According to various sources, more than 112 million blogs existed as of May 2008. Since then, it’s been nearly impossible to find a single reputable source willing to update that count. Truth be told, I think everyone’s simply tired of counting (figuratively, not literally).
Many bloggers review products and services-—some honest, some wildly entertaining, some obvious sunshine blowers happy to get free goodies.
This past year, there have been many cyberspace conversations about the honesty factor behind such online missives, which, personally, I’m happy to see. If someone is going to extol the virtues of a third party item, well…. I want to know if it was something that came to them gratis, with a request for an online review attached.
Press samples are, and have long been, a reality in the world of reviews. The practice of sending samples and demos to publications is not, in and of itself, a bad thing. It’s when someone defaults to a thumbs up opinion simply because they got the item for free that the train goes off the track.
Even Consumer Reports is weighing in on the practice, assuring readers in their November issue that they pay for items that appear in their Ratings charts. If a free press sample arrives for an item that’s not yet on the consumer market, they pay to use it, test it…but not include it in Ratings. They’ll share an opinion about upcoming products, but that’s as far as they’ll go.
Fast Company recently reported on a rumor that the FTC was planning to level $11,000 fines against unethical online reviewers. True, the FTC is trying to get things under control (ie, add transparency to the practice), but the whoppin’ big fee? Bogus (read the full FC article here).
Are press samples a bad thing? No. Not if the reviewer is on the up and up. Often, they’re new releases or updated items about to hit the marketplace, making press samples critically important for a successful rollout.
The problem rests in the explosion of kitchen table ”journalists” (and I use that term LOOSELY) who don’t subscribe to an ethical code, tainting the credibility of those who do. What we need-—desperately-—is transparency and a requirement that if the author has received an item for free, they disclose that fact in their review.
Rest assured, if I review something that’s come my way free, you’ll know it. If I give something or someone a thumbs up, it’s because the company or people behind it earned it, not because I’m into exchanging gold stars for winks and nods.
And if I think something bombs, well…you’ll know that too.
Count on it.
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