Upfront Blogging

I have added to the disclaimer in the margin of my blog. I added this:

Author does not get, from the businesses mentioned in this blog, any compensation or gifts. In the event that the author accepts an unsolicited gift from a business, full disclosure will be made on this blog.

Author does not participate in affiliate marketing. By providing a link to a business, author is not acting as a sales agent and does not collect commissions.

When I read a blog, I want to know whether the author has been influenced or is acting independently.  That fact impacts how I take their information. I want to act ethically myself, for that day when the FTC reads my little blog.

You can read about the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's plans to adopt new guidelines that "would clarify that the agency can go after bloggers — as well as the companies that compensate them — for any false claims or failure to disclose conflicts of interest" in this article on CBC News, "U.S. Plans to Monitor Blogs for Biased Claims, Payments" from June 22, 2009.

Back to spinning, now.  Drafting and twisting fibre is so nice and straightforward. Sheep have little guile.