LinkShare Blog

All those who are attending LinkShare Symposium West 2010 or would like to keep up with all the latest news, events or find ways to interact with people there, use that hash tag #LSW2010 on Twitter.  What a great way to keep up to date with the events and expand your network a little.

Also, if you go to search.twitter.com, you can type in #LSW2010, and get the full stream of all the people using that hash tag.  Also don’t forget to follow @linkshareblog to get other information also that could be of importance.

Hope you all have a great time at #LSW2010!

LinShare Symposium West 2010

Today LinkShare’s parent company, Rakuten, announced a joint venture with Chinese search company Baidu.  The two companies will work together to bring the Ichiba model to China.  Ichiba is Japan’s largest Internet shopping mall with over 30,000 participating Merchants.

What does this mean for LinkShare?  LinkShare is the affiliate marketing platform for Rakuten, so everywhere they go, we go with them.

We look forward to delivering access to new markets to our partners, and looking at additional ways we can provide our customers with the benefits of our global footprint.  You can read more about the partnership on Rakuten’s web site.

The PMA has received word that an advertising tax will be proposed in Virginia. If this tax passes, they predict over 100 advertisers will terminate their affiliate programs with Virginia publishers. The PMA’s effectiveness in fighting legislation that directly harms the income of affiliates will ultimately be bolstered by readiness. Please take a few minutes to register your support on the PMA website. The PMA will coordinate a targeted grassroots campaign, and will keep in contact with you regarding the status of this legislation. You can register your support here.

1/25 Update - The PMA has posted a podcast dedicated to the tax issue.  Guests include Rich Cleland, Assistant Director for the Division of Advertising Practices at the Federal Trade Commission, and Tom Cohn, an attorney specializing in FTC regulation compliance.

We wanted to give Publishers a heads up that we will be retiring Linkbuilder tomorrow night.  The Deep Linking Interface offers this same function, PLUS improved usability and enhancements such as the ability to create deep links for multiple Advertisers in one place, create multiple links at once, export to CSV, and easy U1 support.

The key things to be aware of are that -

1. The Linkbuilder icon will be gone from the Advertiser Details Page
2. Linkbuilder as a link type will be called “Deep Links” in Reporting

You’ll find the new Deep Linking Interface in the Publisher Dashboard here, and here’s our post on how to use the new Deep Linking Interface.

Ian Rosenwach, Product Manager

The holidays are just around the corner and that means Symposium West 2010 is almost here! Here’s a quick update on the latest list of keynote sessions:

Key Trends Shaping Online Retail
Scott Silverman, Executive Director, Shop.org

New technologies and innovations and new twists on existing topics force online retailers to continually adjust their strategies. Scott Silverman, Executive Director of Shop.org, will provide a big picture view of the key trends shaping online retail. Silverman’s presentation will feature new data from Shop.org research including its State of Retailing Online Report, now in its 13th year.

The Open Brand: How Twitter is Pushing Radical Transparency in Brand Management
Joey Shepp, Founder Earthsite.net

Hear about recent corporate case studies in Twitter use and learn about key strategies and best practices in using Social Media and how the Affiliate Marketing channel can play a key role in open brand strategies. Presented recently at the Twitter 140 conference, Joey Shepp’s presentation on Open Brands received the most votes for “Favorite Presentation”.

The Mobile Commerce Juggernaut: Are You Ready For The Next Revolution in Online Retail?
Panel Discussion

After a slow start there are signs that Mobile Commerce is poised for explosive growth in the US. Those who get their mobile strategy in place first stand to win the battle for customers. In this lively discussion hear from Mobile Commerce experts and early adopters. Bring your questions!

Learn more or register today!

Sara Gorlick, Manager Trade Shows & Events