It looks like internet marketing has come to stay.
Of course, human greed had come to stay a long, long time before that.
And human greed corrupts every sphere of human activity.
Internet marketers started using half-truths and untruths as part of their marketing strategies.
Product features and benefits were exaggerated, testimonials were falsified and spurious claims were made.
Customer grievances mushroomed, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had to step in with some consumer protection.
An interesting aside: Even after the FTC started to crack down, internet marketers continue to flirt dangerously with grey areas.
But you don't want to do that.
As a blogger with the ambition of setting up a long term, lucrative and legal online business, it is better that you err on the side of caution.
You must get knowledgeable about and observe the laws governing online activities, especially those aimed at generating income.
The last major crackdown by the FTC was in 2009.
Prescriptions for principled practices were published and penalties were promised for transgressions.
And a whole lot of internet marketing "gurus" generated a whole lot of noise about how the FTC had vindicated their ethical approaches to their businesses and how it was always better to stay on the right side of the fence.
How many wolves there were amongst the sheep will never be known, I suppose.
You can and should download a free PDF copy of the Federal Trade Commission guidelines for consumer protection at the FTC site.
There is nothing that hurts more than having a profitable online presence blacklisted because of some transgression, witting or unwitting.
Establishing a profitable online presence involves a lot of time, money and labor, especially for newbies trying to establish themselves.
It would be a terrible lapse of judgment to risk throwing all of that away.
The FTC guidelines mostly concentrate on the selling part of online activities: advertisements, testimonials, reviews, claims about a product's features and benefits.
These guidelines also cover the relationships between product makers on the one hand, and affiliates, reviewers and testimonial submitters on the other.
All claims, testimonials and reviews should be accompanied by disclaimers, riders or warnings that are intended to protect the interests of potential buyers.
Like with most laws, ignorance is not an acceptable excuse for transgressions.
If you filter out all the fancy legalese in the Federal Trade Commission guidelines, you come down to the few basic elements of consumer protection.
You can go here for a synopsis of these basic elements: http://theblogginguniverse.
com/blog/the-federal-trade-commission-ftc/.
Of course, human greed had come to stay a long, long time before that.
And human greed corrupts every sphere of human activity.
Internet marketers started using half-truths and untruths as part of their marketing strategies.
Product features and benefits were exaggerated, testimonials were falsified and spurious claims were made.
Customer grievances mushroomed, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had to step in with some consumer protection.
An interesting aside: Even after the FTC started to crack down, internet marketers continue to flirt dangerously with grey areas.
But you don't want to do that.
As a blogger with the ambition of setting up a long term, lucrative and legal online business, it is better that you err on the side of caution.
You must get knowledgeable about and observe the laws governing online activities, especially those aimed at generating income.
The last major crackdown by the FTC was in 2009.
Prescriptions for principled practices were published and penalties were promised for transgressions.
And a whole lot of internet marketing "gurus" generated a whole lot of noise about how the FTC had vindicated their ethical approaches to their businesses and how it was always better to stay on the right side of the fence.
How many wolves there were amongst the sheep will never be known, I suppose.
You can and should download a free PDF copy of the Federal Trade Commission guidelines for consumer protection at the FTC site.
There is nothing that hurts more than having a profitable online presence blacklisted because of some transgression, witting or unwitting.
Establishing a profitable online presence involves a lot of time, money and labor, especially for newbies trying to establish themselves.
It would be a terrible lapse of judgment to risk throwing all of that away.
The FTC guidelines mostly concentrate on the selling part of online activities: advertisements, testimonials, reviews, claims about a product's features and benefits.
These guidelines also cover the relationships between product makers on the one hand, and affiliates, reviewers and testimonial submitters on the other.
All claims, testimonials and reviews should be accompanied by disclaimers, riders or warnings that are intended to protect the interests of potential buyers.
Like with most laws, ignorance is not an acceptable excuse for transgressions.
If you filter out all the fancy legalese in the Federal Trade Commission guidelines, you come down to the few basic elements of consumer protection.
You can go here for a synopsis of these basic elements: http://theblogginguniverse.
com/blog/the-federal-trade-commission-ftc/.
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