T here are three updates at The Gate for 2017 about which you should know: there is a new video channel; a new e-mail address with which you can use to contact me; and the introduction of affiliate links.
New Video Channel
A new video channel was created on YouTube and can be accessed here:
For a number of years, I had thought about creating videos and “radio” programs to accompany articles at The Gate — or perhaps simply stand on their own. I have had experience in editing video content; and at the time when I first thought about creating a video channel, the technology was not nearly as advanced or as easy as it is today. For example, YouTube had stringent requirements and limitations to the size and length of videos which were uploaded; whereas today, a video can basically be uploaded directly from its raw format, as I have done with the following test which I believe you will be interested in watching.
To supplement this article pertaining to Sharjah Fountain — which I posted only a couple of days ago — I found the following video, of which I had not intended to release publicly; so please excuse its poor quality.
Adding videos can take more time to posting of articles; but I will do what I can to optimize the balance of quantity and quality.
New E-Mail Address
Occasionally, I receive e-mail messages through the administrative personnel at BoardingArea; but the reason why I had not set up an e-mail account specifically for The Gate sooner is because when it resided at FlyerTalk, I automatically received e-mail messages through my FlyerTalk account.
As a result of the growth of readership of The Gate — and an increased volume of e-mail messages — a new e-mail account dedicated to The Gate has been established. You can contact me at any time at the following e-mail address:
thegatewithbriancohen@gmail.com
Affiliate Links
While many people may tell you that the cost of travel is minimal or free of charge, do not believe it. Sure, you can save money on travel; and yes, you can enhance your experiences to be better without costing extra — but travel does require funds.
This is a decision with which I had been grappling for months: ways to monetize The Gate with minimal to no effect on your reading experience — for the main purpose of being able to fund more of my travels to provide you with more articles of my experiences and reviews in order to help you with your travels.
As you probably already know, The Gate has never had affiliate links during its history of greater than ten years. The main reasons are because I want you to trust the content which I create — while not having your experience reading articles at The Gate constantly interrupted by sales pitches.
Besides, I never was a salesperson and never liked actively selling anything; so you will never see me pushing something on you you for the sake of scoring a sale — but I have also never had issues in the past with recommending products and services in which I believe; or offering an opportunity for you to find out about products and services about which you might be interested despite my not necessarily being interested. That will not change.
I have partnered with CJ — formerly known as Commission Junction — to provide affiliate links which may be of interest to you. This is especially because I found out that the affiliate links do not have to be “shoved in your face” like many articles with links to credit card affiliates — and no, you still will not find credit card affiliate links at The Gate despite the new policy.
Many of the affiliate links will be on topic in terms of air travel or lodging; so do not be concerned about me throwing in an article filled with affiliate links about which skirts or perfume you must purchase. I have every intention to retain integrity within the articles which I write, as I vehemently believe in transparency; and I have always had a policy that if my travels are sponsored or funded in part or in full by someone else, my reviews of them will remain honest — complete with constructive criticism pertaining to the products or services of the company or sponsor which funded them.
The scope of the articles will remain the same: read the articles and click on whatever links interest you. I will do everything I can to ensure that the links are not intrusive to your experience. The worst that will happen is that you do not click on any affiliate links, which leaves me no worse off than before.
If the affiliate links program does not work for The Gate, it can always end.
Summary
Maintaining integrity at The Gate is of the utmost importance to me; and the reason is simple: if you do not trust the content which I post, you will not read it.
Now there is an additional way to provide me with your thoughts, suggestions and constructive criticism; so I will be listening to your feedback as always. As I said, please feel free to contact me at any time.
Finally, your support for The Gate is appreciated; but if a link does not interest you — whether or not it is an affiliate link — just do not click on it, as that is all right as well. I am quite grateful that you are a reader of The Gate; and I thank you for that.
Happy new year — and now on to the remainder of 2017…
Photograph ©2017 by Brian Cohen.
