TP
Karl Bodetwice a year the entire U.S. press becomes a marketing extension of a single billionaire-owned retailer, and nobody in any position of editorial power thinks it's weird or gross
Amazon Prime Day hasn't been interesting or novel since 2005 or so, but that's not going to stop anybody from pretending otherwise so they can get their blogspam affiliate kickbacks
in recent years there's been this new attempt to portray being a soulless blogspam affiliate hack as something that requires serious effort and research in order to "find the best deals" (a ton of these are usually AI)
I could maybe tolerate this slightly better if I'd seen the people in charge of U.S. media make literally ANY serious effort in the last two decades to creatively fund meaningful journalism
or hadn't watched countless editor and journalist friends get shitcanned by trust fund brunchlord failsons
AI and the complete destruction of whatever was left of U.S. regulatory corporate oversight is going to take all of this to the next level
these trust fund failsons envision the internet as a giant ouroboros that just shits ad engagement cash and kickbacks, quality or usefulness be damned
every so often I get some drive by defensive hack who insists that turning journalistic brands into badly automated blogspam cack is WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTS
as if there was no other choice but to sell out the entirety of your brand credibility for modest affiliate kickbacks
Space Invader@karlbode.com @kenwhite.bsky.social
Affiliate links are a hell of a drug
GreenDotGuy@karlbode.com this year they especially need Billionaire Fake Discount Days to be big, because we don't get official consumer spending numbers from the government in a shutdown. The Big Grift demands an unending stream of good news about spending.
Kyle@karlbode.com sometimes when they offer a week of free prime i order a bunch of shit, try it out and return it for a full refund. with just a few clicks i'm making jeff bebos lose money
Vee👍 People need to #boycott hard.
Harold S
Auntie Mame@karlbode.com Every day CNN’s page has a separate section devoted to product reviews, on the main page.
I found more prime deals that are higher priced than off amazon.
Some like Delta Pro from Eco flow a couple of hundred Euro more than other offers.
I purchased nothing from Amazon, was just comparing some of the wonderful non bargains.
𝓐𝓷𝓭𝔂𝓣𝓲𝓮𝓭𝔂𝓮 𓀤Then it must be time for my periodic AmazonLESS Prime Day post:
There are some good deals to be had.
You can window-shop Amazon to find them. Then go to the company's own website to buy. They will almost always match the Prime Day deal on their own website, usually with a coupon to sweeten the deal further. I have saved hundreds of dollars this way, even compared to what I would have paid buying on Amazon during Prime Day.
I also have saved the cost of Prime membership by cancelling it.
Cut out the middleman when it's Jeff Bezos.
cwicseolfor@andytiedye @karlbode.com Big downside to doing this: Amazon sells ads on their own website, so "window shopping" on Amazon STILL makes them money, so ideally we should do as little of that as possible.
More philosophical, but mildly spicy counterpoint: frankly if you needed it, you wouldn't need to have Amazon or anybody else suggesting that you buy it, right? Keep lists of things you intend to buy and check prices for them intermittently at and around "sales holidays."
Jules 🍺@karlbode.com not used amazon for anything but one type of vitamin I can't get anywhere else for over ten years now
Joe Alexander@julesbl As long as you tell people it makes a difference
Quinn9282 🖥️🌙✌️@karlbode.com I've heard anecdotally that many of the Prime Day deals are basically scams. The sellers jack up the prices of products in the days or weeks leading up to the event, then cut back the prices to around where they originally were on Prime Day, so you don't actually save any money at all.
@Quinn9282 not sure Sony saw ahead of time to sell these headphones for $300 for 2 years before dropping them only for Prime Day...
[AF]2050@karlbode.com How did i ever not notice this. How can you not tell if this is a cacophony.
Dustin D. Wind@karlbode.com @TinJar I've been reading a manhwa premised on the idea that future software is developed that controls past events, embedded in one person's copy of a Sims stand-in (unbeknownst to them).
It mostly focuses on the characters in the past… sometimes the cognitive dissonance is too sharp, and it awakens people to the fact that the events they see make no sense.
Your post got me wondering if it might be a subtle commentary on life under the United Empire of Profit.
cbudPretty sure it's straight paid for ads on CNN. With money for clicks?
TobiWanKenobiGiven that the oligarchs owning the media are on good terms with the oligarch owning Amazon, it's not really surprising. We have the same here in Germany with cars and the media.
Coteries among the wealthy aren't new. In most Western countries the oligarchs aren't powerful enough that a single one can decide everything, so they form factions to push each other's agendas.
@karlbode.com that commission driven press
Best deal is dont buy items, 100% reduction
Best deal is dont buy items, 100% reduction
julsboo@kazord @karlbode.com a great great man told me it could reach 200%, sometimes 300%, best deals in the universe
Karelt [KAI] 
cnn.com breaking news
George Baily@karlbode.com see also: breaking international news, a new item on McDonald's menu...
@georgebaily @karlbode.com sad because that's actually news to people - you're missing that an entire company was invented by the news media: Zoom
Rogers Cadenhead@karlbode.com I hate those "news stories." Surely the media outlets are selling their credibility to Amazon for more than just affiliate fees.
My camera shoots fascistsAdd Wired to that list. I subscribed to them because I wanted to support the actually good journalism they do, but the cheerleading and daily emails for Amazon might be enough to cancel my sub. I just hope they're getting paid millions for their cheerleading.
Richard K 
@karlbode.com and the deals they have to report just are never that compelling.
Adamas Nemesis@karlbode.com I'm old enough to remember when people thought Black Friday was gross. Seems almost quaint now; at least Black Friday isn't a wholly owned subsidiary of a single corporation.
John Breen
Carl (He/Him)@karlbode.com Oddly, I saw exactly one "Prime Day" article. My media diet doesn't go to the No Longer News Media like the WaPo.
~ Ｍａｃｉｎｔｏｓｈ Ｍｉｎｕｓ ~@karlbode.com I've noticed a lot of sites are now escalating the clickbait war in this by saying things like "This product is basically free!!" in their headline, when describing a 10% discount for a multi-hundred-dollar product. It feels SO gross.