New FTC Guidelines--What's all this, then?

Dear Cool Moms;

I don't know if you are aware that the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has updated their guidelines, requiring bloggers and advertisers to disclose compensation received for reviews, etc.

Apparently, some bloggers are finding the new guidelines "controversial".

Not me! I support disclosure 100%.

I really think it's important for bloggers to let their readers know if they received an item in advance to review, and if they were compensated in any way for their review.

My personal policy has always been to let you know if I get a review copy of an item to help me facilitate my review. I am always honest in my reviews and my assessments, which is why I don't just take compensation in exchange for a positive review. I feel, personally, that that is unethical. Of course, each person should decide for himself/herself.

I turn down lots of review opportunities because I don't personally believe in a product or service. Sometimes, I think I will like something and I don't, and I'm honest about that, too. Other times, I like something I was initially reluctant to try.

I have agreed to take part in blog tours and then had my blog dropped out of all the links for the blog tour because I did not have a positive experience with the product and I reviewed it honestly, indicating that to my readers, rather than either posting a positive review I did not believe in or choosing not to review the product at all.

And I'm okay with that.

Because, look, if I can't give you an honest opinion, what good am I to you? I'm putting myself out here as a Mom like you, letting you know how my experiences are going, so you can weigh that in the balance when you make your own decisions.

Of course, you shouldn't just run out and buy something because I personally enjoyed it, which is why I'd invite you to check out more than one review before you make a purchasing decision. I link to other Mom reviewers who I think have ethical review procedures as well, and of course you can (and should) do research on your own.

Anyway, I just want you to know that I have always been in favor of disclosure. I will continue to let you know whenever I receive a review copy ahead of time.

I've also, after the recent FTC changes, given some of my more recent posts an even closer scrutiny, just to be absolutely upfront and clear without a shadow of a doubt.

For instance, sometimes I will get a review copy of, say, a DVD, and the people who put out the DVD will offer a copy up for a giveaway, too. They might send me the giveaway copy and have me award it to the winner, or they might send it out to the winner directly.

It doesn't really make a difference to me, except I have to pay the postage if I send it out myself. I don't make a profit from the blog, as I've said before.

But I'm still going to let you know, not just in the body of the post where I say, "I got a copy of this to check out" like I always have, but also in italics at the bottom of the post, where I am putting all my disclaimers now, so you'll never have any doubt whatsoever about what's going on.

As you can see, I'm a real stickler about this stuff! ; )

One last time, for the record: I am fully behind disclosure and think my readers deserve to know where I am coming from.

For me? That's the only ethical way to go.

~Viv

Join the NEW Cool Moms Facebook group and you could win a Cool Moms T-shirt!

I just joined Facebook, and I wanted to invite all my Cool Mom friends to come on over and join the new Cool Mom group!

So here's some incentive for you all: when the membership reaches, say, 25 Moms, I'll give away a Cool Moms Rule! t-shirt to a random member. If we get 50 folks, I'll give another way, 75 and I'll add another, and if we reach 100 Moms, I'll have a super spectacular giveaway of some of the best-reviewed products here on Cool Moms Rule!

Coming to You Live from BlogHer '07!

I'm sitting outside the door of the busiest room so far at BlogHer '07--in fact, it is two rooms, usually partitioned, that have been set aside specifically for this afternoon's session.

I'm sitting outside because, at the mmoment, the room is so crowded I can't even get in the door. And I'm not the only one. Mingling and eavesdropping outside with me are numerous bloggers, some I met or lunched with earlier in the afternoon.

Which session has us all hanging out here, listening in, while the seats inside--and any available floor space--is already brimming over with warm (make that hot, it's humid here in Chicago) bodies, listening avidly to each speaker in turn?


The session is "The State of the Momosphere."

That's right, we're BIG NEWS here at the BlogHer Convention, Moms!

The session's being chaired by an organization known as Five Moms, a great group of women I spoke with earlier today on an issue that I didn't even know was out there, an issue that affects one in ten kids--cough syrup addiction.

I kid you not. One in ten children, including the child of one of the original Five Moms, has this addiction. And, according to Five Moms, one in FOUR children has a friend who is addicted.

But they are getting the word out. And not only that, Moms have come from all over to share their own concerns and questions, and to join in the incredible sense of community that is the Momosphere.

I'm so glad I'm here at BlogHer '07 to experience all this myself first-hand.

(But don't worry! I'll keep you all posted, too!)

Viv

You've Got to Be Kidding Me!

Recently, at the excellent Blogher website, I ran across an interesting post from Suzanne Reisman. The subject?

The latest brouhaha is over the use of the word scrotum in a children’s book, and the number of librarians who have thus banned the book from their public shelves. According to The New York Times, in The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, the main character, a 10 year old girl named Lucky, overhears someone telling another person about how his dog was bit by a rattlesnake on the scrotum.

That's right, this book is being banned because of the use of the word--gasp!-- scrotum.

Never mind that there is no sexual connotation. Never mind that the scrotum in question (OOOh! I used the bad word!) is that of a dog, for heaven's sake. Obviously, our children need to be protected from...umm...dry, analytical anatomical terms for body parts.

You've got to be kidding me! Do you know WHY the librarians are banning this book? Out of embarrassment! It seems that too many of them are being asked to identify what a scrotum is, and, rather than explain that it is part of the male anatomy that is extremely sensitive to pain, especially rattlesnake bites, and leave it at that, they would simply rather ban the book.

These are librarians, for heaven's sake! Aren't they the ones that are supposed to be fighting AGAINST banning books?! At the very least, you would think that they would want some job security. Seriously, though, are we really so puritanical a nation that our librarians can't say the word--here I go again--scrotum without having hysterics?

My first reaction to this article was, as you can see, frank astonishment. And then outrage that otherwise unobjectionable reading material should be banned for the use of ONE WORD.

My second reaction is to want to go out and buy the damned book.

So, if you feel the same, here's a link to the book in question. I can't say whether the book is good or not until I've read it; all I know is, and you have been warned, it contains the word scrotum.

Buy the book at Amazon