Amazon knows who your friends are

[gmw]

Amazon Is Data Mining Reviewers’ Personal Relationships

Any Amazon customer is likely aware that the e-tail giant knows a lot about them. That’s how it personalizes product suggestions and customizes the marketing e-mails it sends. But some Amazon users are now finding out that the site knows — or at least it thinks it knows — who your friends are, and is restricting their reviews accordingly.

I got that link from a Bruce Schneier blog, which may be of interest to those like me who are curious about the security side of the argument.

P.S. I don't watch this news subforum assiduously, I imagine someone will tell me if this has already been covered.

[Fat Abe]

Amazon probably uses Facebook and Myspace for the bulk of its info, or it finds statistical information that indicates that a reviewer targets certain authors or products.

[gweeks]

They have been doing it a long time for affiliate links. If Amazon knows you have a relationship with someone that buys something using your affiliate link, you don't get credit for it.

[mr ploppy]

Doesn't Amazon own Goodreads now? That's probably where the friend information comes from. Anyone you "know" on Facebook gets added on there too if they are a member.

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by Fat Abe

Amazon probably uses Facebook and Myspace for the bulk of its info, or it finds statistical information that indicates that a reviewer targets certain authors or products.

The downside of that is that many authors encourage regular readers to "friend" their reader pages....and having that author in your "friend" list doesn't mean you're unable to provide an honest review. It might make it harder, I admit, if you chat a lot of the author's blog or website or Facebook page. But it definitely doesn't mean a review was "bought and paid for".

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

Doesn't Amazon own Goodreads now? That's probably where the friend information comes from. Anyone you "know" on Facebook gets added on there too if they are a member.

Only if you use your Facebook login for Goodreads.

[Dr. Drib]

Be Afraid! Be Very Afraid!

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Be Afraid! Be Very Afraid!

He Knows When You've Been Sleeping
He Knows When You're Awake
He Knows When You've been Good or Bad
So be Good for Goodness Sake!

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by kennyc

He Knows When You've Been Sleeping
He Knows When You're Awake
He Knows When You've been Good or Bad
So be Good for Goodness Sake!

I wonder how Bezos would look in red with a long white beard...

[Shane R]

MY ISP and my cellular phone company do too.

[Barcey]

It was a very boneheaded move by Amazon and a classic example of the controls being worse than what you're trying to protect against.

[Image violates Posting Guidelines for size - MODERATOR]

Having friends and family giving glowing reviews of books is mildly annoying (although expected). Having a company respond by in essence saying, "We removed your review, big brother is watching, you're a liar, we know because we're prying into your personal relationships but we won't tell you how we know because that's personal (I mean proprietary). We're going to ignore you now." Well that's much worse.

Bad PR move by Amazon.

http://imysantiago.com/2015/07/02/am...r-big-brother/

[fjtorres]

There are known backscratching rings that have been gaming the reviews.
They needed to go. Ditto with the paid reviewers they've been suing.

Reviews exist for buyers, not vendors, so pruning anything suspicious is good business sense. The tinfoil hat crowd is of not enough consequence compared to the credibility of the reviews with the buyers. Losing a few hundred buyers is a small price to pay.

[Barcey]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

There are known backscratching rings that have been gaming the reviews.
They needed to go. Ditto with the paid reviewers they've been suing.

Reviews exist for buyers, not vendors, so pruning anything suspicious is good business sense. The tinfoil hat crowd is of not enough consequence compared to the credibility of the reviews with the buyers. Losing a few hundred buyers is a small price to pay.

Pruning is fine. It's how you handle the few that complain. All that Amazon had to do was say, "sorry our algorithm must have made an error, we've added your review back in".

Data mining is in it's wild west stage and there is going to be a lot of challenges to it. There needs to be a lot of debate about what is ok and what isn't, it can't be up to the money grubbers to unilaterally decide. Categorizing anyone that questions any aspect of it as a "tin foil hat crowd" is being naive. Bruce Schneier is a well respected security expert.

[Dr. Drib]

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Barcey
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[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Barcey

Pruning is fine. It's how you handle the few that complain. All that Amazon had to do was say, "sorry our algorithm must have made an error, we've added your review back in".

Data mining is in it's wild west stage and there is going to be a lot of challenges to it. There needs to be a lot of debate about what is ok and what isn't, it can't be up to the money grubbers to unilaterally decide. Categorizing anyone that questions any aspect of it as a "tin foil hat crowd" is being naive. Bruce Schneier is a well respected security expert.

Except they don't want the review back in.
Algorithms have sensitivity settings; they can always tweak them.
If they are excising reviews at x-degrees of separation it is because they chose to. Amazon is under no obligation to accept anybody's review.

A lot of people complaining about reviews likely have ulterior motives anyway.
Many of them are in fact back-scratchers or paid reviewers. Even true fans can be suspect.

Really, why would anybody raise a fuss if their unpaid review gets rejected, for whatever reason? You're helping Amazon sell product!

Don't like their policies, don't help them.
Don't want your social contacts tracked? Don't join public networks.