I was flying home from Affiliate Summit West 2008 last night when “Boss of Me” by They Might Be Giants came on and I started thinking about the keynote from Jason Calacanis.
“Let’s talk about the brutal truth here. The truth is, you guys, I am talking to thin affiliate people. I am assuming nobody in here is a thin affiliate. OK, good.
You guys really think small. Holding up a six figure check is frankly pathetic. It’s desperate. The industry I’m in, like the Internet industry, like Web 2.0 industry elitist, you know. Kevin Rose, whatever.
They would laugh at that. It’s sad. It’s embarrassing.
Jason included pictures of ShoeMoney and Zac Johnson holding up six-figure commission checks.
I think there are some important distinctions to be made here. First, Jason states that he is addressing thin affiliates, not all affiliates.
And second, I’d like to know how Jason determined that Jeremy and Zac are thin affiliates? For anybody not familiar with the term, it’s essentially an affiliate site that offers no unique value proposition.
Anyhow, back to the “Boss of Me” angle. I get that Jason made bank in the past, and there is all sorts of money to be had in the Valley. But not everybody wants to live that life.
I know I sure don’t.
As a bookend to the conference, we wound it up with an “un-keynote” where attendees could step up to the microphone and share their opinions about the industry.
Zac took this opportunity to give a rebuttal of sorts to Jason, where he talked about how he’s quite happy bringing in the meager six-figure checks and living a fun, flexible lifestyle where he plays basketball and does whatever he wants for a good part of the day.
That is the affiliate way to me. Work hard, play hard, make your own rules, and smile.
I’m sure I could earn more if I were to play the game of flying around and wearing suits. I’d rather be a non-thin affiliate, working out of my house with my family and dog around. Wearing shorts and a t-shirt as my uniform and having Jerry Springer on in the background.
Maybe that sounds close to torture to Jason, but I love it. The high flying, suit wearing, fancy restaurant life isn’t in my DNA.
Why Invite Jason Calacanis as the Keynote?
I had a lot of people ask me that question for months leading up to Affiliate Summit and over the past few days. There were two reasons I wanted to have Jason there:
- He can teach us.
- We can teach him.
The reality is that I agreed with pretty much everything Jason had to say. We, as affiliate marketers, do need to clean up our own backyard.
While there are a great many people with virtue and integrity in this space, there are also scumbags that exploit it.
That’s something we don’t talk about enough, but now it’s happening. It shouldn’t have been necessary, but I think Jason’s talk may have served as a catalyst for change and internal policing in affiliate marketing.
And then there is the part of it where we can teach Jason. He is an outsider and he shared his impression of affiliate marketing.
Instead of castigating him, we should further engage him. I’ve noticed that he’s interacting on a number of blogs over the past few days about his keynote.
Understand that Jason is a smart and influential guy, and he has this view of our space. He is certainly not alone.
One snippet from his talk that I haven’t seen quoted much by those who are lashing out at him was this one: “The other truth is that SEO and affiliate people I’ve met are some of the smartest frickin’ people I’ve ever met. They’re really brilliant.”
He wasn’t slamming all of affiliate marketing, just the parts that reflect poorly on us from the outside.
Boss of Me
Life is a test, and I confess
I like this mess I’ve made so far
Grade on a curve and you’ll observe
I’m right below the horizonYes, no, maybe, I don’t know
Can you repeat the question?You’re not the boss of me now
You’re not the boss of me now
You’re not the boss of me now, and you’re not so big
You’re not the boss of me now
You’re not the boss of me now
You’re not the boss of me now, and you’re not so big
So go create unique and valuable content, live the affiliate life (without a boss), and let’s figure out a way to throw out the garbage.