I am going to avoid this one as there is a lot of emotions being injected into a business decision. At CAP we are committed to providing a one stop, full service community for affiliate webmasters. We have been committed to that ideal since day one and that is not going to change in the future. Terms and Conditions monitoring IS important and we saw just how crucial that was for us as a community when we had the big BCP incident. Plain and simple, CAP needs real time updates on T&Cs to do what we do better. Like Andy we have also worked hard to develop the technology to do that. Lets look at a couple of things and then I am bowing out of this one as I dont want it to be twisted into a “Lou” thing.
1. This is a free service and its totally opt in. If you dont want to take advantage of it no one is forcing you too. AGD provides a good service too and if you choose to use that one as your source for information thats fine. Freedom of choice is always a good thing I dont think we deserve a beating for wanting to ensure we had real time reporting for our certification team and for our members who wanted the convenience of seeing it here.
2. When WE discover a terms and condition problem we get a solution. We are well equipted to do so due to the size of our community and the relationships we have with the programs. We dont just email people we know them. We see them in person at every event and every show. We have a real one on one relationship with the owners of the casinos and poker rooms not just lower level employees. We can make a real difference and we do it. Everyone will benefit from actively montioring terms and conditions whether you choose to use our service or not. So its a definite win for ALL affiliates. Be Happy.
3. No one in business operates in a vacuum. None of you do, nor do we. I am sure the FIRST Online Casino or Poker Room would love to lay claim to the IDEA and all the hard word they put into developing it and demand that no one else dare to open a casino. Right?
I am sure the first person to develop a casino portal felt equally strongly that this was their idea and how dare anyone else open one, no?
I am sure Ray Croc felt that since McDonalds had the original idea of mass producing hamburgers in one format and serving them fast and cheap meant he should be the only fast food burger place on the planet, no?
When I opened CAP it was BEFORE GPWA…. Are you guys all beating down Michael Corfman’s door and demanding he not steal Lou’s hard work and great idea? We launched PAP LONG before there was a PAW, but did we cry foul and demand we be the only Poker Affiliate Resource?
Who started the first Players Forum? Should everyone else drop theirs now as it just aint fair since you werent the original one? Who was the first brainy individual who decided to promote bonus money to players? Does he/she get a free pass and the rest of the crowd shuts down?
Guys business is business. It’s not a hobby. It’s not an emotional struggle. It’s all of us trying to make a living for our families and doing the best we can.
I honestly hope Andy does blockbuster business with AGD. We promoted him here for years for free. We had Andy speak at our event when he started out too which lent legitimacy to what he was doing. We helped him alot and we have no qualms about it. He knows and any of you senior members know it too.
Earlier this year we tried to license the technology from him but unfortunatley its based on open source coding (Word Press) and wasnt secure enough for our needs and he was not willing to offer any exclusivity. Do we just say oh well, Andy says no so no is no? Come on now, do you run everything you do in YOUR business past everyone else for a thumbs up first? Why is that fair to do to us? CAP is a business. With employees. With Shareholders. With responsiblities. We arent a hobby and never said we were. Give us a break once in awhile.
In closing its our sincerest desire to give you guys the best affiliate community on the planet and if we find a service that helps us do that even a little bit better we will. I am not going to appologize for that. Thats what business is supposed to do, strive to be the best. I hope all of you also strive to be the best in what you do.
For years we have provided a great place for networking with your peers, a place to enhance your business relationships, become friends, do business, learn, exchange ideas, go to great meetings and conferences in exotic places around the world for free. We print free magazines to serve you. We do podcasts to get information out there to you. We fight for affiliate rights. We arbitrate disputes and we do our best to bring everyone TOGEHER for the betterment of the industry and for you as individuals. Can we get just a little slack?
After all that, I dont know why we have to always be on the defensive with just about anything we do and there are few people who are JUST SURE we ALWAYS wrong or have a world domination agenda. Shit its gets depressing after awhile. My team lives, breathe, and sweats CAP 24 hours a day and then we get hammered for adding on another FREE service that WILL benefit everyone.
Ok enough preaching. I have to go to bed as I have a flight to Vegas in the morning. Have a great weekend guys and just remember we do the things we do in an honest attempt to make things better. Dont hate us for that.