Traditional public relations has always been sponsored, just not paid. If a company wanted to share a new product or event they sent out press releases and crossed their fingers that a journalist would cover their story.

Social media outlets like Twitter and blogs are increasingly used as ways to promote a brand. In the age of spammers, it’s unlikely you’ll answer unknown solicitations to hock someone else’s product, unless they’re a friend of yours. But at least this is closer to organic PR, just online.

Organic seeding and online PR–without the sponsored part–may be time consuming, but there is no question that the blogger or Tweeter said what they had to say about your brand because they wanted to–because you made a connection with them, not because a company paid them to.

Another unpaid way to get your message across the internet is to push it out every few hours. Repetition may be the old adage for advertising but online, repetition may just turn people off.

So now we enter into the faster but more questionable realm of Sponsored Tweets and Sponsored Blog posts.

Someone may agree to write about your product for a fee. But it could take away sincerity and belief when there is a disclaimer before a blog post.

What if there were sponsored lectures in classrooms? A nutrition class. The professor announces that this is a “sponsored lecture” BUT all opinions are 100% their own. “I think the Taco Bell diet is really beneficial and there will be a class project to test this theory.” “Sponsored by Taco Bell.” So yes, the professor said the opinions are hers, but, do you really believe this? I mean, she is getting a paycheck. And seriously, eating Taco Bell everyday for a month? There’s an obvious reason that Taco Bell could make a person lose weight and it isn’t their nutritious ingredients, if you know what I mean.

Mashable had an argument back in August that the company Izea “attempts to bring transparency, ethics, influence, and even celebrity to paid Twitter conversations.” But the other opinion is: would social media be better off without them?

TV and radio didn’t have advertising at first, but eventually everything needs a way to make a profit. Even bloggers, though their customer base is used to getting the milk for free.

If Kim Kardashian can (arguably) make money on Twitter, as long as she discloses if she’s being paid to talk about her new (branded) kicks, is that ok? Michael Jordan isn’t required to say “I’m being paid right now by Hanes” in front of the camera. It’s understood. Eventually Sponsored Tweets/Blogs may go from borderline unethical to understood that someone is paid to chat about a product. Beware, though, users will be on their way to a new medium as soon as they think they’re flooded with advertising.

Do Sponsored Blogs make you look less credible or is it the fault of consumers’ if they don’t understand your disclosure. Are Sponsored Tweets only acceptable for celebrities and “gurus” because it’s expected?

Let’s face it. Most people are online to connect with real people. But what if you are that real person who typically talks about your dog and your kids and what you eat for breakfast and occasionally tweets about Kellogg’s cereal because you’re getting paid to? You sought out a product so you could get paid to announce an opinion you already have.

Until this blurry line becomes bold, I guess we’ll wait and see.