Abducted by the work aliens

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I've been busy in New York and Boston the past few days trying to round up sponsorship for B. I'll tell you, getting endorsements from multinationals is like pulling teeth! But the good news is my efforts seem to have paid off. As of this morning I've signed tentative partnerships with Citigroup, Tostitos, McDonald's, Amazon, and the U.S. Army. Collectively these endorsements should place B on solid financial footing for years to come. So that's a relief.

Longterm readers will recall a similar sponsorship from 2009 with the EuroPro hand mixer. Unfortunately, I've been forced to drop that partnership as part of my most recent arrangement. I know this will come as a disappointment to some. In some ways the symbiosis between photography writing and kitchen gadgets was a natural fit, and I only have fond thoughts of the EP585.

But now that the sponsorship has been terminated I feel free to admit that it never felt completely right to me. There was always tension between mixers and the photos, and although there was never overt pressure to write about any particular mixer, I feel some of my photography critiques may have been effected. So, as I sit here eating some delicious low-fat corn chips, I'm glad to be leaving the world of kitchen gadgets and entering a new and exciting land of multinational opportunity, a land which has already proven quite lucrative.

So what do my new partnerships mean for you, the reader? Perhaps the most notable feature is a slight change in name from the former B: Rumblings From the Hinterlands to Citigroup's B ™. In addition to this minor change, careful observers may notice a slightly altered blog design as I incorporate small product information graphics into my posts. In particular I'm excited to introduce The Tostidos Right Sidebar as a regular feature of Citigroup's B ™.

By clicking any of these wonderful product information graphics, you will be helping to support Citigroup's B ™ as you're whisked off to your new site. And if you click through an ad and make a purchase, Citigroup's B ™ will receive additional revenue.

As for the actual content of the posts, you should notice no difference. Just as with my former relationship with EuroPro, the line between advertising and expository writing is absolute and impenetrable. I will never allow financial relationships to interfere with clear and critical coverage of the photo world.

If you are a multinational looking to interface productively with the financially exciting photoblog community, please contact me to discuss opportunities.

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