Just to be very clear on where I stand and what affiliates I may or may not have.

Mark Nottingham recently raised the very important point of disclosure in his article Predicting the Dane Valley result. Mark observes that almost all politically aligned bloggers declare their affiliation outright naming two that do not or might not. The one who might not be clear about their affiliation being our Tony and the other not disclosing on their blog is Simon Moores who has accused me (Matt B of Thanet Star) of having a Labour affiliation.

This article, for those that are interested is a full disclosure of my affiliations that might have any impact on my neutrality introducing unexpected bias where it was not intended. If this interests you read on otherwise skip on to the next article.

Affiliations and Links

Political and Religious Affiliation

Overview

I have been approached in my time by significant members of the Labour Party, The conservative party and the Liberal Democrats and have engaged in talks with members of most parties regarding representing my area. I have not signed with anyone and am as yet unaligned. There was even some suggestion that I join or represent some fringe parties.

Indeed after one public speaking event Clive Heart (before he was officially leader of the Labour group down here) broached the subject and asked if I had considered a career in politics. He mentioned that Dane Valley needed Labour candidates that were active in the local community (too right too) and suggested I think about it.

So far I have thought about it to no actual conclusion.

I am friends with and have business relationships with Canterbury Council Members (Tory) who throw a good party and are most generouse when it comes to getting a round in. I am on speaking terms with Labour persons and if they were not so rare I have no doubt that I would be able to count Liberal Democrats among my friends too.

I also count among my friends religious leaders of no less than 3 mainstream denominations and, as you might gather from this, I do have a personal faith and core set of spiritual and ethical values that I derive from that.

So, politics and religion: two topics not for for the dinner table. I am not strongly affiliated with any one group, denomination or club. Additionally I am likely to upset the highly sensitive in any of these groups due to the annoying habit I have of thinking for myself.

Political Opinion

I do not subscribe to any particular school of thought politically. I lean somewhat left on some issues but have a strong business sense and can see the vitue in many sides of the argument.

I have stronger opinions about sustainability, ecology, preservation of biodiversity and the stability of local economies. I do not like the use of harsh chemicals that are often used in household products and am not impressed with destructive farming methods. I am not convinced by the current data of the significant value of Genetically Modified Crops and while not wildly worried about them do not see them as cost effective or value for money.

I believe in open and transparent governance and strongly feel it is a necessity today. I do not see new rules as the de facto answer to any problems. I do not believe that local governmenbt has the first clue as to how or why the Internet should be used and I feel that we are poorer for this.

I value honesty in everything. I strongly dislike anyone who sets themselves up as "expert" but whose actions then clearly speak of things being otherwise. Nothing else looses my trust nor gains my contempt quicker.

On all other topics please feel free to ask.

Business Affiliations

I am the managing director of Adullam Limited which is a small company. We engage in new media promotions and my income comes from the company which profits (or not as the case may be) from any adverts I may run on websites.

The vast majority of adverts are in the form of Joint Venture Partnerships such as affiliate programs. As such I only see income when the adverts yield results. I do write articles about these products and I try to keep it fairly obvious that there is a payola involved in such articles. See also my disclaimer and T&C for more.

Additionally I am an Independent Marketing Executives for Melaleuca UK. In this role I will run a number of product launch parties and probably some training seminars. I might even blog about the products. If their products are something that interests you I am willing to meet you for a cup of coffee and a chat but otherwise you are unlikely to hear much about it from me.

I am a public speaker and can be hired to talk to people about a number of topics including blogging and media.

Other Involvements

I have, on and off, over the years sat as a parent representative on the board of Millmead Children's Centre Partnership Limited (Sure Start Millmead) and have also been involved with Fathers in Thanet. I have been known to attend various Community Forums including the Parents Focus Group in Millmead.

I do not currently (December 2009) have any other involvements as I do not have sufficient time to ensure I can make a quality contribution.

Costs, Hire and sponsorship

Thanet Star is hosted along with a number of other projects of mine on a server that costs me arround £700 a year. Some months the adverts and such on Thanet Star might cover the portian of this cost attributed to the site other times not. However I am unwilling to add further adverts at this time. I do offer sponsorship of the site. You can buy sets of a thousand impressions or you can sponsor the site directly with a monthly contribution.

If you are accepted as a sponsor of this site then I am more than likely going to write about you. This means that those people that sponsor the site are likely to get positive coverage and I might be biased in my reporting. I'll try not to be but am human.

Current sponsors include projects that I have created. This is mostly as I have not offered sponsorship opportunities to anyone yet.

Conclusion

That is/was how things stand as of 2nd December 2009. This might change or it might not. I am not aware that I have hidden anything from you please feel free to ask.