The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has the online marketing world in a buzz. How is this going to affect marketers, especially the small business entrepreneurs. The big boys have lawyers on retainer so they have themselves covered. But what about the thousands of one person bloggers, affiliate marketers going to survive? Here are a few opinions below that will give you an idea of the impact for online marketers.

LEWIS 360°: FTC TARGETS BLOGGERS. WHAT ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE?
Paid “reviews” fly in the face of everything for which both social media and journalism stand. Thankfully, many companies realize that transparency and trust are paramount as they use social media, and such blatant shilling is becoming …

FTC revisions impact online, social media marketing
If your business is active in Internet and social media marketing, you may have to make some significant changes by December 1st, 2009. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced revisions to its guidelines for endorsements …

FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials …
The revised Guides also make it clear that celebrities have a duty to disclose their relationships with advertisers when making endorsements outside the context of traditional ads, such as on talk shows or in social media. …

Do a search with the keywords social media ftc and you will see that there are many bloggers, online marketers and consultants talking about this. Make no mistake, this will impact your business. The big question is how are we going to respond, and how can we turn a negative into a positive. Any comments?