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Comment by huggyface | Hacker News Reader

I fail to see how Amazon cannot be replaced with Google and CPM ads in your phrase.

The attachment is dramatically reduced. Talk about routers and your Google ad is just as likely to pitch alternatives as it is to follow your suggestion. Add that the net benefit of a single person buying a router on your advice is dramatically higher for Affiliate links than for basic ads.

Amazon Affiliate links are like pitching Amway when you have friends over for dinner -- it sours the entire relationship, even where it's just reader to writer.

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Amazon Affiliate links are like pitching Amway when you have friends over for dinner

Actually, seems more like pitching my favorite book or movie to friends when they're over for dinner--which I do already. If I have a blog where I discuss fantasy novels, it almost seems like a courtesy to readers to link them to where they can buy the products I am talking about. There are a lot of times when I find myself linking people to Amazon product pages even though I'm not part of the affiliate program. (When a friend asks me what earbuds he should buy, giving him a link seems a lot more reliable than giving him a product name like "AKG K271 MK II" and trusting that the message won't get lost in translation as he retypes it into his search bar.)

Actually, seems more like pitching my favorite book or movie to friends when they're over for dinner--which I do already.

And you get a kickback if they follow your advice? Do you really not see the difference? Do you not see the profound conflict of interest?

EDIT: Each time I post I almost instantly see a downvote. Someone out there is feeling a little defensive about those affiliate links I suppose, but trying to suppress what people really think about them doesn't change reality.

You seem to be talking about the replacement of intrinsic with extrinsic rewards

I first read about that in the book predictably irrational. here is a link

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061353248/ref=as_li_qf_sp_...

(Nb: I stole this affiliate link from Startup Slingshot. Their affiliate link merely appears high in the google for this title. I have no association with Startup Slingshot)

To your question, I think there is a big difference between talking to dinner guests and talking to your audience, especially if your audience is already buying something from you. It's not like you insert contextual ads either into the stream of cocktail hour.

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