Associate and Affiliate Programs on the Internet

Advertising brings money in. To the sellers, to the advertisers, to the actors, and also to the writers.

Associate and affiliate programs are created to expand the coverage that already exists, by using a helping hand; the affiliates.
Technically an affiliate is defined to be:
A person, organization, or establishment associated with another as a subordinate, subsidiary, or member: network affiliates.

The affiliates are normally end users who cross promote whatsoever services they are using to their friends and relatives and also people who they don't really know. (Verizon Wireless has a term for that, the network)

Ever wonder how Amway has all that many Diamond and Emerald and Pearl members and their photos in the middle page(s) spread of their monthly magazine? Those are the true masters of referral and affiliates. They just have people join under them and they earn some fraction of money, dividends, rewards, whatever you like to call it. In other words, they are the channel to reach out to many possible market out there. And it is all done by the members, and not the companies. These elite members basically direct more business to the organisation. Hence, the organisation gains more and more profit, and they reward their helpers with some incentives. It's a lucarative enough business that one can earn a living on that if one can be good and networking. Just shake your leg, go online and be a couch potato all day while the money comes rolling in. I think those elite members must have read some of these books:

If you look at it from another point of view, it's just human manipulation. Being made use and taken advantage of the corporate.
Which reminds me of a quote from my friend Linda's blog:
Y is dat...

* We get bored with childhood. We rush to grow up and then long to be children again.
* We lose our health to make money and then lose our money to restore our health.
* We cannot make anyone love us. What we can do is let ourselves be loved.
* It takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love and it takes many years to heal them.
* Two people can look at the same thing and see it differently.