In Transparency Versus Hypocrisy, Michel Fortin discusses at length a blog feud involving claims of ethical misconduct arising from the disclosure (or lack thereof) of compensation being paid for links, Adsense, to affiliates, etc. Read the entire post. It is an eye-opener.
Note that the feud is not with Fortin. He is just weighing on a dispute between John Calacanis and the owners of PayPerPost.com.
It hurts online marketers and bloggers in general when accusations of deceptive trade practices are made. If this argument spills out into the blogosphere, it has the danger of baiting both class action trial lawyers and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulators to step in under the guise of protecting the consumer.
Let’s hope that cooler heads prevail.
Clever marketing is not a scam. The entrepreneurial spirit should be encouraged instead of ridiculed, regulated, or sued into submission.
