I just returned home from a great trip to Chicago. I was there over the weekend for the third annual Affiliate Manager Certification Seminar hosted by Andy Rodriguez Consulting and then I also had the pleasure of attending the Performics Client Summit on Monday and Tuesday.

Both events provided lots of great networking opportunities, tons of useful information and even a little fun – but both in very different ways.

The Affiliate Manager certification Seminar was a small group of about 35 people (affiliates and merchant affiliate managers). It was an amazing chance to get to know people in a much deeper way than I have experienced at many recent conferences. It was a chance to bond and form close relationships that helped me gain a much better understanding of issues in the industry - particularly adware and parasiteware.

Kellie Stevens, president of AffiliateFairPlay.com, lived up to the hype of our host who repeatedly promised the group that Kellie’s talk on adware “will blow your mind.” She delivered the goods showing data, video, and other indisputable facts related to who is engaging in controversial affiliate behavior and how they are perpetrating those bad actions. Basically, she followed how the revenue was generated.

One example Kellie used was that of an affiliate redirecting affiliate links to steal commissions. The merchant cited was in the room. In fact, the affiliate manager for the merchant, who used her own money and vacation time to attend the seminar (applause here. please), turned around in the middle of Kellie’s example, borrowed a laptop from another attendee, logged into her Commission Junction account and terminated the offending affiliate immediately. It was great (applause again).

I was stunned at the scope of the issue and shocked at the sophisticated tactics employed to pull off such schemes. I’ve written about it many times before but never really understood the full impact. Often the trail was so convoluted and complex that it took several times of explaining who did what for us to follow along. In some cases, it took Kellie hours and hours to perform her testing and sort out the chain of events she was sharing with us.

Kellie does this testing primarily for free and is widely regarded (except by the adware folks, obviously) as an exceptionally giving person and a priceless resource for others in the community. She’s preparing to make an announcement later this month that will help a lot of people in the industry better understand what’s happening with adware. Stay tuned. We’ll have the details here later and in the magazine (the Sept. /Oct. issue)

That sort of unwavering dedication to ethical behavior in the affiliate and performance marketing space is rare but growing as people become more educated as to how these actions ultimately end up negatively impacting every one in the industry.

To reward this type of ethics Kellie presented the first-ever Affiliate Fair Practice Award. The recipient was Brian Littleton, CEO of affiliate network ShareASale, which does not allow any adware applications in it network and is staunchly opposed to bad behaviors from affiliates (check out the Sept. /Oct. issue for more details).

ShareASale, which is often named as the fourth biggest network with about 1,800 merchants, let it out of the bag they are holding an event in November in Las Vegas (called Think Tank) where they have invited a limited number of affiliates and merchants to discuss some serious issues. I also heard some rumblings about a Hispanic version of ShareASale, which given the rise of Hispanics online (see the March/April 2006 issue of Revenue) would be a major milestone for the industry.

ShareASale is based in Chicago and Brian, along with ShareASale’s fabulous Carolyn Tang, were generous hosts while we were in the Windy City. I wanted to extend a big thanks to Brian for getting the group tickets to the Cubs/Phillies game. While enjoying all the fun of the bleachers (yes, that means lots of beer) there was an idea hatched among several affiliates. On the spot they all got things rolling and while I can’t reveal the idea, I have no doubt that it will come to fruition, be a wicked huge success and be an amazing collaboration.

So, going to Wrigley Field was a huge thrill for a baseball fan like me. Having basically grown up at Fenway Park I appreciated the history of Wrigley and loved the passionate fans. I also had the chance to experience the first couple of innings of the Cubbies game from across the street at one of the private roof top decks. Performics hosted a great party for the game. I wanted to hang out there longer, but HAD to go into the park eventually to truly say I’d been to Wrigley.

The entire Performics event was classy all the way. My only complaint is that there were too many Performics people. Every time I turned around to try and talk with someone there were three or four Performics gals gathered and chatting it up. More than one person jokingly asked me something along the lines of “has a sorority bus just let off at the hotel?”

But overall it was a great event. The speakers were dynamite. Anne Holland, president of Marketing Sherpa was entertaining and as always brought lots of data. Lauren Freedman, president of the e-tailing Group, had a presentation jam packed with survey data that was enlightening. Affiliate David Lewis (check out his new venture This Next), delivered a humorous talk about the day in the life of an affiliate.

The food was non stop. It was like being at the home of some Italian grandma. Heaven forbid anyone went two hours without a snack or refreshment. The networking was outstanding. I met so many merchants and affiliates that I have interesting things happening. I’ve got a lot of following up to do in the next several days.

Best of all, Performics doesn’t charge any of its merchants or affiliates to attend (about 400 total). They put on this elegant event at no-cost to the attendees. Unlike Commission Junction, which I heard from some attendees at the Performics event, is charging everyone – including its Top Performers - to attend CJU in September. I talked with a couple of CJ top performing affiliates and they very disappointed by that move. They also questioned why CJ would want to raise such negative feelings among its best affiliates – especially during this time when LMI has already ruffled affiliate feathers.

However, those folks are not the only one that have to foot the bill for CJU attendance. I was told that regardless of being with the press (which never, ever pays for any events since they are there to cover them as news) that I must fork over $695 to attend CJU. I was told that all the press passes had been given out and that I was still welcome to attend, if I wanted to pay. Several of CJ’s top affiliates suggested that I pass and said they might do the same.

I’m still debating whether or not I will attend CJU. Recently, I expressed that CJU was one of my favorite events of the year and I hate to miss it. Anyway, if you’re going to be at CJU let me know. Maybe that will help make my decision.

Meanwhile, I’m very content to stay put in San Francisco for a while.

lisap@revenuetoday.com

Lisa Riolo, a long-time Commission Junction veteran, who was named senior vice president of business development at the network last spring (replacing Todd Crawford) has announced she is leaving CJ as of September 1, 2006. Word is that her departure has nothing to do with the LMI hubbub, but I’ll write more when I get all the information and also when I hear who is replacing her. For now check out her page on MySpace.

lisap@revenuetoday.com

When the weather is hot and humid no one really feels like cooking - or eating very much for that matter. That’s when a salad usually fits the bill. It’s cold, it’s light and it can usually be thrown together quickly. A handful of this, a handful of that and you’re done.

Today I don’t feel like cooking up a hearty blog entry so here’s the recipe for my tasty Big Salad. Eat up!

Baby Spinach
Spinach is filled with vitamin K and folic acid and it’s a powerhouse food. Your mom said it was good for you and she was right. You can’t argue with mom or Popeye.

Much of the same attributes can be associated with the Affiliate Summit conference, which has become the powerhouse of affiliate conferences. I know I felt nourished (albeit a bit hung over) when I left the event in Orlando last month. This week, the shows co-sponsors, Shawn Collins and Missy Ward, announced that Michael Sanchez, CEO and co-founder of ClubMom, will be the keynote speaker for the Affiliate Summit Conference to be held January 21-23, 2007 in Las Vegas. He should offer plenty of food for thought.

Something Green and Crunchy and Seasonal
I like to use several stalks of blanched asparagus, but when that yummy veggie is not in season, I’ll use blanched snow peas or raw zucchini. The point is to make the best of what’s in season. Each time of the year brings something new and fresh to look forward to.

Right now I’m looking forward to CJU next month. It’s becoming an annual early fall pilgrimage for me to drive down from San Francisco to Santa Barbara for the conference. I not only enjoy the picturesque setting of the event, but the amazing people that attend. It’s one of the few events that I truly am eager to attend each year.

Grapes
I prefer a handful of the white seedless grapes not the sour grapes. Maybe that’s why I’m just not feeling it for Google these days. They seem a little sour for a company on top. Just this week the search giant made a big deal about the use of it’s name as a verb. Google has sent letters to media outlets saying, “”We think it’s important to make the distinction between using the word Google to describe using Google to search the Internet, and using the word Google to describe searching the Internet. It has some serious trademark issues.”

In June, Google made it into the Oxford English Dictionary, while “to google” (lower case “g”) was included last month in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.

I think Google should be flattered by all the attention and making it into the lexicon of the masses. I plan to tell the company just that right after I blow my nose with a Kleenex; check for ear wax with a Q-Tip; chow down some Jell-O; Scotch Tape a note to computer; and Xerox a copy of my expense report.

Olives
You’ll only need a small handful of these delicious, salty treats. Black, green, Kalmata, Pincholine - use whatever kind you want. Mix it up. It’s all good. I’m expecting the same sort of compact punch from Andy Rodriguez’ Affiliate Manager Certification Seminar in Chicago. I’ll be headed there this weekend to learn the nuts and bolts of being an affiliate manager. The seminar is small, but growing and the flavor promises to be mighty big. There will be presentations from Kellie Stevens of AffiliateFairPlay.com, Brian Littleton of ShareASale, Scott Hazard of Brightside Media and many other industry luminaries. I expect to learn a lot.

Cherry Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a staple of any good salad and these little beauties deliver without overwhelming - much like affiliate network Performics. While I’m in the Windy City over the weekend and part of next week, I’ll also be attending Performics Client Summit. Anne Holland, president of Marketing Sherpa is among the featured speakers at the event. She never fails to deliver a talk that is relevant, humorous and enlightening. Plus, there’s a trip to Wrigley Field for a Cubs game. You can’t beat that.

Goat Cheese
Not everyone likes cheese on their salad, but no one loves cheese more than me. I find salad to be an excellent cheese delivery vehicle (second only to pizza).

And when it comes to new ways to deliver advertising, there are folks out there still coming with some pretty cheesey ideas. Take this one for example: EnVision Marketing Group, a Little Rock, Arkanas, firm has patented a system to print digital, photo-quality ads directly on conveyor belts. Is there no escaping ads?

Cinncinati-based Kroger stores will be the first to test ot the ads in a dozen of its stores, mainly in northwest Arkansas; Jackson, Miss.; and Memphis, Tenn. Harps Food Stores, a 52-store grocery chain based in Springdale, Ark., is also testing the system in 13 stores.

As part of the sales pitch EnVision Marketing is offering national advertisers the chance to shut out competitors at the cost of $182,800 a year for the entire Kroger 55-store footprint, which the company claims can deliver 3.3 million impressions a month.

Spicy Nuts
I usually throw in a some spicy pecans. They offer a crunchy, meaty texture and spiciness offsets the sweetnesss of the grapes and the saltiness of the olives. Everything needs balance.

According to an AdAge article this week not everyone in the affiliate space feels the same way about balance. Some will to go to extreme lengths to get noticed.

Finally, you may notice that no salad would be complete without a great dressing. I have a scrumptous, top-secret homemade dressing recipe that I’ll share with you – but only if you email a juicy tip to my intrepid reporter friend and co-worker – The Spider.

On a serious note: Several folks in the Revenue family have recently faced personal losses. Our deepest sympathies go out to the families of Eric Reyes and Pedro Sostre during this very difficult time. lisap@revenuetoday.com

Call off the search parties. Cancel the APB’s. I’m not missing or dead. And I certainly haven’t been on any sort of a vacation.

I was just too darn busy to blog. Oh, come on. It’s August. It’s hot. I’m on deadline. I’ve got plenty of excuses. I know some of you make blogging an everyday part of your routine and I applaud you (and secretly curse you). But I wonder how you can feed this blog beast so often. I just can’t keep up.

I suppose I could do better if I thought more about my blog in the car or jotted down notes of what to write while at my desk or in the grocery check out line or while doing my laundry. Typically, I’m thinking more about stories for future issues or what I have to do just to get through today’s deadlines and I’m focused on making sure the magazine comes out on time.

And when I make a conscious effort to think about parts of stories or conversations for the blog, my efforts are often thwarted. It usually goes something like this: I have an extremely fascinating conversation with someone. They tell me something very interesting. I can’t wait to share the information and think it would make great reading in the blog. Then, at the end of our talk they inevitably say, “But don’t write anything about this in the blog.” Ugh. Then they write about it in their blog. Gee thanks.

I promise that one of my new priorities for the rest of the year will be to update the blog more. I also swear that we are getting new blogging software very soon (fingers crossed) and that we will be able once again to have comments and a much more interesting dialog. That’s the best part of the blogging - the dialog.

lisap@revenuetoday.com