The Financial Times reports that “advertisers in the U.S. are bracing themselves for regulatory changes that they fear will curtail their efforts to tap into the fast-growing online social media phenomenon.”

As reported by the Chicago Tribune, “bloggers who get free products and then endorse them on their blogs would have to make it clear they got the products free.”

In one respect, this is good news. Bloggers should absolutely be transparent in their writing about products and services.

What may not be such good news, though, is that as legal site Lexology reports, the FTC is suggesting that “advertisers and endorsers be jointly liable for false or unsubstantiated statements in endorsements.”

So if a company makes 1,000 samples of its product available to 1,000 bloggers, the company could be liable if one of those bloggers makes a statement that is “false or unsubstantiated.”

Of course, the very specific legal notion of “false or unsubstantiated” could be at significant odds with the freewheeling casual and personal tone of voice exhibited by so many bloggers.

Complete text of the FTC’s notice of proposed changes can be read over here. Public comments on the proposed changes, including statements from the DMA and the Public Relations Society of America, can be read over here.

Takeaway for marketers: Keep a close eye on this one.

Here’s a terrific blog post from Harte Marketing and Communications. Don’t miss the comments, the first of which (from Lucretia Pruitt) absolutely nails it:

1) How can anyone be an expert in a field that will be different again next week? Experienced? Yes, Expert? A term that should always be applied by a 2nd party about you, not by you about yourself.

2) Social Media marketing campaigns don’t replace the traditional marketing – they are a *part* of a good marketing strategy. That means the person you are talking to has to get *both* Social Media AND Marketing – not just one or the other… and it won’t be “the campaign that saved the company!” it will be “the campaign that added value to the company’s marketing strategy.”

“The great man is he who does not lose his child’s heart.”
—Mencius

Assuming you survived yesterday relatively unscathed, you might be interested in Wired’s list of the “Finest Internet Jokes for April Fools’ Day 2009.”

For years, Google has put together an elaborate April Fool’s Day announcement. This year it’s all about CADIE — and ya gotta love the home page!