Last month, news broke that public relations firm Edelman had created a fake blog for Wal-Mart, “Wal-Marting Across America.”

Ultimately, Edelman admitted that it had created other fake blogs, or “flogs,” created by Edelman for Wal-Mart, such as a purported advocacy group (“Working Families for Wal-Mart”) and the appropriately named – albeit not appropriately disclosed – “Paid Critics,” which was devoted to “exposing” links between unions battling Wal-Mart and stories in the news media.

Back in October 2002, when few media professionals gave blogging much thought if any, we introduced the concept of pitching blogs for PR with a strict emphasis on transparency and disclosure being the key to any successful contact. The reasoning, as brought out by the torrent of blogger outrage and mea culpa’s issued by Edelman, is obvious. A blogger’s entire value and credibility rests on being an independent voice. Any attempt to cloak an organization or PR effort in bloggers’ clothing is considered the greatest sin in the blogosphere.

The tactics employed by Edelman have damaged the company’s reputation – not to mention its desire to position itself as the PR industry’s custodian of blogging virtues. Still, it should be noted that the company has apologized and has said it will develop a series of internal reforms.

By blurring the lines between blogging and PR, the end result is that slight skepticism on the part of your audience becomes ossified cynicism, which drowns out even the most subtle, sophisticated messaging. That’s why we’ll say it again: when it comes to blogs, be completely transparent about who you are and what you want. Disclose who you’re working for.