Amazon.com to Acquire Goodreads

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by tomsem

As it is I don't feel it is a good use of my time to add books to my GR shelves, update reading status, and fine tune recommendations (which nevertheless fail to hit the mark). I could be reading a book! (or writing one...) Yet apparently that is not true of everyone.

I would feel the same way if the effort was just for my own benefit, but I saw the work involved as a contribution to the community, and I would benefit when others put in the effort too. But now it will not be a community of equals, there will be a class system. First class members (kindle users) will receive extra benefits not available to the plebs. There is not the same incentive to work for the good of the community when you are a scond-class citizen.

[Fbone]

Mark Coker of Smashwords has some interesting thoughts on the acquisition.

http://goodereader.com/blog/electron...eads-what-now/

[Rizla]

What a shame. I enjoyed Goodreads as an independent and non-commercial alternative to Amazon.

[barutanseijin]

You had to know that something like this was the ultimate aim of the goodreads people, but it's still irksome.

The web 2.0 business model where you set up some structure, get users to provide content, then sell the data they put up is getting on my nerves.

[Rizla]

I suppose Amazon used a very small percentage of the money they saved with tax-avoidance to buy Goodreads.

[fjtorres]

Straight from the horse's mouth, via Paid Content:
http://paidcontent.org/2013/03/28/fi...-of-goodreads/

What does the acquisition mean for Goodreads’ reputation as a neutral hub for readers, authors and publishers?
Otis Chandler [OC]: “One of the extremely important things to us is for readers to share what they’re reading, no matter how they’re reading. We have no plans to change that. We want Goodreads to be a place for readers of all types to share their favorite books. You can expect to see customizations and better integrations for people who do use Kindle. For everyone else, Goodreads will remain largely as it is.”

Will Goodreads remain a standalone site, and is its entire team staying on? Is the site getting a redesign?

Grandinetti says Goodreads will be an independent subsidiary of Amazon, like Zappos or IMDB. The site will remain based in San Francisco. Chandler remains CEO, reporting to Grandinetti. Chandler said that Goodreads’ entire team is staying on (and that the company is hiring).

Will Amazon have access to all of the Goodreads users’ data?

OC: “Goodreads is or will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon, so on one level, yes. Are things going to happen in the background without customers understanding it? I think the answer to that is no….We’ll make it very easy for someone to say, ‘Yeah, I’d love it if you could import all of my Amazon or Kindle purchases into my Goodreads shelf.’ We’ll make it very easy for people to do, but they’ll be aware of what’s happening.”

Users already have the ability to export their data from Goodreads, and they’ll continue to be able to do so.

Will Goodreads now include a retail component — for instance, selling print or Kindle books from its site?

RG: “The design they have works incredibly well for users. You see that in the number of users who join that service.”

OC: “I think, short-term, the thing we’re most excited about is actually bringing the book into Goodreads and enabling people to just start reading right there from the Kindle Cloud Reader. We’ve never had a good book preview feature.”

Will Goodreads retain its public API? Does Kobo get to keep its Goodreads review feed?
OC: “Yes [on the API],” and “we’re not going to shut [the Kobo feed] off.”

So, they'll remain a separate operation, like ZAPPOS, they won't give Amazon your data if you don't ask them to or without telling you, and they will be using Amazon's cloud reader to provide book previews on their website. And now they have the resources to formally expand internationally and to other languages.

The Kindle integration looks to be on the Kindle side, not on the website itself.

More details at the source, above.
Those inclined to angst will continue to angst but it doesn't sound like they intend to meddle or disrupt what Goodreads does. You don't spend $150M on something just to destroy it.

[samhy]

You can find here a blog post from Hugh Howey, who was quoted commenting the acquisition by many press releases.

Interesting parts (not only with this acquisition in view)

Meanwhile, most of the people in the cities I visited strolled by bookstores without glancing inside. Most of the people in the airports weren’t reading. We are fighting amongst ourselves while the real battle is ignored.

That we’ve allowed the PR machines to shape the debate thusly seems surreal to me.

[danskmacabre]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

Time to leave Goodreads I guess :-( What is the next best site that is still neutral?

+1 on this. I have deleted my goodreads account.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by danskmacabre

+1 on this. I have deleted my goodreads account.

I suspect they will be surprised by the number of people who do so.

Not that I blame them for the deal one bit. How can you turn down that kind of backing and money?

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

I suspect they will be surprised by the number of people who do so.

Not that I blame them for the deal one bit. How can you turn down that kind of backing and money?

Especially if it really comes with the stated degree of autonomy.
As Coker said, Amazon wins whether Sony and Kobo stay or leave; they don't have to do a thing.

[jamadams]

People are really deleting their accounts? Nothing has changed yet!

[jgaiser]

This thread is revealing an amazing amount Amazon hate.

[hidari]

The Sleeper Has Awoken

Originally Posted by jgaiser

This thread is revealing an amazing amount Amazon hate.

[hidari]

Welcome to Capitalism.... your opinion only counts to a....

Originally Posted by Rizla

What a shame. I enjoyed Goodreads as an independent and non-commercial alternative to Amazon.

[hidari]

Readers of Books will ALWAYS be a minority....

Originally Posted by samhy

You can find here a blog post from Hugh Howey, who was quoted commenting the acquisition by many press releases.

Interesting parts (not only with this acquisition in view)