Right now, we're still in the 'everybody in the world is trying to get rich online' phase. Social networks are choked with hustlers trying to sell their stuff or get an advantage. In the end, it all comes down to how much you value your credibility and what risks you're prepared to take with it. Some companies don't care; others simply don't understand the risk they're taking.

On a positive note, the transparency of social media means that it isn't long before people acting unethically get the finger pointed at them by people like us.

On the other hand, I can't help wondering whether the number of people like us who even notice – let alone care about – what Loft was doing is decreasing all the time. Frankly, Scarlett, my stepson probably couldn't give a damn.

I was approached by someone recently who offered cash in return for me writing about a client. I refused (and sent them links to several strongly worded posts on the subject) but in place of me, they found at least 10 bloggers to write for them. Companies will realise that this isn't the way to approach online media. But only when bloggers stop being bought. They're as much to blame as anyone else.

I refused to work with someone who wanted to pay me to write a blog post about a client (and sent them links to several strongly worded blog posts about the subject). They understood, but after a bit more hunting, they found 10 more bloggers to take my place. It's not OK for companies to do this, and when their brand is brought into question they'll realise that. But a lot of the fault lies with bloggers who take the money in the first place. And that doesn't look set to change any time soon.