The Last Podcast

There is some interesting news in the Washington Post today:

The Federal Trade Commission yesterday said that companies engaging in word-of-mouth marketing, in which people are compensated to promote products to their peers, must disclose those relationships.

In a staff opinion issued yesterday, the consumer protection agency weighed in for the first time on the practice. Though no accurate figures exist on how much money advertisers spend on such marketing, it is quickly becoming a preferred method for reaching consumers who are skeptical of other forms of advertising.

Read the rest of the article here…

The FTC specifically mentions weblogs, which means that users of PayPerPost and similar services are now forced to disclose their affiliation. It is not often that I agree with the FTC, but in this case: Hurray for consumers!

Matthew Ingram is quite ecstatic as well, and Deep Jives wonders how this applies to affiliate marketing.