I thought that too at first, but he is also taking money from people. If the whole thing really is a joke, I would think one of those people would inevitably sue him (or at the very least issue a chargeback and tell the world).
Anyway, as far as your other question, there are tons of people making money hand over fist in affiliate marketing. I hate to be a dick but if you want to make money in affiliate marketing, you shouldn't just build some random complicated system in the hopes that maybe it might work, you should PAY FOR ADVICE. Just buy a couple ebooks on affiliate marketing and figure out which systems work. Even if you buy a bad book, you learn a little about how to spot bullshit. $35 or $97 on an ebook costs a lot less than several weeks or months of programmer time at a startup. I mean that's just crazy.
http://gilesbowkett.blogspot.com/2009/12/blogs-are-godless-c...
He's not concerned with credibility. He's mocking the system, mocking its methods, but using them to build his own traffic and generate money via affiliate marketing.
It's a parody. I'd say the original post and all the followups he's doing along the same lines are incredibly effective at demonstrating his point.