July 12th, 2009
Approval by a Blogger May Please a Sponsor
By Pradnya Joshi
The New York Times
Colleen Padilla, a 33-year-old mother of two who lives in suburban Philadelphia, has reviewed nearly 1,500 products, including baby clothes, microwave dinners and the Nintendo Wii, on her popular Web site Classymommy.com. Her site attracts 60,000 unique visitors every month, and Ms. Padilla attracts something else: free items from companies eager to promote their products to her readers.
Marketing companies are keen to get their products into the hands of so-called influencers who have loyal online followings because the opinions of such consumers help products stand out amid the clutter, particularly in social media.
Still, the encroachment of commercialism into new-media formats worries some consumer advocates. Many forms of online word-of-mouth marketing depend on the perception of unsolicited or personal opinions, said Robert Weissman, managing director of the advocacy group Commercial Alert.
“It’s a contrast to the Tupperware model, where everyone knows what’s going on, and no one’s trying to be deceiving,” said Mr. Weissman, whose group favors stricter oversight of marketing practices.