BS Travel Blogs

Gadling, a travel blog, pointed out a story from the International Herald Tribune about the growing preponderance travel blogs run by advertising and marketing firms. Blogging as a medium has picked up a lot of steam, and the mainstream media is starting to get the hint, starting with some of the more nimble advertising agencies. As a result, we're beginning to see a lot more BS out here. It's not so much a problem of getting blasted by ads, but by getting mislead by companies just looking to make a buck by swaying your opinion one way or the other.

The Wall Street Journal ran a story about the ease at which marketers can use blogs "to distribute information over the Internet while disguising its origins." ABC News vouched for their effectiveness as well, indicating that "people have come to so distrust the mainstream media that they're more likely to believe something that seems to come from the horse's mouth." Readers (and viewers) give these websites greater credibility because of the immediacy and authenticity of their message.

That cred will start to dry up if the authenticity of the message comes into question. Hopefully more stories like this, and the self-correcting nature of the 'space will help weed this type of stuff out.

Link (via Gadling)