When I am compensated in some fashion, whether it is for client work or simply some sort of freebie from a non-client, or if I was explicitly pitched on something, I disclose. Every time. And in the case of pitching clients on my own blogs or via social networks like Twitter, I do it sparingly.

On the other hand, if I am writing purely of my own volition, for example the weekly sci fi column I write on my personal blog, I don’t put the “negative disclaimer,” ie that no one provided services or free DVDs for the review.

Celebrities are valuable to brands because they aggregate trust and attention. There have always been “ordinary people” who do this, but social media permits increasing levels of “non-celebrity aggregation of trust and attention.” (How’s that for slick coinage?) People should make their best efforts to disclose. But the audience is not always going to notice/hear that disclosure for various reasons.

Ex: I’ve made it clear a number of times that Qik made it possible for me to use/demonstrate their application, but how can I append that information to every single Qik video I send?

The trust and value of relationship may even matter more than the disclosure. Whether or not a financial relationship exists, is the information you get from that person genuinely helpful in your own life? Be a discerning friend/consumer/audience and you’ll be less susceptible to profound shills.

When I do believe in something, I get passionate about it… and it’s easy to sell something you’re passionate about.

But it’s no big surprise to find out that there are people paid to shill… Whether it’s the “I used product X to lose 100 lbs!” in a magazine, or the “product X changed my life” on a blog – it’s not going to surprise anyone.

But anyone taking the word of just one source w/out doing their own research is an easy target for that sort of thing.

I advocate products and companies I have positive experiences with – but likewise, I don’t hesitate to speak out when I have a negative experience. The trick to spotting a shill is that they tend not to do the latter.

Seriously, though, it is a question of reputation, online as well as offline. In the end, all we have is that reputation – for honesty, reliability, compassion, whatever. Almost everyone knows the difference between the reliability of the news from The National Enquirer versus The New York Times. We know which of the people in our personal “real life” circle of friends and acquaintances are honest and dependable.

That knowledge does translate to the online world. Which is why bloggers who decide to get involved with the Pay Per Posts of the world will create questions about their overall honesty, regardless of whether they’re actually getting paid to write about something or not.

I wouldn’t say that pitching is bad per se, like you said, it’s a bit hard to avoid sometimes. But it’s not right if you’re using the relationship you have with someone solely to pitch something without him being made aware of it. That’s called taking advantage of people. And as in the real world, that’s never nice.