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Amazon Associates (+ other advertising)

a while back, in the last days of userland, there was some discussion about putting advertising on this site to help pay for hosting, upkeep, etc.

i don't know where or how the site is hosted now, but even if it's in a forgotten corner of some kind company or institution's server, it seems to me that there would be no harm if the people involved in maintaining this site (not me, in case you're suspicious ;o) made a tiny profit. especially if it adds something to the site.

anyway, i'm mentioning this now not because i have a sudden desire to see google textads on every page, but because i've been looking at the amazon associates program. they pay a commission for any purchase made via certain links (so you provide a link saying "buy this book from amazon" that people click on). i was kind-of hoping i could become an associate, recommend books to myself, and then buy them at a discount. strangely enough, that seems to be against the conditions. so i then thought "well, who would i want that commission to go to, if i can't have it...?"

if this seems at all sensible, go to amazon, click on the "help" link and then type "associates" in the search box.

seems to me you could start with a page of classics, add a forum where people recommend new titles, and take it from there...

By andrew cooke at 2004-08-27 18:07 | Site Discussion | previous forum topic | next forum topic | other blogs | 8938 reads

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Google AdSense is pretty good

I get a little bit of money out of adsense for some of the sites I do. Not enough to turn a profit or anything, but it adds up every now and then to enough to take my fiancee out for dinner in an attempt to make up for time lost in front of the computer:-)

By David N. Welton at Sat, 2004-08-28 09:49 | login or register to post comments

Good ideas

I like the amazon idea (recommending books can be fun anyway), and we thought about trying google ads.

Not really to make a profit, or anything, but to cover costs, and make sure LtU survives.

By Ehud Lamm at Sat, 2004-08-28 15:53 | login or register to post comments

you might start with practica

you might start with practical common lisp by peter siebel, out next week (draft still available for download when i last looked).

Lisp is thought of an academic language but it need not be. This is the first book that introduces Lisp as a language for the real world. (Plop! as they say here in Chile).

By andrew cooke at Mon, 2004-08-30 14:56 | login or register to post comments

Good idea

I probably buy a book mentioned on LTU every odd-numbered month, so you'd make a few bucks a year from me...

By Tim Sweeney at Thu, 2004-09-16 01:47 | login or register to post comments