One of the best things about the App Store is the ability to deeplink to every individual application from an external website.
It's fuelling developers' and publishers' marketing campaigns, and is also providing a new revenue stream for iPhone game reviews websites (Pocket Gamer included) through affiliate links, where the sites get a slice of purchases made by readers clicking through from a review.
This could be changing, though, according to the Associated Press (via Slide To Play) It says the US Federal Trade Commission is planning to regulate blogging, particularly when people don't disclose commercial compensation for their posts, or conflicts of interest.
This will include paid posts and advertorials, but according to the AP, will also cover affiliate links. It's unclear how the latter will be regulated though - sites may simply have to disclose that they're getting a cut from click-throughs.
Issues around blogging and ethics invariably provoke emotional debate. But if the crackdown on affiliate linking is too severe, it could have the unintended effect of making sites more dependent on advertising - bringing its own questions for their neutrality.
News
Contributing Editor
Stuart is a freelance journalist and blogger who's been getting paid to write stuff since 1998. In that time, he's focused on topics ranging from Sega's Dreamcast console to robots. That's what you call versatility. (Or a short attention span.)
Top Stories
News
11 hours, 41 minutes ago
Subway Surfers Classic update set to take players back to the game's origins
News
11 hours, 41 minutes ago
A third of developers implementing new payment options in face of Digital Markets Act’s $18 billion opportunity
News
12 hours, 11 minutes ago
More Xbox cutbacks hit ZeniMax with only Microsoft’s mobile ventures now unscathed
News
11 hours, 41 minutes ago
A third of developers implementing new payment options in face of Digital Markets Act’s $18 billion opportunity
Feature
May 7th, 2024
Mobile Mavens: The industry has its say on Squad Busters ability to draw in “untapped audiences” with its “influence from a range of genres”
Feature
May 7th, 2024
Hot Five: Supercell’s Squad Busters supremacy, Brawl Stars bounces back, and a games industry journey at King
Events
Valencia Indie Summit 2024 | Europe | May 16th |
Digital Dragons | Europe | May 19th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Israel Mobile Summit 2024 | Middle East | Jun 6th |
Future Games Show 2024 | Jun 8th | |
PC Gaming Show 2024 | Jun 9th | |
WN Conference Istanbul 2024 | Jun 11th | |
DevGAMM Vilnius 2024 | Europe | Jun 14th |