Commission networks plan to meet in New York on Nov. 7

Representatives of online networks that funnel commission payments from e-commerce merchants to numerous affiliate sites will meet in New York on Nov. 7, according to the meeting's facilitator, to discuss "shopping plug-ins" -- small software programs that are called "stealware" by detractors.

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The man running the meeting will be Wayne Porter, vice president of AffTrack.com, a data aggregator that analyzes revenue for some of the largest e-businesses. AffTrack doesn't fit the definition of a merchant, an affiliate, or a commission network, which is one of the reasons Porter was selected to chair the meeting, he said in an interview.

Commission Junction, LinkShare, BeFree, and Performics are the largest networks that will be represented at the New York meeting, Porter says. In addition, he indicated the following representatives of shopping plug-in and customer-referral sites will attend:

-- Patrick Toland, TopMoxie.com

-- Paul Nichols, eBates.com

-- Tim Storm, FatWallet.com

-- Farhad Mohit, Bizrate.com

E-commerce affiliates typically earn a commission of 5 percent or so when visitors click a link and buy something at a merchant's site. I reported in E-Business Secrets on Oct. 2 that many affiliates are extremely upset by plug-ins. Such programs were quietly installed on millions of PCs when users downloaded music-sharing programs such as Morpheus, Kazaa, and LimeWire. Some plug-ins automatically generate a commission for their owners every time users buy something online. In other cases, software switches tracking codes to redirect legitimately earned commissions from the referring affiliate.

One of the earliest advocates of a "summit conference" on this subject -- Shawn Schwegman of Overstock.com -- proposed in September that the meeting should include one or more members of the press. Porter, however, declined my request to attend the meeting as an observer for InfoWorld, citing a lack of space.

In a statement, Porter said the group "will not issue final conclusions or documents on November 7th." Instead, he said, the goal would be "drafting a document codifying industry standards and best practices and publicly releasing that document by the first of December."

In a future issue of E-Business Secrets, I'll give you details on any such guidelines -- as soon as I can find out what they might be.

Meanwhile, read up on Schwegman's original proposal and a gaggle of follow-up comments at an affiliates' forum called "A Best Web": http://abw.infopop.cc@n6.be/4e73

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E-BIZ TECH REVIEW: DEVICE READS EVERY MEMORY TYPE

Why didn't someone invent this before? Imation claims it has the world's first USB device that reads and writes all kinds of flash memory in a single slot.

For those on the go, those memory types include (take a deep breath) Compact Flash types I and II, Memory Stick, MultimediaCard, SecureDigital, SmartMedia, and IBM's SmartDrive. That should handle any camera or other electronic gizmo you may be carrying around.

The Imation FlashGo Reader/Writer is powered off the USB port, so you don't need to carry a transformer. It lists for $59.99, but Tiger has it for the best price, less than $50: http://www.tigerdirect.com@31.dk/7583

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E-BIZ BOOK REVIEW: PUTTING TOGETHER SITES USERS LOVE

Jesse J. Garrett, a co-founder of the Adaptive Path consulting firm in San Francisco, has put his knowledge of interface design between the covers of a book: "The Elements of User Experience."

Garrett makes you decide what you WANT to do before you decide what you CAN do. For example, he helps you walk through five stages of decision-making for your site: Strategy, Scope, Structure, Skeleton, and Surface. Each stage must be completed before the later stages can finish. If you're not sure why you'd go through these stages, this book is exactly what you need, ready or not: http://www.amazon.com@isbn.at/0735712026

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LIVINGSTON'S TOP 10 NEWS PICKS O' THE WEEK

1. E-greetings "sneakwrap" virus continues to make news around the Net: http://www.infoworld.com@a2.tc/43b

2. Ready for the holidays? Online growth zooms again as retail stores lag: http://www.businessweek.com@n6.be/823

3. Follow your customers: Game consoles are outselling PCs 3-to-1: http://cyberatlas.internet.com@836.as/c0b

4. A simple task-management system can cure you of the "Webmaster Blues": http://www.infotoday.com@1c.to/ff3

5. Find out how you're hit by the stupidest Internet laws of all time: http://www.aotc.info@a6r.ms/13db

6. If you have the "perfect page," which search engines agree?: http://www.searchenginewatch.com@3n.be/17c3

7. Change is in the air -- 101 things Mozilla does that IE 6.0 cannot: http://www.xulplanet.com@th.gs/1bab

8. Coders: Check this extreme user interface (requires JavaScript): http://www.pagetutor.com@e.la/1f93

9. Here's another wild developer trick -- design your own evil clown: http://www.scottsmind.com@5a0.tc/237b

10. Test your memory and witness an intriguing display of Web graphics: http://www.zefrank.com@54.vg/2763

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WACKY WEB WEEK: ANOTHER HAPPY MAC OS X USER

In a hilarious twist on those "Switch" commercials from Apple, the folks at iFilm bring you a great spoof. The 43-second clip features a long-time Mac user who's a little, um, under-whelmed by the latest "upgrade."

This site mercifully doesn't load any audio or video until you click the big Play button. Like all iFilm offerings, a brief ad runs for a few seconds before the main attraction. But I think you'll find it's worth the wait. (Warning: They don't seem to be able to shoot these spoofs without using some naughty language.) Check it out at: http://www.ifilm.com@836.as/c3a3

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E-BUSINESS SECRETS: Our mission is to bring you such useful and thought-provoking information about the Web that you actually look forward to reading your e-mail.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: E-Business Secrets is written by InfoWorld contributing editor Brian Livingston: http://SecretsPro.com

Research director is Vickie Stevens. Brian has published 10 books, including:

Windows Me Secrets: http://www.amazon.com@isbn.at/0764534939

Windows 2000 Secrets: http://www.amazon.com@isbn.at/0764534130

Win a gift certificate for a book, CD, or DVD of your choice if you're the first to send Brian a Top Story or Wacky Web Week he prints. mailto:Brian@SecretsPro.com