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If that held up in anything beyond the short term then Amazon would have killed their associates program years ago. The fact of the matter is that the associate

If that held up in anything beyond the short term then Amazon would have killed their associates program years ago. The fact of the matter is that the associates program may cost them 5% of the sales but they believe it makes them significantly more profit than they would have without it. And, there is absolutely no doubt that Amazon has the stats to back up that belief. I had the same thought as you, but it just doesn't hold up when you think about it from anything but a short-sighted perspective. If I were amazon, and people were making apps as cool as Mazo to sell products for me I would set them loose on the world without hesitation. So what if they outshine the Amazon built app. Doing so would result in more enjoyment of a product that drives amazon sales, and provide an extremely cheap form of R&D for what features they should include in their own mobile app / site.

allenbrunson 18y ago
you know, you might have a point. perhaps amazon should open up their mobile apis. but the language you used in your blog entry isn't helping your cause any! you are not likely to get people to change their minds by using inflammatory words like "hypocrisy."
- masukomi 18y ago
  I dunno, thousands of people reading that you're a hypocrite does tend to have an effect. They have two options: 1) do nothing, and watch mobile phone developers either move to whatever API steps in to fill the void or go rogue and use their service without permission or adherence to the rules or 2) open it back up like it used to be. I realized that Amazon is the 800lb gorilla but if another book / movie seller can step in with a competing API before Amazon stops being stupid, they could steal a significant number of future sales from Amazon. Also, regarding the use of "hypocrisy" if it weren't true I would agree with you. But in this case it's not just an inflammatory insult. It's like being called a "pig f@#$er" if you don't actually have intercourse with pigs it's just an obnoxious insult. If you do the effects of being called it are radically different. I called them hypocrites because, in this instance, that's exactly what they are.
answerly 18y ago
The Amazon Associates program has a bunch of limitations on how affiliates can promote Amazon. Their current stance on the mobile channel is not unique in that regard.

allenbrunson 18y ago

you know, you might have a point. perhaps amazon should open up their mobile apis. but the language you used in your blog entry isn't helping your cause any! you are not likely to get people to change their minds by using inflammatory words like "hypocrisy."

masukomi 18y ago
I dunno, thousands of people reading that you're a hypocrite does tend to have an effect. They have two options: 1) do nothing, and watch mobile phone developers either move to whatever API steps in to fill the void or go rogue and use their service without permission or adherence to the rules or 2) open it back up like it used to be. I realized that Amazon is the 800lb gorilla but if another book / movie seller can step in with a competing API before Amazon stops being stupid, they could steal a significant number of future sales from Amazon. Also, regarding the use of "hypocrisy" if it weren't true I would agree with you. But in this case it's not just an inflammatory insult. It's like being called a "pig f@#$er" if you don't actually have intercourse with pigs it's just an obnoxious insult. If you do the effects of being called it are radically different. I called them hypocrites because, in this instance, that's exactly what they are.

answerly 18y ago

The Amazon Associates program has a bunch of limitations on how affiliates can promote Amazon. Their current stance on the mobile channel is not unique in that regard.