The link to your strip is in the 12th comment.

I have to say, that it made me want to read more and I'm up to July 22, 2007. I'm enjoying reliving recent history through your strip. It is very good. I especially like the "what?" "what?" pieces. Very funny.

I'm curious to hear what Mac Observer had to say. If you'd post the URL when you get a chance I'd appreciate it.

That said, in case there's any misconception (because I do get questions about this from time to time): I'm a commercial artist, which means I'm paid for my work. I'm proud of that. It's how I pay the rent & the bills and support my wife while she's going through school. People commission artwork and they pay me. I don't ask where they got their money even though I'm sure some of them get it in ways I'd hate. Newspapers run my work and they pay me, and their money comes from advertisements placed by businesses. Websites, including the one I've built, pay me with money that comes from a mix of advertising, products I sell through the site (books, art prints, posters, reproduction rights, t-shirts, etc…) and direct sponsorship by readers. The artwork is purely a personal expression, but the website is a publication, just like newspapers and magazines. The website is a profit-making enterprise with two goals: The first goal is to bring you daily Candorville comics. The second goal is to support my family so that instead of having to get a job in some law firm or Wal-Mart, I can continue to create Candorville even if newspapers go under.

I don't accept ads from anyone that I think screws over the public: Cigarettes, hardcore porn, Coke (which people have said funded death squads in Central America), etc… Off the top of my head, I can't think of any reason why I should include something like "What Odor" in that list. Not all businesses are bad. Most business aren't bad. Our society runs on business. But my ads run in spots on the site that are clearly reserved for ads. I don't sneak them into blog posts. If I ever include an ad in a blog post (which I haven't yet done), I would say it's an ad.

But thanks for asking because I'm sure, as you said, other people would assume otherwise. I've added a note making it clear it's not a paid advertisement.

I'm happy with the iPhone – I like not having to carry both a phone and an iPod & a lot of the apps are incredible. But if AT&T doesn't enable iPhone tethering by the time my contract's up, I might look elsewhere. I'm tired of carting my laptop to Starbucks every time my cable internet stops working.

Also, I've just learned of your blog today in a mention from The Mac Observer.

I watched the video, which of course I knew was an advertisement and I thought that you weren't endorsing the product, rather you were anthropomorphizing your iPhone ™ and equating his/her/its death to that of the recently deceased pitchman Billy Mays. The video ends with a title that says "www.whatodor.com" so I typed it in.

I didn't expect to see a very specific link at the bottom of the product page that says "Blog About Us and Make Money"

It made me think for a moment that perhaps your motivation for the inclusion of the video was more monetary than honorary.

While I am a cynic, I decided that, rather than assume, I'd ask.

Of course there is the snark factor which should never be discounted from any blog comment. After all, if I can't say something snide… (see Uthor)

Oh I must say, after thinking all this through I begin to feel paranoid. Do I really have to wonder about those other product and corporate mentions in this post and the comments? AT&T, Starbucks, Palm?

But no, I really don't think you're getting paid to post that video. I assume they would also want you to say something nice about the product as well. In general however, you should be aware that people even more cynical than I, might get the wrong idea. Especially because offershot.com WILL pay for blog mentions.