Public disclosure is required by certain programs, events, vendors, and the FCC. Furthermore, I believe in “blogging with integrity” such that my readers should be able to trust what I write as my own opinion, and be able to discern anything promotional. I promise to make disclosures on individual pages where appropriate, and to only endorse products and services which I believe in.
My employer(s) do not and can not certify or endorse products, services, or vendors. Any implied or explicit instance of this is done by me as myself. Evaluations and testing I conduct in conjunction with my employer(s) are done in accordance with applicable procurement laws and policies. Disclosures of testing equipment, methodologies, and parameters in my writings are done so results can be reproduced and do not constitute endorsement. Writings here and elsewhere are done independently of my employer(s), unless the byline reflects an affiliation with a specific employer or group.
I do reserve the right to change my mind about everything, as I learn more or have convincing discussions with others. I do not believe in revisionist blogging, and will not delete blog posts except under extreme circumstances. Where I encounter older posts which don’t reflect my current state of mind I may post an update to them as an addendum. I do not actively police older content of mine, so there may be conflicts. Comments submitted to this blog become the property of Robert D. Plankers, and I do reserve the right to delete and edit comments as I see fit. Constructive, courteous comments are always welcomed and enjoyed.
This blog is occasionally sponsored through directed ad purchases by vendors, in addition to participating in Google Adsense & Adwords programs. Taken by themselves, advertisements do not in any way constitute endorsement of products or services.
None of the content of this web site is warranted, promised, guaranteed, or otherwise implied to be accurate in any way. Sure, I want it to be accurate, but occasionally someone emails me that they tried something and it went south on them. Hey, that’s all on you, pal. I’m happy to make corrections where needed but you should always trial anything you read on the internet in a test environment, and maintain excellent backups.
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As an independent consultant I have attended Gestalt IT’s Tech Field Day events on multiple occasions, Interop 2011 on behalf of HP Networking, several Dell conferences on behalf of Dell, several public & private VMware events on behalf of VMware, all of which had corporate sponsorship. While I received no compensation for attending, my transportation, meals, and hotel were provided.
On occasion when my attendance at an event is covered by a vendor but transportation has not, my employer may supply transportation and accommodations as a training opportunity where it suits them. I don’t approve my own travel in this regard.
Nominal promotional materials have been provided to me, such as, but not limited to, shirts emblazoned with vendor logos, mugs, stickers, pens, notepads, balsa airplanes, all manner of blinking rubber balls & objects, glow-in-the-dark frisbees, fleece blankets, buttons and pins, stickers, water bottles, portable speakers and headphones, somewhat useless unpowered USB hubs, backpacks & bags, notebooks, a coffee press, over-the-counter drugs, cigars, and random uselessly small USB flash drives containing documentation, none of which have significant value. I was explicitly not required or obligated to blog, tweet, or otherwise write about or endorse the sponsors.
As an aside, the only hat I can recall being given is from Condusiv. It is blaze orange Realtree(TM) camo hat with their logo tastefully embroidered on it so it doesn’t disrupt the camouflage. If you are a whitetail deer in northern Wisconsin, U.S.A. on several weekends in October and November you might see it right before you die.
As an independent consultant I receive evaluation, seed, NFR, and loaner hardware and software from a variety of companies. This list is too numerous and I will denote this in particular writings where applicable. Hardware and software may be in use in a demonstration & test capacity in my own lab, and/or my employer(s)’ test lab(s), in accordance with agreements. Demonstrations and results from testing may appear on this blog and/or influence future decisions.
As a representative of my employer(s), and often due to prior blogging, I receive seed and evaluation hardware from a variety of vendors, some of which is in operation in my employer’s test lab. I use this equipment to conduct testing, the results of which may appear on this blog and/or influence future decisions.
At times, I have attended invite-only gatherings, usually during conferences, for a variety of companies. While I received no compensation for attending, food and refreshments were often supplied.
I have never won anything from a vendor at a conference.
I have received evaluation editions of a variety of books, videos, and training courses, many of which have been re-gifted to others or used promotionally on this site.
As part of Gestalt IT Tech Field Day 7, Veeam presented all attendees with a green wireless portable Microsoft mouse, which I continue to use when I travel, despite the fact that the side buttons are in inconvenient spots. Microsoft has apparently screwed up another thing they had nailed.
I am a VMware vExpert, which intentionally affords me preferential access to resources within VMware Corporation, most of which is covered under non-disclosure agreement and embargoes. My employer(s) are also under non-disclosure, so there is nothing scandalous going on.
I have worked as an independent writer and consultant for a number of firms. I am unable to list the firms I’ve worked with due to NDAs. Plus the list is long and unmaintainable.
I use my knowledge and contacts within the industry to assist & inform my employer(s) with regard to support, operations, and purchasing decisions. This is why they pay me, duh. All acquisitions are done in accordance with their own corporate or otherwise applicable policies & laws. I’m sorry if something didn’t go your way but your mileage may vary if you email me personally about it.
As an independent consultant I am often used as a reference, source, and sounding board by incredibly patient and kind journalists from TechTarget, Forbes, The New York Times, Capital Times, Wisconsin State Journal, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, IBM Systems, The Register, etc. I receive no compensation for this other than reminding me on bad days that I don’t suck at everything, which is invaluable.
“[Robert Plankers] is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.”
I participate in the Google AdSense and AdWords networks.
Portions of this disclosure are modeled after Rick Vanover’s. Other bloggers are welcome to use this disclosure page as a template for their own, I just ask as “payment” that you link back from your site to mine, preferably with a link that doesn’t have “nofollow” in it. Share the search love. Thanks!