Read Those Agreements!

You acknowledge that, by participating in the Associates Program and placing any of the above links within your site, we may receive information from or about visitors to your site or communications between your site and those visitors. Your participation in the Program constitutes your specific and unconditional consent to and authorization for our access to, receipt, storage, use, and disclosure of any and all such information, consistent with the policies and procedures set forth in the Privacy Notice on the Amazon Site.

This says to me that Amazon can spy on ALL my visitors, ALL my communications, and they can use ANY information "unconditionally" for receipt, storage, use and disclosure of any and all such information.  OUCH!

I treat my readers with respect and don't disclose personal contact information.  Why would I give someone like Amazon permission to use my readers' information without any disclosure to ME that they are doing it...and carte blanche!????

So,  just a word of warning.  Read those agreement carefully.  They hold hidden "gotchas" that you might not be aware of.

So...you will not be seeing links to Amazon-marketed books or goods on my websites.  I'll work with companies that have caring, responsible people involved.

It is important for responsible marketers to protect their constituents from predatory or unfair practices.  Communications matter.  Information matters... that's why we are in the marketing business.  Our integrity is part of what we offer to our readers and customers, so we must make sure that our "supply chains" also have business practices that match our own integrity.

The heart of sustainable business is that we act with responsibility and integrity.  And we keep honing those skills and actions to build a more perfect union.  I believe our individual actions have an impact on our communities and our nation...and our globe.  Don't you?