday – link
The on-air interview with On The Media – link
Responding to various questions/feedback I have received:
1. Yes, this is incredibly complicated. To understand how to handle various situations, use the Blog Council Disclosure Best Practices Toolkit
2. No, I am not saying bloggers can’t get paid for their work. I’m saying that it’s wrong to mix editorial with advertising.
3. In my personal opinion, working with IZEA, PayPerPost, and Magpie is horrible. You risk public humiliation for yourself and your company. Turn their salespeople away at the door.
4. This issue is not a matter of opinion, it’s the law. The FTC, the UK, WOMMA, the Blog Council, and every journalistic ethics standard agree.
Here is a quick video tutorial on the right way to handle disclosure:
Andy,
You and I obviously have a long history. I have covered the disclosure issue and our relationship in the past:
http://www.ted.me/andy-sernovitz/
IZEA meets or exceeds all ethical and legal requirements for disclosure and transparency. I have said on countless occasions that I am open to discussion if you think we can improve. I remain open to discussion despite your repeated attacks on our organization. I don’t believe condemnation of a new industry is the answer, we could be far more productive in collaboration.
if disclosure is required for blogs do you also think it should be for tweets as well?
this post over at mashable would suggest that it isnt required, or if it is, that its being ignored.
http://mashable.com/2009/04/21/sponsored-hashtags/
@mikeashworth