experience matters

The term mom or mommy blogger is widely used to refer to moms who blog. However, the term does not accurately classify all mom bloggers because some of them actually write about more than their mothering experiences. The nomenclature issue is hotly debated in the mom blogosphere, but I’m not going to discuss this here.

What I do want to discuss, however, is the recent debate going on in the mom blogging world about transparency and ethics when it comes to reviewing products and services on blogs. Especially with the new proposed Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines  and the pointed attack on mom bloggers in a recent BusinessWeek article, have been up in arms.  In contrast to what most people would think, most mom bloggers (or at least the serious ones) are actually in favor of the new FTC guidelines that are expected to be approved late this summer. These guidelines mean that bloggers would become liable for false claims or for failure to disclose conflicts of interest, in the same way that journalists are. 

Even though these new guidelines are applicable to all types of bloggers, mom bloggers have been singled out because of the huge influx of consumer product companies using these bloggers to promote their products by either sponsoring posts, giving away free products, or paying for events and trips. While one blogger’s audience can be small, bloggers can still be very influential because many of their readers are bloggers themselves, who can pass on the word of a cool mom pick  or great mom giveaway.

In response to the new found appeal of mom bloggers, some of them have begun to integrate reviews into their personal blogs or start separate review blogs.

So the issue becomes, can we trust the opinions of these mom bloggers?  Is a review of a product that was given to them for free more questionable than one where a blogger just happens to write about a particular product?  And, should bloggers be regulated as journalists are to disclose relationships with affiliates who may provide links to products on their sites or sponsor blog posts?

We recently turned to a group of moms in our ShopTalk community to get their opinions on mom bloggers and whether or not they trust the blogs that they read. Surprisingly very few of our moms trust reviews of products that are found on mom blogging personal or review sites.  Most say that they use the information they find on mom blogging sites in combination with other sources in order to make their own informed decisions:

“I don’t just trust any one’s recommendations on a blog, I usually question and research everything and try to come to my own conclusion. Sponsored blogs usually will leave you skeptical because in the end they are trying to sell the company’s products so it will leave you wondering if the blogger is sharing a genuine recommendation and not one because she/he is being paid to.” (Bernie, 23)

“I read blogs more for entertainment than information. I would not change my buying habits from blog info because you don’t know if they have advertising contracts with certain brands, and if the promotion of certain products is genuine and personal or being bought.”(Nita, 25)

For what it’s worth, I think the new FTC guidelines are great, but I’m not sure that there’s a huge need for them.  From what I read on a lot of mom blogging sites (e.g., PR Mama, Mom 101), most bloggers police themselves and strive for transparency so that they can remain credible to their readership.  While the goal of the new FTC guidelines is to protect the consumer from getting deceived by less than credible sources, I think that consumers are already pretty savvy to the workings of the blogging world.  Like our ShopTalkers said, blogs are a great form of entertainment and any recommendations that bloggers of any genre provide should not be taken without proper research.

From the marketers’ perspective, I think that again regardless of FTC guidelines, reputable companies that use bloggers to review their products are also looking for ethical bloggers who maintain a policy of disclosure. As a recent article in AdAge points out, these companies and their clients also want to remain credible. 

So I’m curious to know: What impact (if any) do you think that the new FTC guidelines are going to (or should) have on the blogging world, or on any of the blogs that you are currently reading?