While there have been rumors of various amounts given to celebrities for their incredible insights on life — Charlie Sheen comes to mind — thanks to the Vulture section of NYMag.com, there’s even more information about how much certain stars make for their Twitter insight, and man, it’s just depressing.

It’s also clear we are nation of trend-following groupies who apparently want to bask in the glow of the “elite,” otherwise known as those who “leak” sex tapes (Kim Kardashian), make marginal rap music (Snoop Dog), and have remained in the popular for reasons we can’t quite comprehend (Paula Abdul). The numbers revealed by the post are pretty staggering.

Thankfully, however, these “celebrities” are not being paid for every tweet, just those that endorse a certain product. So there’s some relief in that respect, but then again, are you going to buy a product just because it was tweeted about on Kim Kardashian’s inane Twitter stream?

If so, then you’re part of problem.

Anyway, the downfall of society aside, what do these celebrities make for their 140 characters of genius? The numbers may surprise you:

Kim Kardashian – $10,000 per tweet
Snoop Dog – $8,000 per
Paula Abdul – $5000 per
Whitney Port (who?) – $2,500 per

The article features a quote from the CEO Of Ad.ly — Arnie Gullov-Singh — who helped perpetuate this madness. Naturally, Gullov-Singh thinks its a wonderful thing, “Consumers react positively to organic authentic messaging.” With that piece of knowledge in mind, let’s take a look at what, exactly, the kind of content these beacons of creativity are responsible for.

After reading some of these moments of sheer genius, please refrain from taking drastic measures that could result in the police intervening. Lastly, these examples won’t be featuring any endorsed tweets. Instead, I’m just going to highlight the kind of content these paragons of talent offer, allowing you to decide whether or not these kind of tweets are worth, well, any amount of money.

We’ll start with the “amazing” Kim Kardashian:

In other news, Kim K still uses a Blackberry. Maybe RIM could make her a full-time endorser. Now for Snoop-A-Loop:

Next up is Paula Abdul. At first, I thought the point had been made, but no “Imma” make sure you get it, this time, with what looks like an endorsement tweet:

Pepsi really paid 5 grand for that? No wonder the economy sucks. As for Whitney Port:

I just hope those aren’t the kind of tweets she gets $2,500 per for. In other news, it’s clear I pursued the wrong career. While the tech industry has treated me good, clearly, I needed to get famous and then sit back and make money from useless 140-character posts.

I will not regurgitate Fishkin’s post here, but if you’re concerned about laws pertaining to disclosure of paid endorsements, it’s a must-read. He does offer the following takeaways to sum it up:

1. Most social media marketing is legal without disclosure.

4.  Linkbait, viral content and microsites don’t require disclosure (most of the time).

In the online marketing world, does not always cross our minds that there are legal boundaries that are being stepped on or even crossed in some cases. For the protection of your business, it is really an important thing to make sure you are abiding by federal regulations. These are only US guidelines though, so if you live in a different country, you will probably want to do some digging of your own to find out what the regulations are in your own government.

Read the FTC’s guidelines here.

Disclaimers like these are standard practice in the advertising industry, especially in the diet and exercise apparatus markets. The most famous example is Subway’s use of Jared Fogle, who lost 245 pounds eating sub sandwiches and exercising. The commercials’ fine print indicated Fogle’s weight loss wasn’t typical. Further investigation found that a special medical condition aided Fogle’s weight loss.

The FTC would instead require advertisers to display typical results instead of hyping up one spectacular atypical result. In addition, advertisers would also have to disclose details of endorsers. It would have to be disclosed that the “doctor” in a pharmaceutical ad is actually an actor. Celebrities would have to disclose any commercial ties to a product as well.

The first update to these guidelines since 1980, the new rules would apply to all forms of advertising, including online advertising.

Advertisers have already lodged their complaints, feeling the rules are too restrictive. Jonathan Gelfand, general counsel for Product Partners LLC, a company that sells fitness products and nutritional supplements told the Chicago Tribune that acknowledging results may vary is as true as an advertiser can make it.

“If we can’t show a picture and give results, what are we going to do? Someone who can’t fit in an airline seat is not going to pick up the phone for a 10-pound weight change."

The FTC recently slapped home shopping network QVC with a $7.5 million fine for deceptive claims of a similar stripe, indicating that publishers will not be immune, either. The FTC ruled QVC violated a 2000 order barring it from making deceptive and unsubstantiated claims about three dietary supplements and a body lotion: For Women Only weight-loss pills, Lite Bites weight-loss food bars and shakes, Bee-Alive Royal Jelly energy supplements, and Lipofactor Cellulite Target lotion.

“QVC aired ads that weren’t true and violated an FTC order,” said Eileen Harrington, Acting Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Simply put, we aren’t going to let QVC get away with this. The company is responsible for the product claims made on its programs, and we expect that going forward, QVC will do a better job for its audience and make sure that its programs are truthful and not deceptive.”
 

The first paper, to be published in the December 2007 issue of the Journal of Advertising Research, suggests that advertisers should focus on "old fashioned" word of mouth tactics, where the collective spreads the message, rather than a "few elite and highly connected believed to have the most persuasive power." 

The findings contradict traditional advertising practices, where celebrity endorsements are standard practice. But people are not only more likely to trust an endorsement coming from a friend, but are also eager to pass the message along.

The study was co-authored by James Coyle, assistant professor of marketing in Miami’s Farmer School of Business and of interactive media studies, Elizabeth Lightfoot of CNET Networks, and Ted Smith and Amy Scott of MedTrackAlert.

“We find that trying to track down key influencers, people who have extremely large social networks, is typically unnecessary and, more importantly, can actually limit a campaign or advertisement’s viral potential,” said Coyle, in a statement.

“Instead, marketers need to realize that the majority of their audience, not just the well-connected few, is eager and willing to pass along well-designed and relevant messages.”

News of the study comes just a day after another bit of research, conducted by Saint Joseph’s University’s Dr. Natalie Wood and published by the Journal of Political Marketing, found that celebrity endorsement of political candidates can actually drive voters the other direction.

“In terms of voting behavior, family and significant others are more influential than celebrities in engaging support for a political candidate,” said Wood. "At first glance, it would appear that the money and time invested in celebrity support is wasteful.”

Wood also says that young voters sometimes rebel against political endorsements, and that it may be better if celebrities encouraged voters, rather than whom to vote for.

Hat tip to Guy Kawasaki

The article covers some seriously important issues regarding the claims marketers make for their products and services. One section I found worthwhile is about using customer testimonials. Did you know that anything a customer says on behalf of a product is subject to the same FTC regulations as an advertiser’s claim? Based on the MarketingSherpa.com article, there are certain precautions required for customer testimonials including:

• Getting affidavits from customers making testimonials certifying the claims
• Any connection between the customer and advertiser must be disclosed
• Testimonials must reflect a typical scenario for the product’s use

From my experience reading businesses sales letters and web copy, it seems that many of these precautions are not being followed very carefully. Although it’s probably fair to assume the FTC is too overwhelmed to pursue minor claims against the use of customer testimonials – I recommend still being careful and following these precautions.

The article also covers suggested requirements covering claims about “clinically-proven” product demonstrations, expert endorsements and product comparisons. If you are using any of these best practices to showcase your value proposition, then it’s probably a good idea to read this article.

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The French Minister of the Interior, Nicholas Sarkozy, appears to have turned to Google AdWords to help garner support for France’s efforts to regain control after days of rioting, the Morrison blog noted.

Sarkozy’s party has placed a petition on the party’s website, seeking endorsements from the public in favor of the minister’s policies. Morrison described how this works:

A quick test on Google.fr confirmed the ad’s placement and content. To date, the BBC has reported hundreds of arrests and burned vehicles in France.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.