August 25, 2004
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.

Posted by Wendy at August 25, 2004 03:51 PM | TrackBack
Comments

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.

Posted by: JD Lasica on August 25, 2004 10:10 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.


Posted by: mr mcg on 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.

Posted by: Wendy Seltzer on September 1, 2004 02:20 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

Posted by: Erick on September 21, 2004 03:34 AM
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