04 Feb 2010 28 Comments
Honestly…
I have a rant. I’m getting a little tired of reading posts that say “this is my honest” view. I’m not pointing fingers because if I was, I’d be pointing it at myself as well. I’ve written these very words in posts or in disclaimers lately.We all know most of this is the fall-out from the FTC regulations which came into effect late last year. Clearly, it’s made an impact on our community.
But I’m getting a little sick of having to justify and say that what I’m writing is honest.Who’s with me?
One of my favorite thing about blogging is that I’m free to write what I want and how I want. I’ll tell you if I like a product — or hate it, whether the product was one I bought myself (majority of the time) or one I was sent. By writing “I was sent this but this is my honest review,” I feel we are starting to sound apologetic for fear of judgement or repercussion. Come on people, let’s chill out a bit.
Writing what I think is one of the reasons I blog in the first place.
Don’t get me wrong. I understand why there are regulations. It’s to protect consumers and ensure they are made aware of which reviews/videos are in some way ‘compensated’ — whether the blogger received a product from a company or whether the posts were ‘sponsored’ or paid. Ok. Fine.
I think it’s fairly easy to spot reviews that are paid or sponsored. I may or may not continue to watch the video or read the blog — it all depends on what they are reviewing. Quite simply, I don’t buy something based on just one person’s review. If a product catches my attention, I will read as much as I can about it, and more importantly check it out on my own. It really doesn’t matter to me if the person reviewing got the product for free or not. I also wouldn’t likely follow a blogger who I didn’t feel presented honest views. I mean, why bother?
Call me niave, but I like to think the majority of us are doing this because we are passionate about beauty products, writing and connecting with others.That’s why I do it.
I’m not sure if my points make any sense.
This is my honest view. I was not paid or compensated by any third party to write this post.
Good night.
Look forward to your thoughts.
Feb 04, 2010 @ 21:23:00
I very much agree with everything you said! I think reviews should be honest any way, why is there a need to say it. you either believe it or you wont, and a review is also one person's opinion. I think everyone should make the decision themselves weather they think a product is worth it or not =)
Feb 04, 2010 @ 21:39:52
I'm pretty sick of hearing about it too. I haven't bothered with it since technically they don't apply to us.
Now I understand where they are coming from, and it does make a difference to find out if a major blogger is receiving something for free or not, but I think its a bit overboard for regular people that blog infrequently. They should apply it only for bloggers or YTers of a certain popularity (say those with X+ numbers of subscribers).
Feb 04, 2010 @ 22:01:27
I agree with you! I dislike it even more when someone says to me, " you better state is that was for free or not" etc. I am Canadian and do not have to! I say if I was given or purchased b/c I want to! I have nothing to hide but that is as far as I go!
I get sent lots of things that I don't even bother to blog about b/c I didn't deem it different enough to be mentioned. If you don't trust my opinion, well then I would rather you didn't read m blog at all!
Feb 04, 2010 @ 22:16:36
I agree with you! I don't bother writing it, because I have like 70 followers so its obvious that no one is giving me anything for free, and if they ever did it would be in the 1st sentence of my review, and thats it. If I'm reviewing it, I'm not going to lie, there is no point of saying this is my honest review…because I wouldn't do a review if it wasn't honest. And you are right, people that are getting paid and giving their "honest" opinions are easy to point out. We all know who they are, and I've lost money from buying stuff they recommend, which is why I decided to start my own blog where I would give my 100% honest opinion so other people don't waste their money
Feb 04, 2010 @ 22:31:13
I agree with you, I could never write a dishonest review, what's the point of wasting my time doing so? And I agree with you again that when I like a product, I read gazillions of reviews, not just one
Feb 04, 2010 @ 22:36:05
Hmmm, agreed. It's annoying. I think it should only be mentioned when there is an affiliation with a company. And just because someone states they are giving an honest review, still doesn't make it so. I don't like it. It bugs me…. I do appreciate the intentions behind that particular law though, to be fair..
Feb 04, 2010 @ 23:04:25
I totally agree and this is why I do not do this! I have a disclaimer on my About Me page to comply with the FTC Guidelines, and if I am given a product to review I will disclose that fact. That is about as far as I will go. I refuse to be redundant and write it on every post. My Disclaimer is not hard to find and that's that. Thank you so much for your HONESTY in this post and I am loving every bit of the sarcasm in the end! lol
Feb 04, 2010 @ 23:16:41
I think you've hit the nail on the head, this phrase irriates me, too, and I say it all the time in reviews. There are a ton of reviews out there that I don't feel are honest and I guess it's my way of saying, yes, I received this product free of charge (or bought it or whatever), but I'm still telling you what I think…take it or leave it. I hate using the phrase, but it's like tourrets. It just comes out. I think as long as there are pros AND cons to a review you know you're getting the truth. I'll still probably say that same damn phrase in the future, but I KNOW I'm being honest, so c'est la vie. **sigh** We need a new phrase…
Feb 04, 2010 @ 23:22:37
I agree 100% with you. However, I feel it is necessary when you start getting sent a lot of products to state in those particular posts that you got the product for free and arn't being compensated (which could result in a dishonest opinion). I know if someone said they were getting paid to write about a product I wouldn't believe one word they said.
Feb 04, 2010 @ 23:28:01
@Cheryl: 100% with you too. I think it's important to say how you received a product. I do think it's easy to spot who is being paid to write.
@MakeupMama: Agree – new phrase needed. I like what you've pointed out too — present both sides, pros and cons and let readers decide.
To everyone else who commented so far, thank you! I will respond tomorrow. Off to bed! Lots of food for thought.
Feb 04, 2010 @ 23:32:12
Thanks to that FTC guideline, my eyes are opened to just how much free items some bloggers get!
I agree with you though re: stating that you're honest at the beginning of a review. Your readers/followers already know that you're honest from your other non-review posts so I don't think there's a need to state that you're being honest at the beginning of every review.
And yes, paid reviews are easy to spot!
Feb 05, 2010 @ 00:20:57
Well, I mostly agree….I'm in the US so I DO have to put whether I recieved something for free or not, but I feel like if I just put "Got this for free!", it seems sort of like I'm either a) bragging or b) can be seen as being 'bought'. I don't know sometimes I'm sick of how much free shit bloggers get. If I see another Skin MD post, I'm gonna flip my shit!!! (Seriously, they sent it to me, it made me break out and if I don't like something I got for free, I don't blog it. Simple as that!).
So, I don't know. It's kinda late and I just got back from work but I almost feel like the honest thing has to be said. Its seriously why I started writing in the first place because there were only a few mineral makeup bloggettes out there and they would get free shit and say "oh how lovely blah blah blah". Then I would order and the makeup would be crap or, in one case, the "super nice" owner called me a bitch because I ordered 2 samples of the same foundation color. On accident.
Feb 05, 2010 @ 00:58:09
phew! thanks for clarifying this opinionated rant was your own opinion
lol
i agree completely. i think i wrote the whole "this is my honest" view ONE time on my blog lol and that was the first day of the whole ftc outbreak. after that i decided it is totally unnecessary to explain that i am writing what I want on the blog i created to speak my own opinions!
Feb 05, 2010 @ 02:09:00
Well, *polishes halo* I don't think I've ever said that. I always disclose if something was sent to me, but I don't feel the need to say 'my review is honest' because I hope the honesty is apparent. I do agree that it sounds apologist, and just saying that phrase doesn't necessarily make it so (like anyone is ever going to say; 'I'm saying this, but I don't actually believe it.')
Feb 05, 2010 @ 02:09:24
Amen Sister!
Feb 05, 2010 @ 03:55:13
Aye, aye!! I felt a lot free-er when I first started blogging. I just wrote whatever I felt like writing and anyway, I bought all those products myself and didn't actually have to SAY it. Now, I find it irritating that I have to somehow mention how I got a certain product – purchased, received as gift/for review/etc. It takes away the fun of just concentrating on the product in question.
These days, when I read the 'this is my honest opinion' line on other blogs, I just shrug and sigh. That line (while needed to conform to regulations) looks incongruous in the context of the whole article! That's my honest opinion.
Feb 05, 2010 @ 04:02:37
I agree with everything you;ve said. very well put.
Feb 05, 2010 @ 04:11:40
I totally agree. I personally think it's BS that we're being forced to do this because we could be fined up to $15,000 for not disclosing the source of the product in our review. It's absolutely stupid and ridiculous for consumers to not consume internet beauty media with the same kind of scrutiny that they would read ANYTHING ELSE ON THE INTERNET. Also, I don't know about you, but having some common sense and deductive reasoning skills, I can pretty much spot the reviews where people were sent items and I knew which blogs those were before the FTC guidelines were out. And I was rarely surprised when bloggers started disclosing that information outright.
Also, I don't think at all that this kind of regulations are useful. I think people have to be stupid not to be able to use critical thinking skills to assess reviews and do their research to figure out if products are actually good or not. One of the best things about the internet is freedom of speech and that's very much why I love blogging too – being able to say whatever I want. And I blog very much for myself because I enjoy and you're free to take it or leave it as you wish. But this is MY HOBBY AND MY FREE TIME AND I FIND IT POSITIVELY RIDICULOUS THAT I AM SOMEHOW OBLIGATED TO SOME MORON OUT THERE WHO DOESN'T HAVE READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS.
I do this for fun. Most of my reviews are positive. It's a fact that most people write very positive or very negative reviews because there's just not much to say about "meh" products. And since most of us do this for fun, we'd rather not expend the negative energy writing a negative review. Furthermore, the large majority of us are women and we subscribe very much to the idea "if you don't have something nice to say, then don't say anything at all" and it bothers us on a very instinctual level to write a bad review (unless the product was total shit and made us break out etc in which case we go rant about it). And because of that, and because of grade inflation and the fact that most of us are fairly intelligent and well-educated, and because most girls are just by nature much more lenient we tend to give products overall positives if they're not bad.
I'm not really like that. I qualify a lot of statements but I feel like in general I'm probably one of the harshest critics of products in my reviews and I review products from a very science/engineering background with breakdowns of properties of products. But I get the way other people review! And I don't have a problem interpreting then, how that product would likely work or not work for me!
Feb 05, 2010 @ 04:12:03
(con't)
And this jealousy of people who are getting sent products to review. I am astounded and sickened! Does anyone think Temptalia (just one example) could do as many reviews as she does if she weren't sent the products she receives? I think she does a fantastic job as it is being a full time law student and I think most of her reviews are pretty fair. She's more lenient of a judge than I am and her skintype is a bit different, but after reading her blog for a short while I've been able to adapt her interpretations to how those products would likely work for me.
Furthermore, there is so much of blogging that is NOT about getting products for free. That's definitely not what makes a blog successful and all the time there are kids on MUA bitching about how hard it is to start a blog if you aren't being sent reviews. BULLSHIT. You think she got sent stuff when she first started out??? You have to be a good blogger FIRST. And if you do it thinking everyone is going to read your blog and comment and love you, you've got another thing coming. I've been blogging on and off about various things for the better part of the last decade (I feel really old when I say that lol) and if there's anything I've learned, you've got to blog because you love it, and you need to do it well – write well, write often, network and self promote and then your readers and your success will follow.
… end of rant, lol. Definitely one of my biggest pet peeves.
Feb 05, 2010 @ 04:55:57
A-MEN girl!
I think it has really made me lose trust in certain bloggers/reviewers. Consequently, I stop reading their posts, because there is no point in reading someone's opinion when I do not believe that they are delivering the truth.
it has also led me to second guess the true intentions of bloggers. While many of us blog from passion and to share our true ideas and opinions, unfortunately, others do it for their own personal gain.
-Jess Mai
maiphilosophy.blogspot.com/
Feb 05, 2010 @ 08:14:29
There are a lot of people that don't comply with FTC regulations and I think those that do are the kind of people that are "careful" and are worried about getting fined, etc. In a way they over do it "just in case".
It's pretty clear when people are getting something for free and don't disclose and sound like an advertisement. Especially when you see the same product on every blog and one person discloses and one person doesn't.
Personally, I haven't received anything for free so it's a non-issue for me, but I could see myself mentioning it more often than I need to just in case.
Feb 05, 2010 @ 09:35:58
I'm overwhelmed by everyone's responses! Thank you all for sharing your thoughts!!
A few points that struck me based on your comments:
- I do agree that we should disclose to readers in some way how we got the product. After all, if someone were to ask me how much it cost for shipping, and I actually didn't order it myself, then that is not being helpful to my readers at all.
-I totally get that US bloggers do have to comply.
-I agree that Temptalia and Karen from Makeup and Beauty blog are great examples of those who do this well. They clearly get a lot of free stuff but still remain true to their style and to their blog/readers. I trust their reviews are honest regardless of how they got the product. I look up to them and strive to do as good a job.
- I think that getting products sent to you by companies is never anything you should be apologetic for, nor do I think it ever sounds like bragging if you post about it. It is nice to be able to discover brands that you wouldn't have had access to before and the opportunity to try products that you might not have been aware of. It's also a great opportunity to try products before it launches. This is how it works with beauty publications — the only difference is now we are the new media.
-I guess my overall point is yes, we owe it to our readers to let them know how we got a product. But do we really have to say in each post that it is our honest opinion. I say no. Readers can be the judge or whether they think I'm being honest or not, and whether to continue to read or not.
Feb 05, 2010 @ 10:51:49
Dear bloggers, I am a SENDER, from a company. I read many posts in a day. I know for a fact that most of you (98%?) are not paid for your reviews. I expect nothing but your honesty when I read you. Sometimes I may not like to see my product trashed when I read a post – but that is social media and I have learned to live with it. You can't win if you don't try. I love reading you, honestly! So please, feel free to stop writing "this is my honest review".
Feb 05, 2010 @ 13:43:02
I think it's very frustrating too. I am a blogger who both buys my own products, and recieves some for free, and its frustrating to me, because I now feel ashamed for accepting the free items. I love blogging about beauty items and sharing my thoughts. I love trying new brands that I wouldn't otherwise have known about.
Luckily, I haven't had any companies send me something that I was truly dissappointed with. Sure I've found minor flaws, and I make sure I state them in my review, but now I feel like I HAVE to find something wrong with the product, or people will think that I am biased.
I do agree that we should admit we recieved the products for free, and I admit that in the past I would beat around the bush, because I felt like I was gloating. That is something that I went back and changed though.
I just find this frustrating, because blogging has become a hobby for me, and a real joy. I get excited in my posts and happy to share new info, and now I feel like they want us to be ashamed. Ugh, and being in the US, I have to comply.
Feb 05, 2010 @ 15:04:05
I agree with you on this hun! I mean people can lie along with a disclaimer, who's gona verify one's thought process eh? As you said its fairly easy to spot anyways so there is no need to justify
Feb 05, 2010 @ 20:55:04
I really appreciate everyone's points.
A colleague and I were talking about this today and here's some food for thought: even if someone says "this is my honest review" does it make it any more honest than someone who doesn't state it? You are either honest or not. Saying it doesn't mean you are.Right? So trust the bloggers you trust and go from there. Does that make sense?
Feb 05, 2010 @ 22:44:37
I love this post! I don't even bother posting anything about if i'm being paid (I buy everything I review myself) because I don't see the point. I only write about things I love (and sometimes, things I don't) because like you said, I have a passion for it.
Feb 06, 2010 @ 09:46:14
this has been in my thought for a while too! it's not hard to know who blogs for passion and who advertise. readers should be able to make sensible and responsible judgement. unfortunately there are people unable to do that.
while on the same topic, don't magazine recommend products? i haven't read magazines for a while but when i used to read magazines, there are always 'things we love'. are they bound by the regulation too?