Thanks for tip to Robert Finklea.
Fake love, fake blog, what else is fake from Walmart?
If you bought something from a friend’s referral and later found out they got paid to tell you about it, how would you feel about the next referral from that person?
Of course they hesitate to tell up front – because then their words are treated like those of a salesperson – i.e. given much less credibility – and anyway, we all know how we hate sales types, so no, they don’t tell.
Word of mouth among friends is presumed to be untainted by money. That’s why word of mouth matters – it is not paid for – there is no hidden financial agenda.
But now some of America’s biggest and best known companies bribe people with money and free products to talk them up like they never did before. And most don’t tell. Because they know their words will lose meaning if they do.
If these bribing practices spread, how can we ever trust what friends say about products anymore? Would you ask, “Uh, did they pay you to tell me that?”
“Well, yeah, actually, but I DO use the stuff…”
Yucky world, if you ask me.
P.S. Yes, they can learn how to tell in a fun way.
