John Chow is not shy about making around $3,000 a month on Twitter for getting "paid for pushing a button." According to the NYT article, "a friend's tweet could be an ad."

I see no problem with Twitter 'faux celebs' pushing vendor products and getting paid for them. I am troubled, however, with the 'covert' pretense of most among them. Just as some full-page articles in prominent newspapers/magazines have a disclaimer 'this is an advertisement,' 'sponsored' tweets should be regulated to post such disclosure.

Otherwise, the fine line between a true recommendation of a brand/product and a sponsored one becomes too blurred. As Pete Cashmore writes, "I posted on Facebook about my new MacBook Pro. I'm very pleased with it. Today a friend posted that he's ordered a new MacBook Pro based on my purchase. Do I expect Apple to pay me? Heck no: my payment is knowing that people trust my recommendations. That builds more trust." But how would we know Pete's or anyone's honest intentions if such a disclaimer was not forced onto the Twitterers who actually get paid to tweet something similar, regardless whether they actually do in fact love the product they are 'endorsing.'

Every time I post a tweet about a brand or a product, I get nervous too. I sometimes wonder if my followers would assume I was getting paid. Knowing that even if I was I would only promote items that I really do enjoy/endorse, is not enough to build credibility and trust. But if I was to mention that particular tweet was 'sponsored' and if I only do so on some occasions (as some do), and not on very single tweet (as some others do), I wouldn't be ostracized as much I would think.

In the end, I do wholeheartedly agree with Pete (@Mashable) when he writes, "that's the exact same outdated model of interruption-based advertising that we've been trying to block out with a TiVo or an internet ad blocker." I also think it is quite important to read/find out the recommendations of the 'people I look up to' as some of you (those whom I follow) are. I just want to know if you're sincere or getting paid for it even if you are.