The Mild Strangeness of the Amazon Associates Program
A window into human behavior?
I love the little things in life that reveal aspects of human nature. It’s interesting and at times amusing. I’ve been following one amusing pattern of human behavior for awhile now.
In many of my articles, I mention books, and I include a link to where readers can find the book. I’m not a fan of Amazon, but it is the single retailer most available to my worldwide audience. And yes, I receive a vanishingly small commission for any purchases made through the links.
It’s that “through the links” thing that is kind of interesting. How the Amazon Associates Program works is that if someone clicks any Amazon Associates link, any purchase that person makes of any product during that session earns the associate a commission. So, I’m an associate, and if you click on a link to a book by Friedrich Nietzsche, like this one, but instead buy a book by Abby Jimenez, Amazon will pay me a commission. It’s vanishingly small, but hey, every little bit helps.
What’s interesting and amusing is how often people don’t buy the books that I mention in my articles and to which I provide links, but instead buy something else, and usually something entirely else. My most recent “sale” (two days before Mother’s Day) was to the item pictured above. What…
