Disclosure changes coming

PayPerPost has updated their terms of service and the policies they have on disclosure for their bloggers in regards to posts that have been paid for. In a press release they state: "PayPerPost’s new Terms of Service require participating content creators to fully disclose site wide with a prominent Disclosure Policy or on a per post basis."

While I had previously been going by the FTC rules regarding Printed Media (which the FTC had defined as including content on the Internet), I will join PayPerPost in their new ToS policy of clearly defining all posts that I have in any way been compensated for posting - including those which reflect my personal opinion on a product. I encourage my readership not to be turned off of a service/product/website simply because they may have notices of being blog ads, as there will remain to be many which I truly feel deserve my endorsement.

Ted Murphy, chief executive officer of PayPerPost, in talking about disclosure in advertising, says in the press release - “The mission of PayPerPost has always been to be the top marketplace connecting bloggers and marketers. We have always believed that the marketplace will naturally evolve based upon needs of the marketers and bloggers participating in the market. Proper transparency for WOM marketing has been an ongoing balance for our members and an issue with little legal precedent. Although the FTC was petitioned and recently declined any formal action against buzz marketing practices (e.g. Proctor & Gamble Tremor, BzzAgents), we believe the marketers and bloggers in our marketplace will benefit from today’s Terms of Service updates. We will undoubtedly lose some marketers and bloggers in the process, however we believe this measure serves our marketplace participants long term.”

(*WOM = Word of Mouth)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note: This post was a paid post and was sponsored by PayPerPost to help get the word out about the new changes.