14 DAY TRIAL // Twitter can't figure out how to make money from its service, or just doesn't want to rush into things, but others have started making some revenue on the microblogging service. Now, Amazon has come up with an interesting proposal. In an email, the company notified members of Amazon Associates that it had introduced a new Twitter sharing feature on the site, like so many websites had done in the past. But, unlike most share buttons, this feature can also earn the users some cash.
“Today we are excited to announce the launch of a new feature called Share on Twitter. You can access Share on Twitter from the Site Stripe and post to your Twitter account from Amazon detail pages in just two clicks,” the Amazon email reads.
“The Share on Twitter feature is easy to use. Simply log in to your Amazon Associates account and then visit any detail page on Amazon.com. By clicking on the Share on Twitter button in the Site Stripe, a new window will open and an Amazon-generated message is pre populated in the ‘What are you doing?’ text area of your Twitter account.”
This sounds innocent enough, after all, users should be able to share something they like or find useful. A little further down in the email, though, Amazon reveals that all of these links will earn the users money from referral fees that they receive for every purchase made by a user coming from their links.
This kind of referral fees isn't something new, in fact, the practice is common on many blogs and websites. But, most of the times, these specify the fact that they will earn money from the purchases from that link. On Twitter, though, that would be almost impossible, even if the users wanted to, as the 140 characters leave little room for explanations beyond the regular message and the link.