Online Public Relations Thoughts

News that the Federal Trade Commission has ordered bloggers to disclose when they are paid is overdue. Unfortunately, some bloggers will ignore the rule and get away with it because there are too many bloggers and not enough regulators. What will happen is that the FTC might monitor the largest sites while ignoring the smaller ones until there are complaints at which time, it will investigate and level fines. From a transparency point-of-view "pay for play" sites are a disgrace, but they are also part of human nature. It is up to PR practitioners to sort through blogs and to work with bloggers who are honest and open. Here too, some practitioners will take the easy way out and get away with it. Of course, if and when they are caught, they will claim everyone engages in "pay for play."