In a nutshell the bill would allow the US Department of Justice and copyright holders to seek court orders against websites accused of facilitating copyright infringement. This could bar online advertising networks from doing business with the websites in question. Supporters of the bill say it protects the intellectual property market and industries; whilst opponents, such as Wikipedia, claim it’s a violation of the first amendment and freedom of speech.

So what does this mean for sites such as Wikipedia? Well if we take the site under the label of internet search engine, it could be forced under the new legislation to remove links to hundreds of sites deemed “infringing” of the new laws. Then it would mean trawling through thousands of links every time one site is deemed an infringement of the new law. Smaller, free knowledge sites may not have the resources to undertake such a task and could be forced to shut down entirely. 

 The structure of the internet is fantastic and revered because of these smaller sites and because everyone has a voice – and don’t forget, some of the larger sites with teams that can handle this were once small teams.  The internet could be a very different place if this becomes legal. It will be interesting to see if today’s events have any bearing on the legislation being passed, whether Wikipedia will get their message across will remain to be seen.

I think that this law could have huge, detrimental impact.  Whereby piracy is a huge issue within the online world, I don’t see how this is the answer.  There’s a huge lack of knowledge behind the legislation and it’s our job, those of us who are employed in the online world I mean, to ensure people are educated and understand the inner workings of one of the largest sectors of society.  I’m sure there are similar concerns within UK government and discussions on how to attack online piracy, and if this is passed in the US it may only be a matter of time until we’re hearing similar murmurs.

The two affiliate companies, who combined boast the largest remit in the US, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, organised the event to share best practice ideas for the affiliate industry and to bring together publishers and advertisers; it’s something we do in the UK and is always a worthwhile activity.  Not only does bringing advertisers and publishers face to face help communication, but it increases the efficiency of any partnership.

As an affiliate network, efficiency is key – otherwise we’re wasting time when we could be boosting sales – so these events are a fantastic tool.  It’s not often that senior business managers and spokespeople come together to discuss current issues and successes within the affiliate industry, but there were several in Prague.  Vladan Hejnic, CEO of VIV NETworks, Petra Hergenroether-Magenau from Commission Junction who is responsible for the Eastern European market and Jan Penkala from Acomware, were all spokespeople at the event to spearhead discussions around key industry issues and developments.

This event just goes to show the power of affiliate marketing, not only is it an intrinsic element of the marketing mix in the UK and US, but it’s a powerful marketing tool around the globe.  Brands should be thinking about global campaigns and utilising information from any affiliate marketing exploit to learn more about consumers and behaviors, feeding into the affiliate mix and knowing their customers more and more.

The first affiliate conference was a huge triumph and a big step forwards in demonstrating the achievements and successes of the affiliate marketing channel.

If you’re free on Thursday 24^th November make sure you register for the event and come along; there will be a chance to network and discuss industry issues with publishers, advertisers, agencies and networks from the affiliate industry at the final AMC meeting of the year at 3pm at the IAB’s Offices.  Then the party starts at 5pm as everyone gathers for catch ups and networking.  The guest list will have up to 300 affiliate marketers so if you have any questions about the industry it’s the place to be.

Commission Junction is sponsoring the event and we will be there in full spirits.  There will be food and refreshments to kick start the event as well.

If you want to attend you will find all the details and can register here: http://www.amiando.com/IAB_AMC_Drinks

We hope to see you there!

If you’re planning on heading to the Expo please do come and visit us, we’ll be at stand 36.  We would love to meet you for a chat or even just to say hello.

Wait, there’s more!  Florian Gramshammer, UK country manager for Commission Junction and Andrew Firmin, affiliate manager at Argos, will be speaking at the conference.   Pop along at 11.00-11.45 on the 19^th to hear them discuss how retailers can use their affiliate programmes as a resource, integrating and complimenting activity with any advertising push.

Florian and Andy will also be on a panel with Chris Johnson from A4U talking about the eConsultancy Affiliate Survey and discussing results of research conducted on this year’s affiliate landscape.  This is at 13.00-13.45 on 19^th as well.

It’s the perfect time to purchase your tickets to ensure you don’t miss out on such a great event. If you’re an avid microblogger, you can also receive further news by following the event on Twitter, @A4UEXPO.

Click here to go to the website and book, and don’t forget CJ clients get 10% discount on tickets and can register with the code: CJCLIENT10.

We hope to see you there.

Last week marked the launch of the first ever PerformanceIN Fashion & Beauty event, courtesy of our good friends, the a4u. A motley crew of four (Hardeep, Jay, Ellie & I) made out way down to the stunning Hurlingham club in Putney Bridge for a fun filled day of fashion, networking, seminars and lobster! CJ cleverly parked up closely to some rather fetching cupcakes (thanks eConversions!) so we were well placed to entertain some of our favourite merchants, publishers and fashionistas.

We set up the stand to showcase how we as a Network can grow Fashion brands, learn about what’s new in the affiliate fashion world and to meet and greet new potential partners. Fashion retailers are an important part of the affiliate marketing mix and it was great to see an event tailored specifically for this vertical.

Over the course of the day we had the opportunity to chat with new affiliate partners and re-engage with our existing ones. The a4u had organised an excellent programme of seminars focused on getting the most out of the affiliate channel in the fashion sector. It was great to hear a range of perspectives from some of the most influential advertisers in the industry and to get a taste of how things stand from the blogger’s eye view.

The lobster lunch was a clear winner (as well as the constantly replenished pastries!) and the atmosphere was electric throughout the day making room for great networking opportunities. With this event a4u proved, yet again, that they’re at the forefront of the affiliate marketing industry.  We’re looking forward to the next PerformanceIN Travel event, taking place in November.  After the success of the initial fashion event, the PerformanceIN series is set to be on our agenda for a while to come.

It’s that time of year again for merchants, networks, agencies and affiliates to mingle at the Annual Affiliate Network Summer Drinks. Following tradition the event is taking place at The Hat and Feathers in Farringdon again, on July 28^th.

There is limited space for attendees and this event always sells out, so to make sure you don’t miss out register for free now: http://summer_drinks_2011.eventsbot.com/

As this is sponsored by UK Networks we will be there and look forward to seeing you for a drink or two.

To be in with a chance of getting your hands on a free ticket just email us your guess of how many sweets are in our fishbowl below. The person who guesses correctly (or who is closest to the right amount) will receive a ticket to this greatly anticipated new event. Click here to find out more about PerformanceIN Fashion & Beauty from the lovely people at A4U.

Email admin@cjblog.co.uk and tell us how many sweets you think are in our fishbowl, please send your answers to us before 29th June as the bowl will be at the Online Marketing Show – and it’s number will no doubt dwindle.

Looks can be deceiving, when it comes to sweets in fishbowls, so think before you guess

It is now less than two weeks until the Online Marketing Show, part of MarketingWeek Live, kicks off. We have never exhibited at this show before but we have heard great things, so are testing the waters this year. With a focus on online digital marketing it will be interesting for us to see the audience that attends this and we hope this will be a successful show for us.

After having a look at the agenda we are particularly looking forward to the line-up for the New Media Age conference with speakers from NMA, A4U, Barclaycard, Microsoft Advertising and the IAB, to name a few. With over 80 exhibitors just in the Online Marketing Show this promises to be a good show.

If you want to come and see us we will be sharing a stand with our sister company ValueClick Media at stand B425. Also our Sales Executive, Sam Richards, will be talking at the Affiliate theatre at 4.00pm on the first day. 

Hopefully see you all there

Commission Junction is a bronze sponsor again this year and our Solutions and Operations Director Daniel Powel will be part of the ‘Publisher Director GRILL!’, a popular session that began in London last year. This session will allow delegates to quiz Daniel Powel, along with other publishing directors from TradeDoubler and Webgains, for frank answers to help performance marketing and increase revenues.

To see the full agenda and speaker sessions for the event click here.

We will also have a stand and be exhibiting at the a4uexpo, with employees from our various European offices attending.

As a sponsor we can offer our clients 10% off their ticket at the expo, email us on admin@cjblog.co.uk to get the code or to register click here.

The Argos affiliate summit took place at Millbank Tower, where Argos were joined by key industry speakers and affiliates for a day full of knowledge sharing and future insights into both Argos’s remit and the industry.

The day began with Argos speaking about their recent progress and plans for the coming months. Affiliate Manager, Andy Firmin, started the day off by talking about Argos’ affiliate strategy, and was followed by Gemma Russo, eCommerce Customer Acquisitions Manager, who spoke about the developments for the Argos UK website.

David Harding, Argos then spoke about on-site optimisation and Matt Roberts, ecommerce Marketing Controller, ended the morning itinerary with a overview of developments at Argos.

After lunch, which included classic fish and chips and sausage and mash bowl food (with some of us at CJ scoffing as many as 3 portions of sausages  and mash it was that good!), Florian Gramshammer, our Country Manager, gave an update on what Commission Junction is doing at the moment and our plans for the next quarter.

Helen Southgate, the chair for the IAB’s Affiliate Marketing Council, then delivered an explanation of ASA regulation and the EU cookie directive. She also encouraged affiliates to become members of the AMC to help improve affiliate marketing. Hitwise’s Robin Goad followed with an impressive review of the current retail market, giving affiliates a better understanding of current consumer behaviour and trends. Emma Robertson from Transform then had the toughest speaker session, being last speaker of the day, but delivered an entertaining and thought provoking insight into the future of the online market.

After the affiliate summit’s close and drinks, we CJers put on our glad rags and joined Argos for the Revolution awards ceremony at The Grosvenor Hotel. We had submitted the Argos affiliate hub we built with Argos for ‘the best use of affiliate marketing’ award and had been shortlisted. At the awards ceremony we were proud to be highly commended alongside Argos for this development.

For more information on the Revolution Awards click here.