Email Probably Going Away?

Email Probably Going Away?

That portion of the headline was from an article that happened to catch my eye. My first thought was, great headline. But the next thought was, "Really!" So, of course I had to read the article.

For those that want to read the article: It is through WebProNews, and the article is called "Facebook Thinks Email is "Probably Going Away"".

Here is a quick summary of the article and my take:

During a speech at the Nielsen Consumer 360 conference Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg claimed that email will essentially die. She states that you look at the trends of tomorrow through what teenagers are doing today. And what are teenagers doing today? She backs her claim with the fact that teenagers only email 11% of the time, while SMS is ever increasing. The rest of the article goes into detailing why email is not going away. Here is my take.

For many, who have to answer many, many emails a day, and in fact, categorize them in degree of importance would love to see such a decrease. Or, even the elimination of the email, at least for a day or two, until they begin to get that nervous feeling of, "No email, now what am I going to do." (That statement would especially be true for those who were hired  to respond to email inquiries, concerns and complaints by consumers.)

However, I have to concede that I do not believe email will ever go away. As stated in the article, email is what connects you to Facebook, Twitter and almost anything else you want to belong to on the Internet.

And, when it comes to business-I can't imagine a CEO or an employee would want to use Twitter or Facebook to follow up with employees in a company about confidential company matters. Unless, of course, their purpose is to get themselves into some hot water.

Though Sandberg believes its Social networking in general that will replace email in the future, I find to many legal, personal and security reasons to believe that this will ever take place. I'm content to believe that SMS and email will and can survive side-by-side for a very long time. Well, that's all for now, I've got to get back to my email.

Affiliate Programs-What Affiliates Need to Remember

Affiliate Programs-What Affiliates Need To Remember

As we all know affiliate programs are a good way to supplement your income or make good money. But sometimes we a blindsided when an affiliate program decides to either move from what I call "the affiliate brokerage" firm to another, or decides to eliminate their affiliate program altogether. So what do you need to remember?

Though we may be recovering from the recession, we are still seeing websites close and affiliate programs suddenly go idle. And sometimes, you'll be surprised by some of the affiliate programs that decide to close.

And yes, sometimes they give you little to no warning at all. If, the brokerage firm says  "X" affiliate program is closed and to immediately remove your links, you'll find that you will not be paid if anyone clicks on your links and decides to buy. Bummer, but that's the name of the game. So what are some of the possible warning signs to look for an affiliate program closure?

1. The website is not being updated.
2.  No new banners or links being offered
3. No messages from the affiliate manager regarding coupon offers or monthly discounts on different products
4. Commissions go down instead of up

And if it is a stand-alone, you may find that you are not being paid or payments are late.

With a brokerage firm, you have a better chance of being paid, however, expect them to put a hold on the links. Which means, the links on your site may say that the "links are not available".

Again, always be vigilant about your affiliate business. And as the gambler says, "know when to hold them and know when to fold them".