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If you had mentioned the word blogto people five years ago there is a good chance that many wouldn’t have had an idea what you were talking about. Perhaps a few would have been familiar with it but chances are they never would have thought that a blog could be a source of news and information, let alone income.

Many things have changed during that time.  Blogging has become influential enough that for two years running a member of the old guard  (Time Magazine) has created their own list of what they consider to be the best blogs.

Now that millions of people are choosing to use blogs as a supplemental source of news and information the advertisers are doing what they have always done and are chasing the eyeballs. It has created an interesting situation in which some bloggers are being approached with opportunities to review and or giveaway products.

It has become a big enough issue that the FTC is now considering issuing guidelinesfor bloggers to use. Not unexpectedly the suggestion of government intervention is creating waves within and without the blogosphere.

One of the reactions is the development of the Blogging with Integrity badge. The idea behind is that this would help to provide a resource or tool for bloggers to use to let their readers know who they are dealing with.

Not unexpectedly it has been met with a mixed results. Some people have been unapologetically ecstatic about it and others turn their noses to it. It is not completely unreasonable to meet with derision, because if you have to say that you are blogging with integrity than perhaps you aren’t.

It stands to reason that some of the disagreement and confusion about this stems from a lack of consensus about what a blogger is. Should a blog be a place where a person or people write about their personal lives, politics and life in general.

Or should it be a place where someone reviews a product and gives their opinion about whether they think it is good not.

It doesn’t have to be an either/or situation. In theory a blog can be both.

As the two sides line up and glare at each other the usual mud slinging is taking place. Some claim that the issues here are simply one of jealousy. Some will tell you that bloggers are angry because they are not being courted by the brands and given products to review and or giveaway.

They say the giveaways are the real reason why readers flock to those blogs and that without the chance to win a prize the blogger would find themselves with a relatively small readership.

On the other side there are those that say that they have worked hard to cultivate a relationship with the brands and that their popularity is a result of their hard work and thus deserved.

It really begins to create a question of whether there is a need to define and or categorize bloggers. There is a distinct difference in the amount of influence a blog that reaches a 100 readers a day is versus one that reaches 100,00 per day.

The rub is going to be in how to draw those lines and whether they are truly needed.