And Bloggers Are Ticked.
http://news.aol.com/article/the-point-ftc-will-regulate-bloggers/705589#
In Case the IRS is reading my blog- NO, no one has ever contributed a penny donated on line and no, no one gives me jack squat nada nuthin honey for anything I endorse here. I do it for the love of God and Country for the most part- on my nickel. I don't even get a free book for any books I plug. You too can get the same "spend $25.00 and get $5.00 off the next purchase" at the Catholic Information Center (CIC). No matter how much I plug the National Shrine they still want me to put a buck in the bucket. Once in the while they send me a free calendar in the mail or a paperback book of free prayers with an envelope to send back a contribution for it. Does that count? Does it count that I get invited to a lot of free receptions with free food to write favorably about events? Would they love me anyway? I did plug a client's store- but he didn't pay me to plug him above what legal work costs, so do I have to disclose that "material connection?" even though nothing additional was gained by doing it and he didn't ask me to plug him? Just a few issues that "vagueries" might mean in all the objections. Not to mention the 64,000 one: "Am I really a Blogger?" Some days I wake up and wonder if I am really a Democrat, really a lawyer and really a Catholic. I'm sure I'm a female. Some days sure I'm an American. But Blogger? I prefer "Frustrated Epic Novelist with not enough disposable income to take off to the Italian Riviera to write the Romance of the Century and Turn It Into A Screenplay." Does one have to declare the "material connection" of membership of any organizations sponsoring events, for example? Does one have to declare one's religion on line when plugging an event or conference at which leaders of that religion attend? What if you get a free lunch out of it? Does one have to proclaim one a Democrat if one plugs an event at the Center for American Progress where you can eat all the free brownies you want by attending and call yourself "press" as a blogger?
I have an idea; Maybe I'm an Evangelist who writes as Fire Insurance. Get it?
Writing is therapy and I am generally amused by all the happenings in town. My grandfather wrote for the "About Town" column in the New Yorker before he went to night law school so it's in the blood. If I like you, I promote you. If I think you are full of baloney on rye with mustard I excoriate you politely. No one pays me. Not the DNC, not the RNC, not the CIC, not the CIA, not the DMV. If you would like me to put an FTC disclosure on all my book promotions I may have to charge you. Where should I send the bill?
There- have I satisfied my disclosure requirement or do I need to do it everytime I post a book advert? Will someone at the FTC please post comments below for clarification. Comment period here expires Dec.1.
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