Fish and Clicks

THE NEW DORK (Jay-Z ft Alicia Keys Spoof)

Paul Wright — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:36:17 +0000

THE NEW DORK "Entrepreneur State of Mind" (Jay-Z ft Alicia Keys Spoof) from Seedwell on Vimeo.

Awesome geeky and Internet spoof of chart topping Jay-Z and Alicia Keys “Empire state of mind.” Click, watch and enjoy. If thats doesn’t fill your boots then there’s always the Paid Search 101 rap which was posted way back in 2007 but still good for a laugh :)

Thanks
Paul

Where’s the affiliate marketing App Store?

Paul Wright — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:57:00 +0000

The mention of an Affili.net application store in this week’s A4UExpo newsletter caught my eye so off I went to check it out. Perhaps it’s completely slipped me by but this was the first I’d heard of their application store and a quick browse around threw up some little gems. Either way it got me thinking.

I think pretty much every affiliate network has an API these days and the technically minded amongst us use this a quick, powerful and customised way to interact with data, whether this be checking stats or pulling product information.

There are of course other standalone 3rd parties out there such as Affmeter and DC Storm for Affiliates that take this one step further by offering paid for solutions to retrieve cross network conversion statistics and paid search ROI management solutions respectively. Not forgetting the excellent Easy Content Units, which for a small cost allows you to cut and paste price comparison functionality to your site.

We all know and have heard about the App store from Apple which now boasts an incredible 140,000+ apps but as the name of this blog post suggests, where’s the affiliate App Store? Imagine a place, an archive if you will that serves as a central location for paid for and free scripts, tools, apps, code snippets each allowing you to interact with individual networks API’s and cross network data? These could be paid for iPhone apps or simple code snippets developed by networks or even open source by those who simply want to help others. I recall when Zanox launched their Application Store and now we have Affili.net. Is this going to be the direction networks head into 2010 or something the Germans have nailed down and the UK lagging behind?

Imagine an iPhone version of AffMeter? How awesome would that be? Imagine you have a new website and quickly need to drop in some price comparison code to retrieve real-time price listings for a particular product? A quick trip to the affiliate app store, search, buy/download, done! Of course the slight draw back is that networks are probably going to develop for their own platform exclusively but can you really blame them if it’s going to give them competitive advantage? For affiliates who develop Apps this could actually become a new revenue stream. If you have a great idea, a clever bit of functionality that others could benefit from, share it, spread the word and profit.

I’m pretty sure the first person to develop an iPhone app which allows you to pull cross network affiliate conversions for the UK’s popular networks will not only get the kudos they deserve but a tidy profit to boot. Providing they sell it for a reasonable price of course ;)

So let’s here from you. If you had a dream bit of code or an iPhone app relating to affiliate marketing what would it be and what would it do?

Thanks
Paul

Affiliate Window acquires Buy.at

Paul Wright — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:02:45 +0000

Much has been said about the recent merger of Buy.at and Affiliate Window so I won’t dwell on the topic too much other to say massive congratulations to Affiliate Window in what is undoubtedly a shrewd acquisition and to Buy.at for escaping the clutches of AOL who have reportedly lost millions on the sale.

In this new age of recession and tough times for advertising, we know that affiliate marketing continues to buck the trend and does so on numerous fronts. Why? Well partly due to the cost effectiveness of the channel but I believe the key factor is the channels ability to innovate and in some areas completely reinvent itself. What the heck does this have to do with the Buy.at / A Win merger? Well what better way to fast track innovation, rejuvenate business, share learning’s, business insights, your weaknesses plugged by strengths underpinned by best of breed technology due to a purchase of (arguably) your closest competitor? As the old saying goes, if you can’t beat them, buy them!

For the past few years both Buy.at and Affiliate Window have been locking horns and battling for the same clients time and time again. The result no doubt is that they have both been eroding each other’s margins and stretching resources to the max. This is surely not a sustainable business but again the acquisition appears to resolve this dilemma. Furthermore, where either network has managed to gain share in a particular vertical, (Buy.at in Finance and AWin in Retail) they now share years of learning’s, all that data, the inside scoop on the lot, the potential is huge.

The only major headache I imagine (apart from the obvious complications associated with mergers and acquisitions) might be current merchants and agencies of both networks who may have had exclusivity deals, rival programmes on each network etc and have now suddenly been throw in the ring together. Sure would like to be a fly on that wall.

What I am looking forward to is the first Buy.at/AWin social event. Now that’s going to be a party!

More people blogging about the Affiliate Window / Buy.at acquisition here:

Congrats again to both networks.

Paul.

Impact Radius to battle affiliate networks?

Paul Wright — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:33:13 +0000

Today saw the affiliate industry move further down the path which aims to cut out the “middle man” and move more towards a self service solution. If you managed to attend my session at this year’s a4uexpo you would have heard the panel on the day discuss the question “are affiliate networks dying?” We rattled through a wide a variety of topics covering network evolution to commercial restructures as well as a recent trend to work with private networks or white label technology.

Hot off the press today then…

LONDON, January 11, 2010: Impact Radius (www.impactradius.com) today unveils its new platform, featuring online negotiation features and open, centralised directory, which will revolutionise the Performance Advertising industry by directly connecting Advertisers and Media Partners in the delivery of campaigns across TV, radio, print, outdoor and online media channels.

The new multi-channel Performance Advertising platform centres around an open directory listing all Advertisers, Media Partners and Agencies working in the Performance Advertising space, plus advanced tools and technology built specifically for, and with, Advertisers and Media Partners in mind. Third-party intervention and non-disclosure are therefore no longer necessary, as partnerships can be defined and negotiated directly online.

See how this ties in?

Having spoken to Impact Radius a few months back as they were gearing for launch and looking for initial partners I was excited to see a product such as this come to market. In my opinion it’s long over due and is set to empower those who want to take full control, know what they are doing and get down to business with minimal fuss – and minimal fees!

Depending on whether you are a network, agency or affiliate you’ll either hate this or absolutely love it. To affiliates it’s a chance to work closer with the brands you promote and potentially earn greater commissions (as network override rates for the client are lower) but for networks it represents a real threat should top tier performers migrate across to the platform and work direct.

Let’s not get too carried away though, it’s only day one and there’s a heck of a long way to go if Impact Radius want to gain any kind of market share. Private, white label or self managed solutions have been available in the market place for years and indeed there are some very well established players such as Direct Track and TradeDoubler with their TD Integral solution which for some will work out to be more cost effective and arguably product more suited to their needs. What makes Impact Radius slightly different in my opinion are those behind the scenes who really know their stuff, old skool industry folks like Per Petterson and Todd Crawford. Todd had this to say…

Having been at the forefront of the global Digital Advertising space for many years, we have continually monitored this industry, its development and needs. We recognise that Performance Advertising continues to gain significant momentum. However, its technology and supporting business processes have not necessarily evolved at the same pace. This disparity between the opportunities and resources limits growth and revenue within the industry.

Continues Crawford:

Seeing an opportunity, we asked ourselves how can we make a great advertising model better? Our answer is Impact Radius, which changes the Performance Advertising landscape entirely by providing Performance Advertisers and Media Partners a technology solution to discover, define and connect directly to maximise profits across all media channels.

From what I’ve seen so far the platform looks clean, feels slick in it’s operation and has some great features. Ultimately it comes down to bottom line and performance. It’ll take a while to build a publisher market place and for merchants and agencies to bring campaigns to the table but as the market becomes more competitive and clients look for more advance solutions, 2010 could be the year that a few networks are caught napping and the wheel and wake up to find a new form of competitor on their door step.

Lot’s of others talkign about Impact Radius today if you want to find out more…

Would be great to hear your toughts. A network killer or complementary tool to use with your existing network programme?

Thanks
Paul

Affiliate networking event Feb 2010

Paul Wright — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:28:59 +0000

If you haven’t made any affiliate New Year resolutions yet then take this opportunity to make 2010 the year that you get out from behind the computer and get networking with like minded people in the affiliate industry.

Taking place on Thursday 11th February eleven UK affiliate networks will be hosting an informal evening of networking with complimentary drinks. This is the fourth event the networks have hosted, proving an invaluable opportunity to chat to like-minded individuals about our rapidly developing industry.

The event is open to all agencies, affiliates and merchants involved in affiliate marketing but places are strictly limited and I imagine they will go fast so be sure to register your interest here.

I’ve said it a million times and I’ll say it again, I love these less informal affiliate events, even when compared to the a4uexpo or a4uAwards but I do have a very small gripe with this one. What’s with the location? Normally these events are central London and located in a bar reserved on a quite weeknight. Unless I’m mistaken this appears to be in Ogilvy’s offices which unless you live in Canary Warf are somewhat out of the way for most or a bit of a turn off for those actually looking to “get out of the office” after work.

View Larger Map

Sill, location aside, given the effort that I know goes into arranging these events and the generosity of the networks contributing this is a small price to pay. Just struck me as a little odd.

Thanks
Paul

a4uexpo videos for the sessions you missed

Paul Wright — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:15:26 +0000

If like me you attended the a4uexpo back in October but couldn’t make it to all the session you wanted to on the day then do yourself a massive favour and head over to the video lounge section of the a4uexpo website right now. I’ve been meaning to do this myself for a long time but with around 30 hours worth of footage it’s tough to make the time.

Some people in the past have complained at the price of tickets but with a resource like this available to watch at your leisure it really does add a great deal of value. Of course you can only access the videos if you bought a ticket for the event itself so as to not devalue the main event but that’s to be expected.

On that point though… I’m not sure it’s the route that the a4uexpo team are going to go down but I imagine people who could not attend would actually pay to watch these online. The content and expertise across the board really is first class. The Affiliate Apocalypse panel was one that I was really looking forward but missed. Having just watched it now I’m kicking myself for not being there on the day.

Well done to the a4uexpo team for improving what is arguably already the industry’s leading affiliate marketing event.

Thanks
Paul

Cookie confusion in Europe

Paul Wright — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:36:14 +0000

Cookies… Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they form a core building block of many of the technical platforms that underpin affiliate marketing. Most affiliate marketers know that they’re far from ideal for sales-tracking (with some of the wilder claims suggesting that as many as 25% of all ‘advertising’ cookies are blocked/deleted). Indeed, most networks are now introducing ‘cookieless’ tracking systems to a welcome reception from the affiliate marketing community.

The following is a guest post on behalf of the author detailed below. If you would like to submit an article for consideration or collaborate on content towards this affiliate marketing blog please get in touch.

About Simon Mohacek
Kicking off his digital career at Overture/Yahoo, Simon subsequently ran the Paid-Search department at digital agency Blue Barracuda where he oversaw the search activities of clients such as Nectar, Hamleys and Goldsmiths. Simon then left to co-found CPDcast®, the UK leader in CPD online before subsequently co-founding digital media agency The Digital House (the online arm of The Specialist Works group), which he runs today.

Cont…

The latest news from Europe appears to be spurring these developments on. Back on the 26th October the Council of the European Union adopted an amendment to a previous directive that is intended to clarify the use of tracking cookies (or to be more precise, the use of internet users’ information in a tracking context).Many industry-commentators (such as Matt Bailey) interpreted this to mean that cookies are AOK under the new law, following a statement from the IAB.

However, contrary to Matt and the IAB’s belief, I’m not sure that the amendment actually does clarify the previous directive in favour of the status quo. If you haven’t been following this issue in the press over the last few years, let me get you up to speed…

Cookies have long been the whipping boy for the paranoia surrounding the Internet’s ‘big brother’ capabilities; an easy target in a scary, under-policed world of spyware and viruses. Indeed, you only have to look at how the average modern antivirus package now warns against cookies after performing a scan, to view the perception of them. This attitude towards tracking/cookies was one of the driving forces behind the European Union’s attempt back in 2002 to create some order out of the chaos with the original ePrivacy Directive (Directive 2002/58/EC). However, privacy advocates campaigned from its inception that this Directive was far from adequate, so a couple of months ago, they had another go with the following paragraphs:

Member States shall ensure that the storing of information, or the gaining of access to information already stored, in the terminal equipment of a subscriber or user is only allowed on condition that the subscriber or user concerned has given his or her consent, having been provided with clear and comprehensive information, in accordance with Directive 95/46/EC, inter alia about the purposes of the processing.

This shall not prevent any technical storage or access for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network, or as strictly necessary in order for the provider of an information society service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user to provide the service.

With less than 2 years until the date (26th April 2011) that national legislatures (such as the UK) must have put the directive into law, it is not surprising that some privacy campaigners are more than a little surprised by the position that the IAB have taken in their latest press release:

Eliminating legal uncertainty in this area, the ePrivacy Directive (2002/58/EC) within the Package provides a solid legal basis for cookie management tools in browsers and other applications…

Indeed, on the same day as the IAB press release, Viviane Reding (the European Commissioner for Information society and media) went straight on the record to comment (13:15 if you’re interested) following a wave of misunderstanding; I certainly wouldn’t be surprised to hear more from her on this issue in the coming months.

Given the various forms of information that cookies can contain, and the varied uses that different companies/organisations put them to, the idea that the current situation (of browser controls dictating which cookies are allowed by which sites) fulfils the stipulation that “the subscriber or user concerned has given his or her consent, having been provided with clear and comprehensive information” is – in my opinion at least – certainly not as the IAB would have you believe ‘eliminating uncertainty’.

So, what does this matter?

Surely, I hear you ask, given the fact that the digital media industry (and none more so than affiliates) relies on cookies to function, the government won’t simply force a law ensuring that every website in the UK displays some form of pop-up or overlay warning about tracking cookies?

Let’s hope not. Although to be honest, given how loosely other UK laws are interpreted when it comes to online (such as DDA or The Companies Act), I wouldn’t expect a cookie witch-hunt any time soon even if the directive were simply transposed into law by the UK. However, in the meantime I think that the IAB could do more for the industry than simply offering PR platitudes.

Oh… and lastly, to go back to my first paragraph, many networks are now introducing ‘cookieless’ tracking. However, let’s get one thing clear: this technology – in its current incarnation at least – does NOT simply make this issue go away. Cookieless tracking is performed through a number of methodologies, chief amongst these are ETags and Flash cookies. Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t the amendments to the directive refer to: “the storing of information”? Last time I checked, ETags and Flash Cookies would be every bit as guilty of storing information as the good ole text cookie.

Let’s all hope we get clarification on this soon for the good of the industry. In the meantime, I would welcome comments/thoughts. My fingers are crossed that it’s my interpretation that is incorrect…

Thanks
- Simon Mohacek

Google search suggest gone wrong

Paul Wright — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:39:35 +0000

Do midget’s have night vision? Does my belly button smell? No, I haven’t gone mad but clearly a lot of people in this world have. These are just some of the strange and down right bizarre “auto suggestions” returned by Google based on popular searches by you.

It’s just a bit of fun but here are a few that I’ve come across on my travels. Care to share yours or are you one of those responsible for the lunacy above?

Thanks
Paul

Fraud prevention week

Paul Wright — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:49:23 +0000

If like me you’ve been a victim of online fraud then you’ll no doubt understand and appreciate the good work and effort from the people behind Fraud Prevention Week which if you didn’t know already was taking place this week (12th – 18th October). A friendly chap called David contacted me and asked if I’d try help to spread the word, which of course I’m more than happy to do.

Today the spotlight has hit Online Fraud, something which we can all relate to. I thought I’d share the top 10 tips to help combat those pesky fraudsters. More great information can be found here if you need it… http://www.stop-idfraud.co.uk/

Did you know?

“one third of small and medium-sized businesses have been impacted by fraud and that 60,000 UK individuals have personally been affected.”

Shocking when you think that could be one in 3 affiliate business subject to fraud. As if we don’t have enough to worry about already! So with out further ado, the top 10.

1. Manage your personal information carefully. Security experts call it ‘tombstone data’ and by this they mean information such as your name, date and place of birth, marital status, contact details etc. Even with just a few of these details, an identity thief can apply for a loan in your name. Remember the advice your parents gave you: Don’t write down what you don’t want others to read.
2. Protect your identity. Consider setting up a free email specifically for social networking sites rather than your work or home email. Take care when choosing a screen name. Don’t use your real name, email address or any other easily identifiable information.
3. Maximise your privacy settings. By this we don’t just mean passwords although they’re a good start. Try not to use the same password for everything though. On Facebook, make yourself unsearchable and keep your friendships private. Exposing your friends can expose you too.
4. Use a system such as OpenID. Use unique log ins and passwords for each of the sites you access. Better still, use OpenID – a secure provider you log into before visiting other OpenID enabled web sites. The OpenID provider manages the information you share with the site, asking you if you trust it and whether you want to pass on certain personal information.
5. Think before you post. Stop and consider the message you could be giving and the information you are giving away from free before making a post. Status updates are particularly revealing. So much so that research indicates that Facebook users who post about impending holidays have been proven to be at increased risk of having their homes broken into. Similarly, we’ve all spotted the colleague who has called in sick but brags about his hangover in his/ Facebook status or the employee who rubbishes her company in an online blog. Badly thought out posts cost jobs. At best, they can seriously undermine your professional standing. Neither of which are good things.
6. Watch out for cookies. Cookies are small files that websites use to store information about you between sessions. Although often used innocuously for e-marketing, they can be used to build up a profile of your interests and activities which is then used to target advertising at you or even with a view to fraud. Set your browser to warn you when a cookie is installed or alternatively use Microsoft Internet Explorer to block them completely.
7. Install anti-Spyware. Spyware is sneaky software that sends information about what you’re doing on the Internet to a third party, usually to target you with pop up ads but occasionally for use as part of a wider scam. Spyware most commonly gets onto computers during the download of screensavers, music and other applications but can be blocked by using anti-Spyware software.
8. Maintain confidentiality. Do not post confidential or proprietary information about your brand, company, employer, fellow employees, family or friends.
9. Beware of public wireless sites. Sometimes the urge to check your Facebook or MySpace site can be impossible to resist. Avoid accessing social media sites or sending personal or confidential information when using public wireless connections such as those in coffee shops. These sites are often not secure so fellow users could potentially monitor your internet usage from just a few feet away.
10. Lastly, keep a healthy dose of cynicism. Remember if something seems odd or even too good to be true then it usually is. If you’ve experienced a security issue with a social media account, reset all accounts (not just Facebook) that use the same credentials. If you use your accounts at work, report it to your IT team immediately as well.

Thanks
Paul

Aggregating voucher codes via twitter

Paul Wright — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:20:46 +0000

An interesting spin on the much debated voucher code sector caught my eye today and goes under the name of CouponFollow. The model is simple, aggregate all voucher codes that appear in twitter, then link out via your own affiliate links where the merchant has an affiliate programme in place. Better still, site users and twitter followers are encouraged to spread the word retweeting adding a viral touch.

According to an announcement,

“CouponFollow tracked more than 8,000 promotional codes and more the 27,000 related postings on Twitter. We are seeing an average of 350 new codes posted a day with about 3-4 times as many related tweets,”
CouponFollow creater Marc Mezzacca.

Immediate thoughts were:

Nice, simple, I can see this being an instant success.
Great for consumers, vouchers delivered right into your hand.
I wonder how long till the inevitable copy cat sites start appearing.
Does a UK version already exist, if not why not?

And then some concerns…

Where’s the quality control or policing of codes? Expired codes, promo duration, t+c’s etc. As it’s an American site it doesn’t fall under all the good voucher code best practice work championed by the IAB Affiliate Council.
If I was an affiliate with an exclusive voucher code would my codes suddenly start appearing on this site?
If that’s the case are they overwriting cookies and stealing commission?
Didn’t Amazon recently ban affiliates from using twitter? Does linking out via a website built around twitter content get around this?

One to watch I think as I can’t imagine this will be the last time we hear about this. What are your thoughts?

Thanks