Bloggs have to disclose freebies

It is no secret that the best way to launch a product today is the persuade the New Influencers to write something about your product in their blog. Top blogs attract millions of visitors every day and are linked to thousand other blogs creating this way a tremendous communication effect about any product they mention. A recent decision of the US Federal Trade Commission attempting to increase the transparency of such product endorsement testimonials requires bloggers to mention explicitly in their site what they get in return: free products, money (what about paid vacations in Hawaii?). See also the news in the CNN
A good move (Maybe the European Commission should look to this issue also) although I do not expect to bring any important changes in the "blogsphere". Most high caliber blogs will comply (some do this already without having to) since their reputation and trustworthiness is largely based on openness and sincerity. It will be interesting though to see if there are any exceptions to the rule and if some blogs are not as independent as they claim to be.

Dad blogs: The most recent online Influencers

In his 2007 book The New influencers Paul Gillin argues that in the Social Media era the real opinion leaders are bloggers who attract millions of readers daily and can make or brake a new product but endorsing it or disapproving it. Next to the well known influential blogs that without doubt can play a very important role as PR tools as I have mentioned before, a new category of “amateur” bloggers seem to emerge, capable of influencing million of people: the mom bloggers for some time already and recently the dad bloggers! An interesting article in the  New York Times