YouTube Rolling Out Call-To-Action Overlays Today

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YouTube is set to release an exciting addition to its advertising suite called the Call-To-Action Overlay. It’s the transparent box you currently see at the bottom of some videos, but this time it won’t rely completely on AdWords to display links. The outgoing links will be able to be set by the user who uploads the video. For example, if I upload a video about a certain topic, I can refer viewers to a blog post discussing it in further detail.

Tech critics have said this will have a huge impact on politicians, brands, and charities, who look to extend their presence online.

Previously users would have to include the URL to their site in the sidebar description text or in a text bubble hovering the video. Most people would either ignore the link in the description text, or not manually type it in after seeing it in the video. Call-To-Action Overlay eliminates this issue and makes it easier for video publishers to draw attention to other sites related to their video.

This is also HUGE for Internet marketers. Think about the potential here — you could upload a video about anything under the sun and then direct the viewer to an affiliate link. Evil, right?

So, how successful has this feature been? According to TechCrunch.com, “Last March, the organization charity:water managed to raise $10,000 in a single day by including an overlay on one of its videos. A handful of politicians have also been trying it out, using it to entice voters to sign their petitions. It’s worked well enough that politicians who haven’t had access to the feature are clamoring for it.”

If you try it out and find it to be successful, let me know in the comments below.

Amazon Discontinues Affiliate Program for North Carolina

Amazon has surprised many affiliates after announcing it would no longer offer its affiliate program to residents of North Carolina.

SAN FRANCISCO — Amazon.com Inc. closed accounts with its affiliates in North Carolina to avoid paying a proposed sales tax, according to media reports Friday. In an email, Amazon reportedly told marketing affiliates in the state that the move was a direct result of North Carolina’s push to levy a tax on purchases made through Amazon affiliates. (FOXBusiness.com)

A short time after the North Carolina announcement, Hawaii affiliates received the same news.

What concerns me the most is the bigger story behind this whole issue. What’s next? Could the entire affiliate marketing industry be in jeopardy if local lawmakers push to create new legislation that forces companies to pull out of offering their affiliate programs in specific states? It’s a very scary thought.

In Canada, they’ve already started taxing eBay income for both sellers and affiliates. It’s only a matter of time until they widen their focus to include all Internet-related earnings.

To me, beginning to tax businesses who do business in one’s state is hurting the economy more than helping it. People who are trying to earn a decent living end up being cut off because the government becomes greedy.

How do affiliates feel?

This will actually hurt their sales tax revenues. If I made $1,000 from affiliate programs I’d be spending the money in my home state (and thus paying sales tax on my purchases), and much of that money would continue to stay in the region as it is spent by the retailers I visit…. now that $1,000 won’t even make it into the state in the first place. – Infinitus76

Sunday Chatter – 6/28

Murray Newlands’ Blog Competition

There is still time to enter the blog competition being hosted by Murray Newlands. Several categories are available for you to enter, including best overall blog, mommy blogger, green blogger, under 21 blogger and more. The competition wraps up on July 10, so get entered and secure some votes for yourself as quickly as possible. The winner will receive 2 Gold Passes for Affiliate Summit East on August 9, 2009 in New York City: ($1800 value) for the best blog overall,  Full Pass for Adtech London (£835), a portrait of you by Mari Kurisato, a competition winner logo for your blog and the chance to say you have an award winning blog. Enter now!

How to Double Your AdSense Revenue with Simple Changes

For those of you that use Google AdSense on your blog or website, there are a few tricks posted over at ProBlogger that could help you maximize your revenue. Besides increasing the font size, some other tips include what ad format gets the most clicks, where you should place your ads and where you should place an affiliate banner instead of AdSense.

Help Show Your Support for Democracy in Iran

The violence occuring in Iran right now is unprescedented and you without a doubt have seen some sort of coverage online in recent weeks. With foreign journalists banned from the country, citizens are uploading videos to YouTube and sharing their stories and pictures on Twitter. To show support for their cause, you probably have seen a lot of your Twitter peeps with a green hue over their display pictures. This symbolizes support for the Iranian people. To get your own green avatar, go to HelpIranElection.com and the site will automatically change the colour of your Twitter avatar for you.

The ‘Michael Jackson Effect’ on the Internet

The world is still trying to let the news of Michael Jackson’s passing yesterday sink in, and part of that coping process is to share their thoughts on the King of Pop. Yesterday as news broke about MJ, Twitter, AIM, Facebook and MySpace all experienced overloads and temporarily slowed down.

After L.A. Times followed TMZ’s lead in confirming Jackson’s death, their website was down briefly as the server couldn’t handle the swarm of traffic. But it’s now becoming evident that the web beats TV when it comes to breaking news, as was the case yesterday with this article from the L.A. Times.

Already on YouTube, thousands of videos have been uploaded overnight with memorials, tribute songs and personal reflections from fans all over the world. It’s no doubt sad news, but at the same time, it’s a celebration of Jackson’s life, as so many are loading up their old LPs from the 70’s and enjoying his music all over again.

Even MJ’s personal YouTube channel has seen a sudden influx in video views, which is understandable. I watched almost every video available there last night.

The biggest spike though as far as social media goes was on Twitter. 22.6% of all tweets being sent out were Michael Jackson related in the hours leading up to and following his death. Take a look at this chart courtesy of Mashable.com:

Meanwhile, those who purchased tickets to Jackson’s London tour, which was set to begin in July, are wondering what will happen with their tickets. Several websites where tickets were purchased from are issuing statements right now that they are aware of the situation, but do not have further information at this time on how to obtain a refund.

Related: Jackson dies, almost takes Internet with him

Related: The Web Collapses Under The Weight Of Michael Jackson’s Death

What Does Apple Have Against Public Transparency?

Apple is one of the most popular companies around today. They have already pretty much revitalized how we listen to music, talk on the phone and access information in a mobile environment. With such a cultural impact, it’s no surprised that the coolest company around would want to keep things locked down behind the scenes.

I read an article today from the New York Times that looks at this very issue. While most companies go out of their way to connect with their customers, whether it be on Facebook, blogs or Twitter, Apple does the complete opposite and keeps hidden away.

Secrecy has long been the way Apple does business, with every from new product development, the health of its founder Steve Jobs, to what exactly is behind the doors of its California campus.

Secrecy at Apple is not just the prevailing communications strategy; it is baked into the corporate culture. Employees working on top-secret projects must pass through a maze of security doors, swiping their badges again and again and finally entering a numeric code to reach their offices, according to one former employee who worked in such areas.

Work spaces are typically monitored by security cameras, this employee said. Some Apple workers in the most critical product-testing rooms must cover up devices with black cloaks when they are working on them, and turn on a red warning light when devices are unmasked so that everyone knows to be extra-careful, said an anonymous employee.

Perhaps Apple is the only company that can actually get away with being so private and still be liked. I don’t think consumers mind too much how Apple communicates, just as long as they continue to pump out amazing products.

Most governance experts do seem to agree on one point: that the secrecy that adds surprise and excitement to Apple product announcements is not serving the company well in other areas.

“In this environment, where transparency is critical, the more information you give the marketplace the better,” said Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. “For a technology company that views itself as innovative, it’s a little odd that they are getting a reputation for lack of transparency.”

As for the Apple insiders who leak information to tech sites like TechCrunch and others, Apple is rumoured to have a task force that seeks out the sources of leaked information on a daily basis, and quickly eliminates the situation. And by eliminate, I mean fire the parties responsible for the leaks immediately. Anybody else a little intimidated by Apple?

Photo: Kimberly White/Bloomberg News