One need look no further than Amazon's Associates Program - a network to 30,000 sites
that sell books using Amazon as their vendor along with the information they provide or
other products they sell. Yes, that's right, 30,000! Show me a mail-order firm that has
done this. This is innovation so incredible that it would be considered a "Killer
Application."
John,
I posted this priorthis thread but let me reiterate. This is from the Sears history web pages:
Famous in catalog history is the plan Richard Sears used to put his wish
books into the hands of thousands of potential new customers. In 1905 Sears
wrote to the company's best customers in Iowa, asking each to distribute 24
catalogs among friends and neighbors. These customers sent Sears the names
of people who received the catalogs. When these people, in turn, sent in
orders, the original customers received premiums for their work: a stove, a
bicycle or a sewing machine. With success in Iowa, the system was applied in
other states.
At appears that Sears used what Amazon now calls the associate program back in 1905. There were about 46 states at that time I believe. Someone may correct. me. I admit the above statement does not say how peo0ple in Iowa were Sears best customers or in other states. However, take the number and multiply it by 24 and you have a huge "associate program" nation wide. We can conjecture that Amazon is using the Sears technigue from 1905. Not that is innovation. By the way, Sears was turning a huge profit in 1905 not losing money.
Glenn |
