DISQUS

@Mary - you raise a good point. It's not a white-collar only thing, but the adoption is certainly on a curve. That's just trends and observation. Local restaurants, say, use the web products like Yelp and blogs to improve their online presence.

But if the buyers aren't exactly there yet, I wouldn't make it a big part of the mix.

@Brandon - and that's a great point you make. I think that if a blogger - let's use me as an example - started writing about any old thing that came along because it paid, I think the audience would vanish. If you see me reviewing MLM schemes, I expect you to all stampede to the door.

So credibility plus relevance, yes?

For instance, I was invited to be part of the Fiesta movement. Thing is, I'm not the right target. I'm a dad with two kids. The car might be the most amazing thing since sliced bread, but it wouldn't fit my kids. So, I passed. I pass on opportunities every day because they don't fit my community.

Make sense?

@Ben - I love talking with you about this as it hones my thinking like none other. You're clearly passionate and have lots to say on the topic.

1.) Great point. Disclosure isn't enough. There should be the sense that something is perceived to be fair, just, useful, of value to my blogging community. I believe that content marketing is acceptable in principle. Thus, I'm not necessarily disclosing a hooker, but definitely telling the wife I'm going out with the guys for a few beers.

2.) I disagree. MOST blogs are written as opinion. A blog is software, and perhaps loosely, a movement around the notions put forth by the Cluetrain Manifesto. But I think a blog like Digital Nomads isn't a site about opinions. I don't think TechCrunch considers itself an opinion site 100%. I know the Huffington Post would have you believe they're a news outlet.

3.) Hmm. As I disagreed with 2, I don't know what to say here. Let's look at an example of a paid post. Nikon sent me a D60 camera to try out. I wasn't obligated to write about it. I didn't have to do anything, except either give it back or pay for it when the time came that the trial was up. If I were to write up my thoughts on the camera, I'd have started by disclosing the relationship. In fact, it's mentioned on my about page. I wasn't paid to have an opinion. I was given the opportunity to share my experiences about something.

The follow-on criticism is that if something is given to me that I'll likely be positive about it. I understand this criticism.

4.) Again, I see your criticism here. But you're pointing to one kind of post type: reviews. What if it's just an experience? What if it's something different, like Amex paying for posts about small business that have absolutely nothing to do with their card? Is it REVIEWS that bug you, or just the idea of money changing hands with regards to typing? Because B seems fishy. A, I can buy.

5.) In certain industries, this is strictly adhered to, but in others, not so much. Just a point. Oh, the appearance of impropriety. I imagine that my free experiences with GM are improper? Is it bad that they let me play with their cars, given I ended up writing about (and shooting video about) them? In that case, everything was free. It was just plain fun. But is it improper? (Seriously, asking. This isn't a challenge.)

6.) We agree there. I just continue to disagree that writing for pay makes me less credible, provided it's clear when I'm writing for pay. I seem to know lots of paid writers, and the only ones who get this little curly hair stuck in their mouth are journalists. I am not am not am not am not a journalist. Will never be. Will never pretend to be. Oh, unless the press pass gets me in somewhere cool.

I love these conversations, Ben.

@Tim - In NO part of my post do I liken sponsored content to advertorials. I think advertorials are usually pretty lame. They're marketing material. I'm not a staff journalist. I'm not a journalist at all. I write. I continue to think sponsored posts aren't cut from the same cloth as advertorials, which are required to be written from the marketing perspective.

Though Ben's right that sponsored posts boost the chance that someone will write nicely about them, I still see the value of a non-advertorial piece. See, for instance, my take on eBillMe. It was a sponsored post and I still came out and said they needed to improve the service.

Thanks for your thoughts.

So is Twitter a place to announce press releases and promos? I'd say that's not exactly how it's being used, nor would I want to read someone's stream that's just a bunch of press releases.

Ford and the other car companies still need to advertise. Downturn or not, the businesses still have to function normally.

@Alex - great question. Seems that my brand hasn't suffered all that much. I'm still growing my community, still being asked to speak at events, still being asked for my opinion, and still being received politely.

Let me ask you outright: do you trust me? If not, why still read my stuff? Why not go on and find one of several dozen other people writing similar material?

How am I perceived by my community? I'm guessing from my anecdotal evidence that I'm doing okay. Does that answer your question ?

@Marty - and rest assured that if ever there's an ad on my site or if money changes hands, or if something might queer the deal in some way, it will be very clearly spelled out on my About page. : )

@Joe - it's a great question, eh? Did Amex Open pay for that site? They sure did. Does that mean they sponsored it? I'd say yes.

It just sounds different when we say the word "sponsored," doesn't it?

@ryancmiller - yes, in a subsequent post. Not exactly germane to this (though it certainly relates).

@Jenifer - Ted's got this long standing photo thing with the tongue. Though I've matched Ted before on the tongue thing, I can't throw stones, as I've been known to make the occasional face.

I love making money. : )

@Jeff /Zemote - don't forget that Calacanis had a competing product in the ring at that time.

@Tyler - I get that, and actually, I've experienced it. Recently, I wrote a three-post collection about GM, the company that I've paid to supply me with cars my entire life. People asked immediately if it was a paid post, and that I'd best disclose it, etc. Thing was, I didn't get paid to write it, and that's when I had my first really big taste of "God, do I have to disclose that there's nothing to disclose?" And the answer feels like yes.

PR Professionals have to do this. I've seen @Tdefren say, "They're not my client, but I really like _____." I just didn't realize I'd have to start doing that, given that my About page discloses all my business relationships.

Oh well. I'm okay with that.

@Nicholas - I don't disagree that this is about the platform. It's the unintended consequences of the deal that scare me.

@Mel Webster - you and I agree on the Skittles perspective. I don't rate that effort a success. This, however, I'm not so sure. I'm not sure it will motivate me to buy a car if I'm not looking for a car, but if I am looking, will it motivate me to choose Ford over some other brand? That's the question, I think.

Further, would social media be any more or less effective than traditional car sales efforts? What makes this better or worse than a 30 second spot on TV?

Are you thinking of BackType.com ? That's a great service.

@Laura - Took me a while to know what a CVB site meant. : ) Beware of jargon. : )

It's interesting to consider how many ways tourism groups could use new media tools to augment the experience. Imagine using Flip video tours, or giving out the list of best local bands to consider, or grouping tour information around verticals like "A Skateboarder's Guide to Paris." : )

Audio podcasts of info would always be useful, too, eh?

@Anne - I might recommend the folks at WeFixWP.com. They're really helpful.

@Deidre - I love collaborative efforts. I agree. Great point.

Great to read everyone's perspectives. I'm sorry I've been slow to respond. I'm in a completely different time zone. It's 6AM here, and you guys have already had hours to digest the post and think about it.

I'm still reading all the comments, just hours after the fact. Thanks for your thoughts on this.

@Luigi - you proved my point doubly with your comment. Good luck with that.

@Mom - no green cars on this trip, but then, I didn't ask. I'm all for saving the planet, but I went there to move!

@Kristiana - I think that's a VERY astute catch. I'm not sure. But let me say that probably what happens most in advertising (and this is kind of out of my butt, so discount it accordingly) is that we tend to own our weaknesses by naming our success, even if it happens ahead of the actual transformation. Does that make sense?

@David - I think lots of the lame cars go. They'll keep the best-of, and figure out ways to migrate some of them into a tighter package. Bankruptcy? Possible.

And so far, the lion's share of GM's social media seems to be on the PR/Comms side. If I had my way, there'd be a big wall crumble in there, so that marketing and comms would reunite. That might take a while.

@Greg - I bought a Geo Tracker the first year they came out. I *loved* that car. It was also my first major car accident. I crossed in front of a lawyer in a Volvo. His car EXPLODED pretty much. Every piece splayed out like an engineering drawing. Mine was crushed, but my friend and I both came out just fine (albeit shaken). I loved that little guy. : )

@Greg - There are tons of things I don't like about GM. I think they have too many products. But then again, I think this next 60 days is all about divesting of the products and lines that don't make as much sense any more. Things changed, and whether or not GM didn't get off the line fast enough is behind us. What happens now is that the auto industry has to adjust to the new reality and fast. In my piece tomorrow morning, I'll tell you my first take on CEO Fritz Henderson.

@Adam- doing spoil fun with facts. : )

@Joe - I currently have the 2006 Saturn VUE.

@Sean - thanks for your thoughts. I've gotta tell you. Steve Harris, VP of Global Communications, is a really smart guy. Fritz Henderson is a really determined and smart guy. Christopher Barger? Well, he's a great guy, so what can I say?