As a technology consultant, a commercial copywriter, and a freelance media producer, it’s important that I inform you about where I stand in relation to my clients, advertisers, and sponsors. Integrity remains crucial to both my professional success and to my personal belief system. I’m fortunate to work only with client companies that share my core values, for whom I’m happy to advocate when necessary.
Affiliate links
On my personal sites, I often use affiliate links as additional streams of revenue. If you see a link to a product or service on any of the sites I manage or in any of the articles I write, assume that the link carries an affiliate relationship that could generate further revenue for myself or my clients. Affiliate links do not constitute my endorsement of a product, nor do they influence my chosen topics or tone.
Advertising
My personal sites and podcasts utilize third-party networks to manage advertising inventory. Some of these third-party networks may leverage programmatic data gleaned from other large data platforms. I have the option to reject any advertiser for any reason after an advertiser has disclosed their sponsorship of my content. I do not participate in actively recruiting sponsors.
Clients sometimes hire me for advertorial or placed media content, in which advertisers may shape or otherwise control the final product. I do not participate in projects commissioned by clients or sponsors with whom I do not share core values. In those limited cases where my byline is attached to sponsored content, FTC regulations require sponsors and publishers to disclose their affiliations.
Cookies
The sites I manage use cookies to track user information relevant for serving ads, monitoring website statistics, and ensuring network security. In addition, third-party advertising and services networks may use their own cookies and tracking tools for purposes disclosed in their own terms of service.
Client and employer affiliations
Over the past ten years, I have been paid for services rendered on behalf of the following companies:
- 1776/76fwd/Benjamin’s Desk
- American Express
- Apple
- Axum Capital Partners
- Comcast NBCUniversal
- Curalate
- Houwzer
- Lyft
- QuinStreet
- Saint-Gobain
- Springer Nature
- University of Pennsylvania
Although the list above represents clients and past employers who supplied the bulk of my income, many more companies comprise a list of customers who have attended paid workshops or subscribed to service packages through my previous company, 2820 Press, or my family’s current business, Johns & Taylor.
Personal brand preferences
Because I often write about personal finance and financial institutions, readers may wonder about my personal experience with financial products. My wife and/or I currently hold active accounts with the following financial institutions and insurers:
- Bank of America
- Bluevine
- Capital One
- Cash App
- Discover
- M&T Bank
- Marcus by Goldman Sachs
- Mercury
- Mission Lane
- Ollo
- PenFed
- PNC Bank
- Principal
- TIAA
- TransAmerica
- Voya
- Wealthfront
I receive no preferential treatment or direct compensation from any of these companies because of my work as a writer, consultant, or commentator.
Stock holdings
At present, the overwhelming majority of my personal and family investments consist of socially responsible mutual funds managed by algorithms in my family’s personal Wealthfront accounts. I’ve found that holding individual securities is, for the most part, not an enjoyable experience for me, personally.
Did I block you from my personal Twitter profile? For a few years, I used BlockTogether and subscribed to a few public blocklists from people I trusted. At some point, a few of them started blocking folks a little more widely than I would have expected, so I unsubscribed from the service. However, unsubscribing didn’t automatically unblock everyone. That said, I typically manually block or mute folks from my feeds who act in abusive, unruly, or unhelpful ways. If you’re really trying to get in touch with me, use my contact page.
Conclusion
I will always attempt to disclose a potential or perceived conflict of interest on my personal blog or on my Twitter feed, especially if a client or publication does not have the ability to publish a version of my personal ethics disclosure statement. Please contact me if you have questions about my professional relationships with any of my clients or previous employers.
Updated: August 5, 2022