Disclosure

There was a time when being a blogger meant you just sat at a computer and wrote up your thoughts and opinions. Today, that’s no longer the case. Bloggers, especially those who write for larger publications, are now subjected to the same kind of scrutiny as honest-to-goodness journalists. I agree that bloggers should now “disclose” their affiliations (as should blog commenters – you know who you are!).

Personally, I wish bloggers could stay bloggers and journalists could stay journalists, but that’s just not how it works anymore. Since I’ve been thrust into this position by the changing nature of the web, it’s best that you know where I stand on things.

Here’s what you need to know:

In my case, I work for two organizations: ReadWriteWeb.com and Microsoft’s Channel 10. ReadWriteWeb is a blog that covers technology news, web apps, startups, and other internet trends. Channel 10 is an evangelist outreach blog focusing on Microsoft news for the tech enthusiast.

1. I’m not a Microsoft employee. I’m a contractor.  That makes a big difference. I’m not privy to the company’s internal matters, especially when it comes to overall direction and goals. I’m not cc’ed on the company-wide emails for FTEs only. I’m typically getting my Microsoft news from the blogosphere just like everyone else is. I own no stock and have no vested interest in whether or not Microsoft succeeds or fails.

2. But wait! Your job at Channel 10 depends on Microsoft succeeding! So SURELY, you’re biased! Right, if Microsoft crashed and burned I wouldn’t be able to work for Channel 10, but that would not affect my online career in any way. I’ve already turned down a number of other blogging jobs so I could continue working at both RWW and Microsoft. If I lost or quit my job at Channel 10, it would not impact my life in any way. In other words, I’m not dependant on Microsoft’s financial success in order to stay gainfully employed.

3. I like some Microsoft products, but only because I love cool technology. Photosynth is cool. Windows Live Essentials is cool. Windows 7 is cool.  FUSE Labs makes cool stuff. Microsoft Research studies cool stuff, and so on. These are just my opinions, though. However, I never pick and choose what products and services I like based on whether or not they’re made by Microsoft, I pick them based on whether or not I think they are cool. For example, the two products that changed my life in 2008-2009 are Google’s Chrome web browser and the iPhone. In 2010, it’s the iPad. In fact, I own four Apple products (soon to be five!) and only 3 Windows machines.

4. I can blog about Microsoft products and still have valid thoughts about other companies – yes it is possible! Doing one doesn’t impact the other, in my opinion. If I say I like or hate another product or service put out by a Microsoft competitor, that opinion is not based on some sort of bias. It stands on its own. Like I said before, I browse the web with Chrome and I use an iPhone. I also think fondly of Gmail, Google Docs, Android, the Wii, and plenty of other non-Microsoft technologies.

5.  I tend to not blog about Microsoft-specific news for ReadWriteWeb, leaving that to the other bloggers to cover. When I do now (such as here), I add a disclosure at the bottom…such as the one that may have brought you here today.