In the month of January, we have not published much articles. [TAG] has been quiet except for the continual polishing of our new front page and news updates. We thus owe you an explanation.
Since [TAG]‘s inception, our desire has always been to be a free and enriching resource to you, the aquarist. As such, we have refused to sell products, review products favourably for benefits or accept donations. The only exception is our little shop, in which we retail our complete aquariums at below cost. Although implementing all of the above will greatly help our finances, we have long decided not to, so that your experience with us as an independent gazette is always preserved.
The direction we took to finance [TAG] was to invite aquatic companies to partner us by establishing a presence on our well-read front page. And even then, our priority was not to ‘milk’ the companies, but to ensure that they have a platform to make themselves known to you. We therefore kept the partnership very affordable and only approached companies that have a good track record of genuine care and respect for their customers. To date, only one of these companies have partnered with us. However in their defence, a vast majority of them are small, family-owned and passionate start ups, every cent counts for them. But what they can’t help us in sustenance, they have given in knowledge, advice and encouragement. For that, we are extremely grateful.
At the end of the day, finance is still needed to keep [TAG] going. To reduce the bleeding that we have experienced since April 2011, we decided to take a sabbatical for January while continuing to brainstorm on how we could raise the needed finance. Then about a week ago, WordPress contacted us to give the happy news that [TAG] has been identified as a good fit for their new WordAds initiative. It is no exaggeration to say that we felt like we were given a golden ticket, just like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Once WordPress approves [TAG] for WordAds, we will be able to generate the required finances to keep the filters, lights and laptops going. We won’t even need to seek out corporate partnerships and our front page can be used as a bridge between exemplary aquatic companies and you, at no cost. The community will then have the potential to be stronger and the full spectrum of the hobby will benefit.
So like any new aquarium, we think that [TAG] is finally coming out of the intial algae infestation stage. As we stabilise and mature, look forward to video reviews, walkabouts in our local fish shops and contests with fantastic prizes. Thank you for your patience with us, we are finally going to be out of the weeds!
Much Love, [TAG]
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