The day has come when the use of testimonials and endorsements can be of danger to your financial health and reputation.

Yes I understand the need for regulations and guidelines. But I strongly believe there has to be a time when we all have to take on the responsibility of being accountable to ourselves and for our actions. There is no way that any government can create laws to protect us from everything. This is both foolhardy and dangerous.

If the consumer is not given the opportunity and the responsibility to hone and develop their skills to realize when there is a possibility of a scam and when there is not, the problems which they, the FTC, are trying to curtail will only escalate. For example:

As copied from http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm on today’s date Dec 01/09

“Under the revised Guides, advertisements that feature a consumer and convey his or her experience with a product or service as typical when that is not the case will be required to clearly disclose the results that consumers can generally expect. In contrast to the 1980 version of the Guides – which allowed advertisers to describe unusual results in a testimonial as long as they included a disclaimer such as “results not typical“ the revised Guides no longer contain this safe harbor.”

Well I am sorry but have a little respect for the public. They are not as stupid as many think. And if they are, then a huge part of the responsibility for the public being stupid lies with the Governments. It was their laws which fostered and created the situation where the public has not be given the right to learn how to or encouraged to think.

Yes, at many times we mess up and do stupid things. Even when we have been advised not to. But is that not how one learns? Is that not how one develops their thinking abilities?

When one is taught how to ride a bike, drive a car or fly an airplane you are told over and over again to be careful. Be safe. Be aware of what is going on around you.

If you are busy site seeing when you should be paying attention to the machine you operate and you run into a tree whose fault is it?

Naturally it is yours. Not the person who taught you. Or the person whom you last talked with prior to operating the machine.

The same holds true with the statement “result are not typical” which is no longer acceptable notice to the public. Because apparently we do not gie credence to this statement. According to the study groups.

Hhmmm….

WE are not all created equal. We do not all have the same exact references to draw from. So no result is going to be typical. But testimonials, providing they are true, which in theory are, show one persons experience and what is possible. That is all. Most people realize this. Could that be the reason most do not pay attention to “esult are not typical”

It is no different for people who start their own business. They are not all going to succeed or all make the same amounts of money. Have the same amounts of free time.

It boils down to reasonable disclosure and allowing people to be responsible for themselves. Not creating situations where people are encouraged to not think.

Help people hone and develop their skills.

If a reader does not heed the words or does not want to believe the words that is their responsibility alone. They have to be allowed to make their own decisions.

We all go through the same process when we make friends.

Is the FTC going to be putting up guidelines about how we make friends next?

No you do not have to put the public in harms way. I am not advocating that. But I am advocating holding people responsible for their own actions.

Thought being one of them.

For a copy of what the FTC has put out you can see it on sight at http://gtt.whereintheworldareyou.com/FTCEndorsementsGuideDownload

As per the new FTC Guideline CFR16 Part 255 you are now getting the following notice.

**CONSUMER NOTICE: This is an affiliate ad supported website/blog. Which means if you buy something from a link, or and ad on this website/blog, or based on our recommendation, either expressed or implied, we MAY get paid an affiliate commission. That is how we pay the bills.**

Oh yes the “results are not typical”. Not all commissions are the same. Nor are commissions always received if you buy something from a link.

Have a great day! Do not stop thinking or honing your ability to think.

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