Featured

Struggling?

The E-commerce world is changing almost by the minute lately. From Merchants having to pause programs because they cannot ship anything, to panic over budgets, commission rates slashed or set to zero.

While this is a very unusual set of circumstances we are all dealing with; there are some bright notes.

  • Some Merchants are stepping up and adding in bonuses
  • There are very profitable sectors with healthy affiliate programs
  • Now is a good time diversify your affiliate earning platforms
  • As a community, we are helping each other
  • Consumers are discovering this shopping from home thing is pretty cool.
  • Oh, and in about 7 months you better have a Baby site in place.. just saying

Commission Junction is making Network Consumer Trends Reports available – These are updated every Wednesday.
https://junction.cj.com/covid-19-network-consumer-trends-report

FMTC has partnered with Trackonomics to give daily updates on commissions changes in Affiliate Networks. You can sign up to subscribe to their email updates here: http://fmtc-7325025.hs-sites.com/affiliate-program-covid-19-updates

Rakuten Center has insights on current commerce and consumer behavior with specific global and category trends. this is updated weekly: https://rakutenadvertising.com/covid19/

Featured

Working from Home, A new reality for some of you :)

I have worked from home for 27 years..so after being thoroughly entertained by posts of those new to working from home I thought I would give you some tips and giggles.

  • The worst thing that can happen during your new office commute is you blow out a slipper in the hallway.
  • Loungewear..is the new uniform. Don’t call them jammies.
  • PC Gaming Headphones with their own mute function are your best friend!
  • Wireless headsets are MUST! especially if you have children. ( the look of shock when your sweet cherubs who are coloring on the wall see you get up from your desk to deal with them is priceless)
  • It is way too easy to just stay in your jammies..for days. Get dressed and prepared for home office work like you would for normal work..just skip the dress shoes and stick to slippers.
  • Team meetings fails on Zoom are a trending search lately. Don’t be one of those examples. Always mute yourself upon entering  ( both from your mic and the button in your conference screen to be safe. )No one wants to hear you arguing with your housemates.
  • Video IS optional place a sticky note over your camera, or disable it when entering a conference. If you are using your phone for conferencing disable the camera in the meeting settings. We really do not need to see video of you in the bathroom…please noooo. ( see Zoom meeting fails search)
  • Multiple Monitors are a must. If you are using a laptop you can add a monitor to your set up with a HDMI cable on most Macs and PC’s..you know that extra TV sitting around ..it works as a monitor too! 
  • Screen sharing meetings are pretty common now. For these make sure you are turning off all other applications so you can get the best frame rates on the video screen shares.
  • If you are the Presenter in a screen share – move any other applications to the opposite screen you are sharing- no one needs to see that private Skype pop into the screen share.
  • Working at home is a complete disruption of your schedule..specifically your eating schedule. Set timers for your breaks and lunch or you will find yourself skipping these and by the time we get back to going in the office you might have snacked yourself into a new
    size.
     
  • Get the best comfy chair you can- your body will thank you. When shopping for that new comfy office chair for home look at the ratings for both weight and hours of use. I love the Serta chairs – they are one of the few brands that have chairs designed for big and tall people.
  • Know your function keys..why you ask?..in case your new furry supervisor walks on your keyboard and suddenly your screen size has changed or you are typing in a different language. ( most common F11 pops you in full screen view  and the toolbar disappears)
  • Hydration is your friend, but it isn’t friendly with laptops and keyboards. Those travel cups are now your desktop coffee cup and all around drink cup. Think sippy cups for adults. I admit I or my furry supervisor cat- Shadow has helped to kill off several expensive mechanical keyboards and two laptops over the years.  

Got something to add?

Shadow, My supervisor
Shadow- supervising

In the zero-click era, visibility alone is no longer enough for brands

Brand marketing is undergoing a profound shift, spurred by conversational chatbots and LLM-based interfaces reshaping the way people search for information and discover brands. In this new era, traditional digital visibility such as clicks, keyword rankings and website traffic is no longer sufficient on its own for brands to thrive.

As search behavior changes, brands are having to communicate more clearly, credibly and consistently across a wider range of channels and sources. Paid reach remains an important part of the mix, while organic visibility, editorial authority and trusted third-party mentions are gaining new relevance in AI-driven discovery. As consumers increasingly experiment with AI-supported search and recommendations, brands need to think about trust, reputation and word-of-mouth alongside traditional search visibility.

“Chatbots may shape what people discover, but word of mouth still shapes a brand’s reputation,” said Verena Gründel, host and director of brand and communications at DMEXCO. “The more trusted and consistently recommended a brand is across real conversations and public sources, the more likely it is to remain part of the consideration set.”

Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV.

,Read More

PolyAI, Taboola, Contentful and Docusign are 2026 Digiday Technology Awards winners

This year’s Digiday Technology Awards honor the companies embracing AI and automation tools to enhance personalized experiences, enable precise targeting and drive performance across platforms and channels. Winners are also integrating advanced e-commerce technologies and focusing on integrated measurement and analytics solutions that unveil deeper performance tracking.

In the Best AI Tool category, PolyAI — which serves hundreds of enterprises across 75 languages and 25 countries — is recognized as the winner. SafeRide Health deployed Steven, an AI agent built on PolyAI’s agentic dialog platform, to autonomously handle member authentication, ride bookings, cancellations and modifications. Steven now manages more than 80% of inbound calls, cutting speak-to-human rates from 55% to 2% and saving 47,000 agent hours while accelerating patient service. Steven has become a core part of how SafeRide operates.

Adam Singolda, founder and CEO of Taboola, was named Technology Founder of the Year. Singolda and Taboola launched DeeperDive in 2025 to give publishers a conversational AI experience built on their own journalism. The platform uses reader behavior to deliver relevant answers while keeping audiences and revenue on publisher sites. Partnerships with Gannett, The Independent and other publishers drove adoption, while USA Today integrated reader questions into newsroom workflows. DeeperDive users generate nearly three times more revenue per user, with minimal cannibalization of existing revenue.

Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV.

,Read More