Who's blogging who?

It is undeniable that bloggers have gained a certain social power in determining some of the popular culture that gets provided by the culture industry today. In the beginning blogging started out as regular people raving or bashing about products provided by the culture industry, such as films, TV shows, and consumer products. This helped consumers buy products because blogs seemed more authentic, like a world before advertising without any connections to big agencies, just the word of your neighbor.

However, today I would argue against the authenticity of blogs. Advertising is a system that is always looking for the best ways to advertise without people making them feel they are being advertised too. I've heard of advertisers paying people in supermarkets and places like Target to just go up to people and to rave about certain new products in the store. They want their products to seem genuine, so of course what was their next step: to infiltrate the blogger system. There is no better way to promote a product then to hide behind a seemingly unaffiliated person who has no interest in praising a product beside their genuine love for it. So next time you are checking your favorite blog, I want you to ask yourself 'who is this person I am religiously following and who are they affiliated with'?

Luckily the FTC is here to help. Recently, A New York Times article announced that they are going to revise their advertising disclosure laws to extend to bloggers. Now, bloggers are going to have to reveal if they have any affiliations to large corporations or receive gifts from companies for promoting a certain product. Celebrities are also going to have to announce if they are being paid to tweet or blog about a product. Hopefully, this will help us give the cultural determining power back to the real bloggers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/business/media/06adco.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=ftc%20blog%20regulation&st=cse