Obama's got one. So does Hillary. As does McCain. John Edwards has a good one. Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Bill Richardson also each have one.

More than a year ago, Todd Crawford created quite a stir in the affiliate community when he departed Commission Junction, a company he helped found in 1998. He emerged at Digital River's oneNetworkDirect as its vice president of sales and business development, where he oversees affiliate recruitment and development, has profit and loss responsibility, and develops the technology road map and overall strategic direction for the company.

They hang out for hours on end, actively seeking out new people and things to experience. These "residents" of online worlds - who also aren't afraid to buy online - match the definition of a desirable audience. With millions of registered users and thousands of dollars changing hands every minute these virtual worlds provide ample opportunity to enhance e-commerce and bolster your brand.

If you asked 100 people on ABestWeb what kind of experiences they have had interacting with B. Knoblach, they probably wouldn't have a clue as to who you are talking about. But if you say the name Billy Kay, you're likely to get a huge reaction.

Billy Kay is not just a screen name on ABestWeb; it's the business identity of a man who has a huge personality and huge heart.

Many merchants and affiliates develop very close relationships with their account representative at the networks. These network reps often take on many roles including problem solvers, helpers, mentors, sounding boards, cheerleaders, and sometimes they end up being cherished friends.

Like new confections spilling out of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, the brain trusts at Web companies big and small over the last three years or so have spun out a brand new Web. Like candy, this version of the Web is flashier, full of speed, comes in a cool wrapper, has good stuff inside and is highly addictive.

"You spammed me," I said with a smile to the affiliate network manager standing next to me as we posed for a picture together at the last Affiliate Summit. Her smile suddenly disappeared.

Kind, compassionate and understanding person that I am, I fervently hoped to hear an honest, if not apologetic reply that would give me the slightest reason to consider ever doing business with her network's merchants.

I talk to website owners all the time who are looking to design or redesign their websites. Most tell me what colors they like and what other websites appeal to them. Next they discuss features like animation or video. Some will go so far as to send long, prepared documents that include detailed color choices, font selections and so on. The concept of Web design is still largely looked at as a visual beautification of their website.

"Never watch sausage being made," folks say, lest you would find the process so unappetizing that you'd never eat it again. Regardless of how you feel about Spam®, the venerable luncheon meat, all search marketers must understand the ingredients that comprise search spam.

In our last column, we explored the dangers of spam, which include bad publicity and getting banned from the search engines. We also looked at a spam technique called cloaking, in which spammers feed a different page to the search spider than what they show to real people.

If you didn't see it, you probably read about Snickers' Super Bowl advertisement, "The Kiss," which featured two men unintentionally kissing after they were both eating the same Snickers bar. Immediately after the Super Bowl, much of the feedback in the blogosphere was that the ad was funny. But the next day two gay civil rights organizations denounced the ad as homophobic. The blogosphere reacted again, much of it negative about Snickers. By that evening Snickers pulled the ad and took down its website.