Quote:
Originally Posted by porkupan
Well, OK, it is possible that that's all there is to it. Amazon.com had a few hundred mil, saw a target, no real need but could be useful for a competitor, bought it. Now all Goodreads needs to do (continue doing) is to make money for Amazon while not impeding its main business.
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Uh-huh.
As opposed to making money for their venture capital investors.
Goodreads has always been intended to be a money-making venture. The fact that they found investors suggests they had a plan to generate income and the fact the investors sold out (at a hefty profit) suggests there is *some* income coming in, with prospects for more. But prospects are not reality.
If Amazon doesn't see the business case work out, they might indeed dismantle Goodreads in a year or two.
If Amazon had not bought Goodreads and the business case didn't work out, they *also* would have been dismantled. And probably sooner than under Amazon.
Only difference I see is Amazon is generally more patient with their properties than other players. As Bezos said, they're not afraid of a bit of red ink.
With Sugar Daddy Amazon Goodreads might get a lot more time to prove their business case than they would with another buyer.
Assuming another buyer could even be found.
In some other alternate universe where Amazon didn't pick up Goodreads, they might be announcing the dismantling right now...
As for Wikipedia: if they ever do cash in, I suspect the likeliest candidate would be Yahoo.
