Is TechCrunch Too Self-Important for Attribution?

I was just reading a post on TechCrunch, “Twitter And Facebook Turn Everyone Into An Affiliate Marketer“, by Steve Poland, and a reference to the origins of affiliate marketing jumped out at me.

Affiliate marketing is 15 years old this month—CyberErotica is said to have launched the first program in 1994.

CyberErotica is said to have launched the first program in 1994? Said by whom?

Actually, I know the answer. I researched the history of affiliate marketing for an article over nine years ago for ClickZ.com, and wrote…

The consensus of marketing folks and adult industry insiders is that Cybererotica was either the first or among the early innovators in affiliate marketing with a cost-per-click program.

This is probably my most often referenced article, and it’s all too common that the content is used, but the source is not attributed.

Now, I’m sure there have been times that I’ve failed to provide attribution, but I always intend to do it. I’ve enjoyed the Tweets from Loren Feldman over the weekend about bloggers being pretend journalists.

If you’re going to dress up like a journalist, it would be nice if you sourced your stories.

Have a look at the History of Affiliate Marketing.