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Thursday, February 03, 2005

Your Product Placement Here 

In light of the controversy over this, I thought I'd explain Manhattan Transfer's policy on product placement, advertising and general corruption. Here it is: I'm totally for sale. Send me anything good and I'll plug it in this space. Really.

If you need more guidance: I'm a size 42 suit; I wear size 10 shoes; I need a new phone; I read everything; I drink a lot.

That said, Manhattan Transfer has not actually been corrupted or bought yet. Unlike some other lucky bloggers, without one exception, I've never received anything for free from anyone looking to promote anything. I've never actually been paid for the AdSense ads over on the far right because you have to earn $100 before they'll send you anything, and I'm not close to that yet. I keep them up there because I think it's funny when they advertise rehab clinics (and I like the Five Points gangster picture that shows up when my content doesn't trigger any ads).

I realize there are a few things that it might seem like I am paid to promote, but I assure it is a labor of love rather than corruption.

The Village Idiot: I don't think anyone who worked there ever heard of a blog. I did have crushes on all of the bartenders but I don't think blogging about the bar would have helped me seduce them. They gave me some free shots of Wild Turkey but those were buy-backs for the dozens I ordered in a given night.

The Cellar: Okay, I'm pretty sure they started Whiskey Wednesday just to make my life a little brighter. It's two dollars off all whiskey on Wednesday, which is like getting into heaven with a few extra sins on your soul. But I'm not paid to promote the bar, and I pay for my drinks there. It's just a wonderful bar staffed with some of my favorite people.

Jameson's Irish Whiskey: Oh, please, please someone make me an official sponsor! I just have a thirst for the stuff. And as far as drinks go, it's relatively healthy too.

I think that about covers it except for my one real corruption. Something I write about nearly all the time and from which I really do receive incredible compensation. The culprit: friendship. I've got the best damn friends anyone could have, and I try to promote them all I can. This is my new trend and my most important product: my friends.