Morpheus' new browser altering 'technology'

[ggrot]

[news.com.com...]

Affiliate relationships, such as those pursued by Amazon.com and others, often pay Web sites for referring traffic in their direction. By invisibly inserting the redirect into Web surfers' browsers, StreamCast can make it look like it is referring traffic to shopping Web sites without the shopper ever being aware that the Morpheus technology was involved.

Basically, the plugin detects whenever the users goes to amazon.com or other affiliate sites, and redirects them to the site through morpheus' own affiliate link. What would you say to the moral implications of this? Affiliate programs are set up to increase sales, but in this case the user is already going to the merchant site - as a result of the merchant's branding dollars. Morpheus is just charging the merchant a second time. I also suspect this would supersede any affiliate links that regular website owners are already using to help cover costs. Nasty if you ask me.

[EliteWeb]

Every file swapping program has people behind it who have a mind that works a little better than the normal computer user. I am sure morpheous thinks, well if they are going to buy something from there we might as well get a few bucks, not like they would goto our homepage and click on our amazon link then buy something so we will help them buy inserting our link when they goto a page that has affiliate status. Not a half bad idea, indeed it is clever.

Does it harm the user? No not unless they are trying to use their own or someone elses affiliate link (not sure if it overwrites those also)

Harms amazon? Well yes and no, yes because they wouldnt have to pay that percentage ot the affiliate if they wern't going to follow the link anyways; heh im too tired to argue no ;)

[ggrot]

True, the user could probably care less directly in most instances. Even assumming that it doesn't override other affiliate links, I still think it hurts the smaller affiliates as well. If all of the sudden all of the visitors to some merchant site followed an affiliate link, even though it may have been because of word-of-mouth, branding, press releases, radio ads, etc, the merchant has to offset those new double costs of the other advertising methods somehow. They can either do it by reducing affiliate commissions or by increasing prices.

[Travoli]

>but in this case the user is already going to the merchant site - as a result of the merchant's branding dollars.

Exactly. I bet we see this particular deal dry up quickly.