Central Florida & metro Orlando real estate services

It's all over the news around here.  The Federal Trade Commission has just revised guidelines about "Endorsements and Testimonials" in advertising.  So if you are an independent blogger and you get paid in any way by someone you write a nice post about, you could incur the wrath of the federal government, to the tune of $11,000 per hit, unless you disclose the "payment".

Now, the idea probably isn't to go after Active Rain folk who write Localism posts about their favorite art galleries or restaurants. 

But wait!

I often write nice things about the Uptown Cathay, my favorite Pan Asian restaurant and take out place.  And Peter, the owner and a very old friend, often pours me a glass of wine while I'm waiting for my crispy beef to cook back in the kitchen.  Oh, and he started doing this way before I started to blog.  But I guess that, theoretically at least, I'd better disclose the Chardonnay.

And what about the local book store, Politics and Prose, that carries The Irreverent Guide to Real Estate.  Oops!  I forgot to mention that when I wrote a nice post about their store and coffee shop. 

And what if one of the salespeople (also a wonderful friend) who works in the Georgetown boutique I'm writing about later this week passes out my business cards?  If that leads to a transaction, I guess I'll get paid for it.  OK, if you want one of my business cards, I'm hoping that my friend, Barb, who works at The Pheonix in Georgetown, will give you one!

While I haven't read the entire document, here is an excerpt from the FTC's press release:

"The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that 'material connections' (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers--connections that consumers would not expect--must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other 'word-of-mouth' marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service."

Oh!  And this also applies to Facebook Fan pages and maybe even some Tweets!

How on earth they plan to enforce this is way beyond me.  I'm certain that Congress is not going to increase the agency's budget so they can go after bloggers like us.  But unless they do, I see a lot of room for the people who do get caught up in their net to cry capricious and arbitrary enforcement.

I think the FTC needs to get on with other issues that might, in fact, actually protect us as consumers.  Meanwhile, I'm going to try to be safe instead of sorry.  I have better things to do with $11,000, like spend it at the Uptown Cathay or The Phoenix or at Politics and Prose Book Store.