In a piece of news that may affect us all in the blogosphere, we learn now that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC for you UC-Santa Cruz Community Studies majors) voted 14-0 on October 5 to set up new rules for those of us peons who spend time on the Internet. It also affects tweeters and facebookers.
These new rules require social networkers and bloggers to disclose any financial connections we may have with companies or products they we discuss in our postings. Violations may result in an $11,000 fine.
Aside from the obvious dangers to freedom of speech and regulation of the Internet, one thought came immediately to my still-nimble mind.
Adsense. (Dragnet music, please.)
You see, in the interest of full disclosure, I have one of those little arrangements with Adsense, by which I allow them to post ads on my humble blog. Every time you-my loyal readers-click an ad as you spend hours perusing my site, I get a kickback. (about one cent, I think). To date, I have had this cozy little deal with Adsense for a couple of years now at least and have accumulated the grand total of approximately 90 bucks. (once I reach the century mark, I get a check-in a plain brown envelope.)
The interesting thing is that I don't pick the ads. Adsense picks them largely based on the topics that I post. Thus, if I write a post making fun of the Oakland Raiders-as I just did, you may see an ad for Raider gear pop up the next day.
None of which makes any difference to the schemers in Washington like Mark Lloyd, who are devising ways of dealing with us gadflies who don't support the program, counter-revolutionaries, if you will.
Or is Mark Lloyd in the FCC? Silly me. I can't keep them all straight.
At any rate, this posting is my official disclosure of my "financial ties" to that corporate giant known as Adsense.
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