A press release hit the wire last Thursday from WOMMA – Word Of Mouth Marketing Association titled, WOMMA Ethical Blogger Contact Guidelines. The subtitle read: “10 Principles for Ethical Contact by Marketers.”
I love the fact that WOMMA immediately explains that this guideline is still open for discussion and that WOMMA is “asking for feedback and revision from the blogging community and all interested parties.” Talk about engaging your consumers as co-developers.
“‘It’s an easy way to teach your team and to avoid mistakes that will be harmful to your reputation,’ said David Binkowski, director of online outreach, Hass MS&L, who is co-chair of the project. ‘Prevention is a powerful protection.'”
These are powerful statements and are coming hot on the tail of the Wal-Mart and Edelman fake Blog troubles.
It also speaks directly to marketers, not to Bloggers in general:
“This document applies specifically to marketers. It does not cover ‘how to blog’ or rules for internal blogs. WOMMA is in no way making a statement on blogger behavior or attempting to assert authority over the blogosphere. Our job is to educate marketers.”
I found it to be an extremely interesting read.
You can find it here: – WOMMA Ethical Blogger Contact Guidelines.