Amazon Doesn’t Get It
J.D. Lasica found that Amazon removed his review of Dan Gillmor’s superb We the Media.
While we appreciate your opinions on the subject, the intent of customer reviews is to assist our customers in making an informed purchase decision. We provide our customer reviews section for you to comment on the merits of the book and the author’s writing style. We ask that you not use it as a place for discourse on the subject matter.
It could be that this is just a slip in a too-far automated submission review system, but if corporate policy would really lead Amazon to reject thoughtful book reviews because they include “personal opinions on the subject matter,” then Amazon has really lost its touch. A ban on opinionated reviews would take the very “We” out of media that made Amazon a hub in the first place.
No discourse, please
Wendy Seltzer points to the extraordinary story of Amazon telling J.D.
Trackback by John Palfrey — August 25, 2004 @ 7:38 pm
What’s especially baffling is that there was not a drop of vitriol in the review, and the tangential information was absolutely relevant to the material in the book.
Comment by JD Lasica — August 25, 2004 @ 10:10 pm
Amazon refuses a review
Amazon allow readers to post their thoughts on a given book. J.D. Lasica posted his review of Mindjack (by Dan Gillmor), only to find out that Amazon yanked his writing immediately. So instead of an informed review that places the…
Trackback by Chromatic Musings — August 25, 2004 @ 10:37 pm
Amazon refuses a review
Amazon allow readers to post their thoughts on a given book. J.D. Lasica posted his review of Mindjack (by Dan Gillmor), only to find out that Amazon yanked his writing immediately. So instead of an informed review that places the…
Trackback by Chromatic Musings — August 25, 2004 @ 10:37 pm
what don’t they get? their mission is to sell stuff. they tailor their content to that end. so what if its irrational to you and me. big deal.
as for the “open forum” aspect of the issue, their is a notion implicated here that they should not be coerced into broadcasting another’s message.
Comment by mr mcg — August 26, 2004 @ 12:27 pm
There were plenty of people selling stuff before Amazon. One of the reasons Amazon has drawn more of the buyers is because it offered a “community” space in which they could do more than just buy. Cutting back on the freedom of that discussion, I believe, will make them just another bookseller.
Comment by Wendy Seltzer — September 1, 2004 @ 2:20 pm
Not just that, they also have some fairly shady approaches, check this user out:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/cm/member-glance/-/A3LPPQRQYOTMP6/ref=cm_aya_ac_longdesc/?see-more-desc=1
Comment by Erick — September 21, 2004 @ 3:34 am
Dont buy these books!
Many of my peers frequently ask me about which books they should purchase. While there are many good books within the marketplace, there is a category of books one should stay away from……
Trackback by Thinking Out Loud: Thought Leadership from an Enterprise Architect — October 3, 2004 @ 7:05 am