Oh man – sure, I date myself just by referring to this particular album, but here at Overly Positive, we’ve never been ashamed to admitting to having knowledge of some great tune of the past – and the one on the right is one of them. Respect, my dear readers.
Speaking of respect, today we’re going to be talking about the Federal Trade Commission, or the FTC for short, and their completely thought-out, intelligent ruling to protect consumers and vendors regarding blogs. You see, the FTC thinks that “bloggers” (air quotes included, take note) might somehow be predisposed towards reviewing things favorably should they receive them for free. So to prevent the obvious subjectivity that might result from, say, receiving free naked pictures with a review copy of Dante’s Inferno, they’re telling all us “bloggers” (air quotes is hard to do when typing, geez) to make sure we let our readers know when we get free stuff. That is, unless we like paying a $11,000 fine for not doing so.
I’ve read so many people up in arms about this! C’mon guys, look at how great this stuff is. I mean, for a long time, the government had no idea about what to do with bloggers like us. We kinda looked like that freakish pet in the pet store that might have had only 3 legs or crazy looking fur to them. Now we might actually be treated like actual people. I mean, sure, the real journalists exist on sites that totally review things in a fair and honest manner that didn’t involve a bar night out or a studio visit with totally subtle all-you-can-eat food. But didn’t all star athletes start by warming the bench? This is our ticket to riches and review copies of C-List products! Be excited!
Surely the FTC did their research before coming to this ruling. They must have understood that blogging is totally by nature subjective and biased anyway, and chosen to focus on the “evil” bloggers who sell such bias for free stuff. I’m certain these are the true scourge of the Internet, and not someone who totally chooses to irrationally hate something even though they haven’t even tried it or played with it for any extended period of time. Angry ranters and haters, not to worry – the FTC is on your side.
Besides, being regulated and possibly being slapped across the face because we forgot to tell people we got free AOL discs in the mail means we’re legit, right? Look at all the great historical figures of cinema for proof – William Wallace from Braveheart, Davy Crockett from Remember the Alamo, hell, even the legendary Jedi. They were kind of boring and not too great when they weren’t really recognized, but when they were regulated and treated as rebels, well – that’s recognition. I can hear the cries for freedom now.
So dry your eyes, “bloggers” – not out of sadness, but out of happiness. Because if the FTC finds “bloggers” as important as the other issues which certainly need attention in their purview it means that we’re not just a speck anymore, but a speck that could be squashed. Oh, the anticipation.
I agree. I was given opera tickets to post a write-up of an opera I watched this week, and the first thing I did was let my readers know about it. Not because I was afraid of the FTC (it was before the announcement and the law has yet to go into effect anyway), but because I felt it was ethical that they know I was asked to write about it instead of doing it of my own free will (I could have turned down the tickets, had I chosen to). It's just good manners to tell people when stuff like this comes up.
And on top of that, at least this makes bloggers "real" members of the media instead of some red-headed stepchild no one knows (or cares!) what to do with.