Comments on: Why I Use Amazon Affiliate Links When Reviewing Items

By: ed hardy

ed hardy — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:14:25 +0000

By: TrevorY

TrevorY — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 01:06:21 +0000

Why is it some people are so good at finding the cloud in every silver lining? I'll be happy to contribute to your beer fund any day.

By: TrevorY

TrevorY — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:06:21 +0000

Why is it some people are so good at finding the cloud in every silver lining? I'll be happy to contribute to your beer fund any day.

By: mtuckerb

mtuckerb — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:50:07 +0000

If I take the time to say something good about a product I like and use, why on earth shouldn't I get credit for the sale? Good grief people.

By: veebot

veebot — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:51:25 +0000

here, here. i've been seeing people complaining about this stuff as well as affiliate links and it pisses me off. I will recommend something if i think its good. And dammit, i will put up my affiliate link. If you dont like it go somewhere else. Im trying to earn a living so are you. people are so disingenuous.

i love your stuff. keep it going?

By: 2Clean

2Clean — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:05:39 +0000

I like your style and I like your disclosure policy
"I sometimes use Amazon Affiliate links to point to books I’ve reviewed. "

BUT I would however, for the benefit of people that don't know you and for the benefit of you being clear to those people on a first time visit put something which actually positions yourself more clearly in terms of the relationship. The statement does not explain this.

Something like as follows that no doubt you can rewrite much better!
"I sometimes use Amazon Affiliate links to point to books I’ve reviewed, and this is more for ease than anything else. I write the reviews for free, if there is a directl relationship between me and a product vendo I will disclose it clearly!"

By: Robert Metras

Robert Metras — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:13:34 +0000

By: Rob Metras

Rob Metras — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:49:49 +0000

Chris you are oh so right. If you have a privacy or terms of use or other disclaimer on your website. It makes perfect sense to be able to monetize and inform at the same time. Get a life if you dont think so. I remember Michael Arrington from Techcrunch sort of trying to make the snide allegation to Leo Laporte on a TWIT show a month or so ago with a similar vein about products that he reviews. Leo responded back shutting the interview down. Maybe a little extreme, but Arrington was being a first class dink. They have since made up, but bad form.

By: Adam

Adam — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:41:57 +0000

Chris:

I definitely respect your choice. I'm not sure I disagree. But even if I did, it's nice to see someone take a stand. And then stand by their stand (which, I think, is the whole point of a stand).

By: Chris Brogan

Chris Brogan — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:31:35 +0000

Hi Adam--

I certainly have no intentions of being a saint. I sin too often to get the application card filled out, for one.

Mean-spirited? Yes. Absolutely. I wrote the post out of frustration for a recurring issue that has been around since blogging has been around, but that has been hovering around me personally since last December.

It's an interesting question about newcomers. Whoever started on my blog at this very post probably thinks I'm an ass. That's okay. I'm willing to accept that, should the opposite be to not voice my frustration. I think it's a calculation. My answer's not right, but it's definitely in line with my comfort.

The question of bias deserves an entirely different post, but let's just start here: I'm not paid to write reviews. I guess you could split hairs and say that when someone sends me a product, that's payment, but I'm not given currency to write reviews. The person who complained did so because he was "disappointed" to see that I offered Amazon affiliate links as pointers to the products. If you count that as pay, then it's a question of whether $4 or whatever is enough to sway me. I'm going to jump up and say "no" before you get to that one.

Is ANYONE unbiased? Hell, no. I'm very biased. However, I also do my best to disclose as many potential conflicts on my About page.

There are no rules in this space. In fact, I'm doing MORE than most people by disclosing.

I always discuss.

The "get the hell out" stands, I'm going to say. Not to you. I'm saying that at this point, if someone wants to doubt me, go find another blog. There are more blogs than there are humans on the earth. I no longer choose to defend my credibility on a post-by-post basis. That's my decision.

I'm grateful for your time and thoughts.