Monday, March 3, 2008

Thank you




Noel and I are back in the Tobacco Reporter office now, and this will be my last official post.

I would like to thank you for joining us on this exciting journey. Your virtual presence added a whole new dimension to editorial travel

We received many comments, suggestions and words of wisdom—both through the feedback function on the blog and by e-mail.

Some suggested that I might have achieved more had I come to South America discreetly. By announcing my intentions publicly, they argued, I put everyone on guard, including any illegal traders among our readership.

That’s a good point, and I will reconsider my approach in the future. At the same time, the public nature of my journey resulted in valuable feedback from people who I would have never thought to contact on my own.

For example, after Pablo insisted I put my camera away, one helpful reader sent me a photograph of that same factory that he had taken several years ago.

Blogging has been fun but also a pain in the you-know-where. After traveling and interviewing all day, the last thing you want to do is configure an uncooperative wireless router in your hotel room.

But the benefits outweigh the drawbacks and I intend to blog again during future editorial trips. Please take two seconds to respond to the poll in the right hand corner at the top of this page.

And if you have additional suggestions or ideas--either for this story or another one--I would love to hear from you.

Thanks again for your support.

Taco
PS: Who won the bet at PM USA?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well I guess the bet was a DEADLOCK since your own drew blood but not enough EXECUTE your ability to continue your blog. I will gladly hold the cash until your next vacation.
We did however pass on your death defying blog too many here and in the industry. This interestingly enough brought up a LOT more information about the company you were keeping. Since the tobacco industry is such a close nit group, there are many of us who have entwined carriers at various machine vendors, suppliers and manufactures. There are those of us who have also worked as independent contractors in the tech service field and been consultants to various companies around the world. Your photos and blogs brought up a lot of comments such as “Friend ship bridge” Ha, I don’t remember anybody on that bridge being friendly for the two years I walked across it. Or “I used to work with so and so but one day he never came back to work. Nobody went looking for him either.” I got an ear full of stories that I can’t print here because they might still be connected to the temporary living.
Your interview might move forward now with finding and asking anonymously for stories from those who have actually worked on the inside and know the operations.
Be careful of offers for cement overshoes. They can weigh you investigation down.

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