Quote:
Originally Posted by porkupan
What business sense does it make for Amazon to continue these policies?
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The same business sense that keeps Zappos independent and "competing" with Amazon.com: Appealing to people who aren't comfortably served by the mainstream Kindle services. (And the same business sense why car makers keep multiple brands focused on different customer bases. Think Toyota and SCION, for example.)
There is also the reality that if an independent Goodreads can (ever) generate revenue from non-Amazon customers as a competitor those revenues will go to Amazon coffers and not to B&N or Random Penguin or Author Solutions.
Plus, there is more to modern retail than just marketting--convincing people to buy what you have for sale. There is also the flip-side: market research, finding out what consumers want that you are not already offering. As an independent operation, GR has access to stats and reviews from non-Kindle customers which can be useful for figuring out how those folks think and what they want. That would be pretty valuable market research right there.
Me, I'm of the opinion that Amazon bought Goodreads primarily to keep its enemies from buying it. It was in play and somebody was going to buy it; better them than an enemy. Having achieved that, they don't need to do much else. Like a gambler on a streak, their best bet may be to just let it ride and see how far it goes...
No need to be any more Machiavellian that that.
