I received a press release today from Andy Sernovitz of the The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), who released a code of conduct.

[from the press release]

The WOMMA Code establishes guidelines and best practices so that honest marketers have a framework with which to plan and execute ethical word of mouth marketing campaigns.

At the heart of the Code is what WOMMA calls its Honesty ROI -- honest disclosure of Relationship, Opinion, and Identity. This demands that advocates (those who are spreading a marketer's message by "word of mouth") disclose their relationship with marketers in their conversations with other consumers; that they be allowed to form their own honest opinions and let those with whom they're communicating form their own opinions; and that everyone be transparent and reveal their identity to anyone with whom they're communicating.

However, isn't it a bit unnatural, while you are hanging out at the watercooler discussing MP3 players, to have someone make a recommendation -- their "honest opinion" -- but then state that they are a paid advocate of iRiver or Apple? Full disclosure is not enough. "Honesty" of the advocate's opinion is not enough. The fabric of social intercourse is altered profoundly by individuals acting as hirelings for the companies whose products and services they tout. This is rise of social spam, where the natural pathways of discourse are going to be layered with commercial graffitti, and every utterance may be nuanced by corporate logos.

My sense is that this code of ethics becomes the whitewash for something that is nearly immoral. This is just like Marquiism, although instead of blogs the channel of discourse includes face to face interaction.