Is Panasonic Sponsoring a Fictitious Blog?

One of the many areas of contention in the business blogging community is about whether it's ethical and professional to have companies gain visibility in the blogging community by creating "fake" or "fictitious" blogs. It appears that the latest entrant in this debate is Panasonic Corporation with a blog that certainly seems to be written by a fictitious videographer, selling the new Panasonic high-def video equipment.

But is that a good thing or a bad thing, and what is so fundamentally wrong with companies trying to sell their product by telling a good story? That's exactly the topic I address in my new weblog entry on the subject:

Are Character Blogs Fundamentally a Bad Idea or Just Boring?

I think you'll find it very interesting reading.