Thanks to Tim Ferris for pointing out the need for this page & providing a fun template.

This blog is not primarily financially driven.  If it were, I would accept advertising, have more stuff you could buy, and would frankly spend a lot more of my time and energy trying to grow it.  This site exists for two reasons and two reasons alone:

• I want people to read about this stuff and improve their lives.
• I want to write about this stuff and improve my own life.

It’s also a fun outlet for learning things like WordPress, mobile programming, site design, and of course for becoming a better writer.

All that said, beginning December 1, 2009, the FTC requires bloggers to provide disclosures whenever there could be hidden interests or unspoken biases related to recommendations.  And my Microsoft employee handbook has similar requirements around blogging and how it relates to the company.

First, the obvious: I work for Amazon (and love it) and occasionally advise unrelated startup companies.  I also invest in a number of technology companies.

Therefore the work disclosure: The posts on this weblog are provided “AS IS” with no warranties, and confer no rights. The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent my employer’s view in any way.

Second, the less obvious: 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.  If I write about an Amazon product or a competitive product, same thing.

Disclaimers would be all over the site.

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