Outrage never takes a holiday
In ye olden days before the interwebs, companies could do anything wrong and, outside of a few people, we'd be none the wiser. Sure, the news would eventually spread--but it'd take days, weeks, even months and years for everybody to know about it. Nowadays, everybody is connected to everybody else, so when companies try any shit and somebody notices, it gets blogged, tweeted, retweeted, pingbacked, dugg, mefi'd, posted, and eventually reported by some news source--all in less than a day. And once something's posted, it's out there forever, so no amount of backpedaling or PR can magically undo it. Face it, Amazon--you're stuck with the #Amazonfail hash tag forever.
For those who were hunting for easter eggs yesterday, allow me to attempt to summarize something that's complicated, confusing, and messy. Writers of GLBT-related books started noticing that their sales ranks were disappearing, and posted about it on their blogs. Fans of the writers and followers of the blogs started blogging and tweeting about it, spreading the word to other writers and readers. Before long, the hash tag #amazonfail was one of the top ten trending topics on Twitter. (This is how quick Twitter works: I noticed it when I first logged on at 8 AM or so. By the time I left for work around 11 AM, it was the number one trending topic.) As I write this, you can find news reports on all the usual sites. Amazon says it's a glitch (before you believe this, you might want to reread that first link I posted), some people say it might be a hoax perpetuated to exploit the user tag system (again, first link). Whatever it is, it's befuddling, inconsistent, and just plain strange.
If it's like the first link says, a new policy, it's not a well-thought out one. If you're an online bookstore, the first thing you don't want to do is piss off people who not only read and write, but participate in online discourse on a level above "STFU, n00b. LOL." (Well, most of the time, anyway.) Not only are you pissing off customers, but you're pissing off people that are likely to create or write about the books you sell. And hell hath no fury like pissed-off literate people with an internet full of methods to voice their displeasure and have it read and reported.
If it's a hoax, it's a clever one. Alas, a look at what's being deranked reveals that it's more than just LGBT books. While sex toys and Ron Jeremy's biography are still safe, there are books about sex for the disabled that are being deranked. So the hoax theory may just be a troll trying to take the credit for something they didn't do. It might be a glitch, but what kind of glitch starts two months ago, only to go into mass effect on Easter Weekend?
I want answers. I'm an Amazon customer and I've been happy with them in the past. Now, not so much. I want to know what the deal is here, and only an honest explanation will do. No PR spin, either. And if it's a new policy, I won't be satisfied until it's reversed. Otherwise, Amazon won't be seeing any of my book/video game/movie/music dollars in the future.
For those who were hunting for easter eggs yesterday, allow me to attempt to summarize something that's complicated, confusing, and messy. Writers of GLBT-related books started noticing that their sales ranks were disappearing, and posted about it on their blogs. Fans of the writers and followers of the blogs started blogging and tweeting about it, spreading the word to other writers and readers. Before long, the hash tag #amazonfail was one of the top ten trending topics on Twitter. (This is how quick Twitter works: I noticed it when I first logged on at 8 AM or so. By the time I left for work around 11 AM, it was the number one trending topic.) As I write this, you can find news reports on all the usual sites. Amazon says it's a glitch (before you believe this, you might want to reread that first link I posted), some people say it might be a hoax perpetuated to exploit the user tag system (again, first link). Whatever it is, it's befuddling, inconsistent, and just plain strange.
If it's like the first link says, a new policy, it's not a well-thought out one. If you're an online bookstore, the first thing you don't want to do is piss off people who not only read and write, but participate in online discourse on a level above "STFU, n00b. LOL." (Well, most of the time, anyway.) Not only are you pissing off customers, but you're pissing off people that are likely to create or write about the books you sell. And hell hath no fury like pissed-off literate people with an internet full of methods to voice their displeasure and have it read and reported.
If it's a hoax, it's a clever one. Alas, a look at what's being deranked reveals that it's more than just LGBT books. While sex toys and Ron Jeremy's biography are still safe, there are books about sex for the disabled that are being deranked. So the hoax theory may just be a troll trying to take the credit for something they didn't do. It might be a glitch, but what kind of glitch starts two months ago, only to go into mass effect on Easter Weekend?
I want answers. I'm an Amazon customer and I've been happy with them in the past. Now, not so much. I want to know what the deal is here, and only an honest explanation will do. No PR spin, either. And if it's a new policy, I won't be satisfied until it's reversed. Otherwise, Amazon won't be seeing any of my book/video game/movie/music dollars in the future.