View Single Post
Old 03-31-2013, 11:05 AM   #128
Prestidigitweeze
Fledgling Demagogue
Prestidigitweeze ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Prestidigitweeze ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Prestidigitweeze ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Prestidigitweeze ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Prestidigitweeze ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Prestidigitweeze ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Prestidigitweeze ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Prestidigitweeze ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Prestidigitweeze ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Prestidigitweeze ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Prestidigitweeze ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Prestidigitweeze's Avatar
 
Posts: 2,384
Karma: 31132263
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: White Plains
Device: Clara HD; Oasis 2; Aura HD; iPad Air; PRS-350; Galaxy S7.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DiapDealer View Post
So the general consensus seems to be; "I don't blame GR at all for selling out (and making millions on its members' purely altruistic contributions of time and effort--and their love of books). I just don't like it that Amazon was the buyer." That about right?
I can't speak for others, but my take was this:

I'm annoyed with (but not surprised by) GR's selling to Amazon because I prefer a greater number of sources of info and also find Amazon's approach to reviews disappointing. I'd also hate to say goodbye to the idea of the librarians and users themselves creating the structure of the site (if that should happen).

I'm also annoyed but not surprised at Amazon's acquisition of GR, since I prefer multiple sources of info and acquisitions rarely help. It isn't simply a matter of the information itself. It's also a matter of the criteria by which it's sorted, edited, filtered and promoted, and added legacy content that can overshadow it. All of that can color the usefulness of reviews as well.

Someone grumbled a few pages back about the "Web 2.0 business model" often followed by user-driven content sites and I quite liked that post.

I wouldn't take negative statements about Amazon and GR personally. Some of us are simply skeptical about "embracing the future" when that means not getting to make decisions about it ourselves. I'm not thrilled whenever I create an account with a smaller bank which gets swallowed by conglomerates either.

Last edited by Prestidigitweeze; 03-31-2013 at 11:18 AM.
Prestidigitweeze is offline   Reply With Quote