Actually, there’s no ethics alert. Nothing in social media ethics should be news to you. In 1914 Woodrow Wilson signed the Truth in Advertising rules that gave the FTC the authority to protect against “Unfair and Deceptive” practices. Since then, they’ve seen the rise of every new marketing practices: TV, direct mail, multi-level-marketing, infomercials, and […]
FTC busts ADT for using bloggers to lie to you. The punishment is excellent.
March 14, 2014
The FTC announced on Thursday that it has caught ADT paying bloggers for endorsements (on blogs as well as national TV/radio) and not disclosing it. Folks, the rules and the law on social media ethics are clear, as I’ve been sharing for years. More here. In addition to ending the program, ADT will now be […]
Ethical disclosure is ridiculously easy — learn how
August 18, 2013
We’re required to disclose any form of compensation when writing a blog post, which has led to all sorts of stresses, excuses, legal discussion, and bloviating by bloggers. It’s really easy to do proper, simple, legally-compliant disclosure: Just write a sentence at the start of each post explaining your relationship to whomever is compensating you […]
4 key groups to train on word of mouth ethics
May 14, 2013
This is a post from our WordofMouth.org project. Check it out for more great word of mouth marketing tips like this every day. Nobody is going to put their reputation on the line to recommend you if they have any questions about your trustworthiness. It takes a long, long time to build this level of trust — […]
Q&A: What the new FTC rules mean to you
March 28, 2013
Following SocialMedia.org‘s brands-only call last week on the FTC’s new disclosure rules, some folks had some follow-up questions clarifying exactly what these updates mean to them. Below are answers to the most common questions we received. Remember, I’m not a lawyer (I don’t even play one on TV). But, I have testified before Congress, traveled the […]
New FTC rules clarify the laws on sponsored social media content
March 13, 2013
The FTC just released an update to their “.com Disclosures” guide — the biggest update on social media disclosure laws since the 2009 update to their Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, and the first update to the .com Disclosures since 2000. The biggest addition: Making it painfully clear that disclosure […]
If your company pays for fake word of mouth, we can catch you
December 20, 2011
Paying for fake reviews and disguised blog post advertorials is wrong. It’s lying to people, plain and simple. If your company does it, you’re evil, untrustworthy, and stupid. Why risk your brand reputation and FTC prosecution for a back-alley marketing stunt? Good news: Researchers from the University of Victoria have designed and validated a detection […]
Ethical disclosure is absurdly easy — learn how
August 19, 2011
We’re required to disclose any form of compensation when writing a blog post, which has led to all sorts of stresses, excuses, legal discussion, and bloviating by bloggers. It’s really easy to do proper, simple, legally-compliant disclosure: Just write a sentence at the start of each post explaining your relationship to whomever is compensating you […]
How to create your social media policy
June 20, 2011
Creating a social media policy isn’t an optional part of your program, it should be the first step. And thanks to a lot of hard work and collaboration from the members of SocialMedia.org (of which I’m the CEO), this process is a lot easier. Today we’re thrilled to announce we’re releasing a completely updated edition […]
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