Maria Popova is a Forbes 30 under 30 honoree, regular author for The Atlantic, and was named to the Fast Company 100 Most Creative in Business list. I let her know I was a regular reader of her site when I sent her an email a few months ago after she wrote an article about the dangers of advertising in journalism. She detailed a scenario in which a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist was offered money from Xerox to write an article. I sent her a message to ask for clarity in what she meant, given that I was aware of her practice of putting affiliate advertising links in her articles while at the same time asking users at the end of each article to donate to her site by telling them that she runs an ad-free site that is subsidized by user contributions (screenshot). It is often controversial for a site to make money off of affiliate ads without notifying users in any terms of use (i.e. Pinterest), or to write reviews on products without notifying users they are making money when the reader clicks and purchases those products (the FTC enforces laws for certain types of blogs), but Popova has been going a bit further - while keeping the ads undisclosed, she also writes at the end of each article and in each email newsletter that the site is ad-free and needs user donations to support it.
This is a situation where a little bit of forthrightness would go a long way. It’s worth pointing out that Popova, by not disclosing this anywhere on her site, is likely violating FTC rules. She could easily fix this, be straight-up about it, and go on her way. But if these allegations are accurate (and yes, a casual observation shows she’s using affiliate links), it exposes her for being hypocritical and could foster a backlash.
Really, this all could have been solved with a short little blurb on a page somewhere. Which is to say: Always. Be. Transparent.
In a move intended to give parents greater control over data collected about their children online, federal regulators on Wednesday broadened longstanding privacy safeguards covering children’s apps and Web sites.
Members of the Federal Trade Commission said they had updated the provisions to keep pace with the growing use of mobile phones and tablets among children. The regulations also reflect innovations like voice recognition technology, global positioning systems and behavior-based online advertising — that is, ads tailored to an Internet user’s habits.
Unsurprisingly, a number of marketers are unhappy with the new proposal and will likely challenge it in court. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out, as conservatives are typically against the introduction of new business regulations; however, neither party wants to appear unconcerned with the privacy/protection of children. What do you think of the new rules?
Facebook’s proposed purchase of Instagramhas been cleared by the FTC, paving the way for the deal to close nearly five months after the initial announcement. This news comes a little over a week after the UK’s Office of Fair Trading gave similar approval to the deal. The FTC passed the deal unanimously in a five-to-zero vote, saying that “the deal may now proceed as proposed.” As Facebook has gone public since the purchase was first announced, the value of the deal is actually a good bit lower than the original estimated purchase price of $1 billion — the deal is for $300 million in cash, plus 22,999,412 shares of Facebook common stock. As of today, the whole deal is valued at $747.1 million.
Looks like the folks over at Instagram didn’t need that $200 million back-up plan after all. That being said, we still don’t blame them for being extra cautious when the stakes are that high.
“The actions by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice to block this transaction do not change the realities of the U.S. wireless industry. It is one of the most fiercely competitive industries in the world, with a mounting need for more spectrum that has not diminished and must be addressed immediately. The AT&T and T-Mobile USA combination would have offered an interim solution to this spectrum shortage. In the absence of such steps, customers will be harmed and needed investment will be stifled.”
The company will take a $4 billion charge for backing out on the deal. Consumers win.
Copyright 2009-2013 Ernie Smith • Ask us stuff! • E-mail us • Follow us on Twitter • Follow us on Facebook
