Time to bear it all!

Well, not really, but the fact of the matter is that the FTC has ruled, beginning December 1, 2009, that bloggers need to provide a disclosure if there could be hidden interests or unspoken biases related to recommendations.

First: I want you to know that by day I’m a web developer (currently contracting through Kforce), and that the opinions stated here are my own and do not reflect those of my employers or any organization I belong to. I also blog at ScotNewbury.com (my personal blog) and in the past I’ve written articles for RolePlayingTips.com.

Second: Per FTC the rules, if I interview someone, and they grab the bill for lunch, I would need to specify this, as I would if I use an Amazon link that gets me 8 cents instead of an Amazon link that gets me 0 cents. If someone gives me a comfy t-shirt with a logo and I wear it in a photo, ditto. Disclaimers all over.

This would be tedious for me and a continual eye sore for readers. But rules is rules.

To cover me and preserve your reading experience, please assume that, for every recommendation, link, and product I use, the following all holds true:

While all those graphics and text may sound great, I have to admit, I “borrowed” nearly all of it from the excellent disclosure policy of Tim Ferriss and the graphics are courtesy of Louis Gray and Jeannine Schafer.