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November 9, 1998

InternetView: Think Before Picking Virtual Partners

By Sean Gallagher

ust because you can do something isn't reason to do it. This rule of thumb has never been more true than it is now, especially in the world of electronic commerce.

Sure, E-commerce can create lots of opportunities for creative revenue generation--just as wonders of data mining such as affinity group marketing have created new ways to reach customers, the Web offers the opportunity to create new channels for sales. Almost anybody with a home page can be a partner.

That's apparently what's behind Amazon.com's Associates Program. "Do you have a Web site?" Amazon's site asks. "If you do, you could jump into the world of electronic commerce today by joining the Amazon.com Associates Program."

Obviously, the idea behind this is to boost sales by grabbing more eyeballs. Amazon already has arrangements with most of the major portal vendors to be associates, as well as sites that are a bit more specialized. You can sign up on its Web site.

This kind of program certainly boosts Amazon's exposure. But some of that exposure may not be the kind Amazon was hoping for. Take one of Amazon's latest associates--www.overthrow.com, the digital home of a small group of Internet entrepreneurs that calls itself the Utopian Anarchist Party.

Self-styled anarchists, occasional neo Nazis, and erstwhile political office seekers William A. White and Luke Kuhn have encouraged school pipe-bombings, threatening police, and aiding and abetting runaway teens. The pair's Anarchist News Service includes headlines such as "Three Pigs Down in Connecticut Shootout."

White made headlines in Washington two years ago by posting a message to bulletin boards and mailing lists encouraging people to call a Maryland woman and tell her to stop abusing her teen-age daughter--charges that were never substantiated.

Of course, these folks have First Amendment rights. But now they're hawking books for Amazon, and putting the Amazon logo on their site--right next to their group's clenched black glove logo. This isn't what I'd call a particularly strategic business relationship.

Amazon's policies regarding associates spell out that sites that promote violence and criminal activity won't be accepted. However, since the enrollment process is apparently so streamlined by technology that human brains never get involved, the policy doesn't seem to be evenly enforced.

Apparently that streamlining doesn't extend to dealing with inquiries--my attempts to get information from Amazon went unanswered. Maybe they should automate that process.