Hey faithful readers.  I don’t do this very often mostly because I pretend not to care what you or anyone else thinks.  In all honesty, The Weakonomist doesn’t give a poop, but Philip does.  In my recent giveaway I received a number of email entries and some contained very kind words about how much they hate me like the blog, and how cute my boxer is.

Reader Feedback:
I thought this would then be a good time to ask you what you like and don’t like about Weakonomics.  I’m mostly talking about posts but remain open to criticisms about the site’s appearance as well.  Do you like the posts where I break down how something works (like Twitter, the Fed printing money, and insurance companies)?  Do you like the College of Weakonomics series?  Want more personal finance stories?  Too much coverage of economics?  Is my dog actually ugly?

Anything goes here.  Just let me know your thoughts.  You can leave a comment, or if you wish to remain anonymous you can send me an email.  My address is philip [at] weakonomics [dot] com.  The funny formatting keeps internet bots from picking up on the email address and sending spam.

Advertisements:
Not everyone notices ads, I usually don’t.  However enough of you do so that it makes sense for me to place ads on the site.  They come in a few different forms.  There are four boxes in the sidebar that contain advertisements.  I make money if and only if you click on the ad and then sign up for the promoted service.  Sometimes they are free (like ING and UpDown) and other times they cost money, like Allstate Insurance.  I want you to know that I am highly selective of the products promoted on this site.  I will not serve an ad for a product I don’t directly use myself or would use if my situation warranted it.  For example, I used to have an ad for internet security software for parents protecting their children.  If I had kids this is something I would do.  I rarely talk about the products, instead letting the ads speak for themselves.  From time to time I will write a post about a product or service, however I will make it clear that it is something I’m compensated for if you sign up.

The other kind of ad I use regularly is Google Adsense.  The way this works is Google scans the content of my site and sends in relevant links in either a banner format of as actual links.  These are not links in the posts, but instead links in the bottom of the sidebar or my posts.  They will look different from typical links and will take you to sites that are not Weakonomics.  I am paid a few pennies for each click.  Please only click on the link if you are interested in it.

I also want to note that sometimes I might review or promote something because I received an incentive to do so.  Rest assured, this will only be done with products I already like or am interested in using.  I will explicitly outline in a post what incentive I’m receiving.  So far you have witnessed this twice.  To review 10,000 ways and buck book I received free copies of these books.  Some think that this action may sway my opinion of the product.  I’ll let the current respect I’ve earned speak for me here.  If you have a concern about this please contact me when a post goes up and I’ll add more details to a post as appropriate

The reason I’m talking about this is because the FTC is currently thinking of additional regulation requiring greater transparency with bloggers and how they are paid.  What I’ve just talked about goes way above and beyond the proposed rules.  I just want you to be aware of the way I’m making money.  Rest assured I’ll make less in a year than you will make this week, so it’s not a lot.

Donations:
Over the last 18 months I’ve received a total of 4 (count em 1-2-3-4) requests from people interested in how they might be able to support the site financially.  You aren’t charged to read this blog, nor will you ever be charged to read it.  Some people like free content so much they are willing to donate to help cover the costs to keep the site running.  I’m not one of them, but bless you few who are.  You’re amazing.

I’ve posted about this once before but want to point out the button in the sidebar that allows you to donate to Weakonomics.  As an incentive, half of your donation to Weakonomics goes to the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.  Additionally, donations of various denominations include additional incentives.  Please see this page for more details about the donation process, or just click the donate button in the sidebar, if you’re interested.

Thank You To The Readers:
When I started Weakonomics in the early months of 2008 it was truly all about me.  I’ve come to know some of the readers better through comments and emails and this site has really turned into something else.  I don’t know what comes next or where Weakonomics is headed, but I’m thankful to have you along for the journey.  From my family to yours, bless you and thank you for reading.

Sincerely,

The Weakonomist
The Sheconomist
The Boxer

Photo: karlhorton

By The Weakonomist

The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics.

categories: personal, weakend