Since starting this blog I have focused on product placement in the movies and in television, but today I read an article that caught my eye. With the rising popularity of blogging comes the use of product placement within people's personal blogs. People are being paid to write favorable reviews of products on their blogs so that other people will read it and become interested.
The article ("Blogging for Dollars Rases Questions of Online Ethics") questions whether or not being paid to promote brands is ethical for bloggers. In this article, several cases are described in which people are accepting money in exchange for writing about a product or service in a positive light. However, these promotions are not distinguishable from the person's opinions.
In my opinion, the problem isn't that people are paying to promote their brands on blogs, it is that the bloggers are not saying what in their writing has been paid for and what is personal opinion. I think for it to be ethical, people who are reading the blog need to know that the endorsement was paid for.
If this starts to happen, I think that product placement on blogs is a great idea. Blogging is an up and coming trend that many many people are taking part in. With so many people today surfing the internet and becoming technologically savvy, why not take advantage of this by using blogs to promote products? As long as it is clear that is in fact a paid promotion, I don't see anything wrong with it.
The article ("Blogging for Dollars Rases Questions of Online Ethics") questions whether or not being paid to promote brands is ethical for bloggers. In this article, several cases are described in which people are accepting money in exchange for writing about a product or service in a positive light. However, these promotions are not distinguishable from the person's opinions.
In my opinion, the problem isn't that people are paying to promote their brands on blogs, it is that the bloggers are not saying what in their writing has been paid for and what is personal opinion. I think for it to be ethical, people who are reading the blog need to know that the endorsement was paid for.
If this starts to happen, I think that product placement on blogs is a great idea. Blogging is an up and coming trend that many many people are taking part in. With so many people today surfing the internet and becoming technologically savvy, why not take advantage of this by using blogs to promote products? As long as it is clear that is in fact a paid promotion, I don't see anything wrong with it.
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