Amazon Buys Goodreads
I was really surprised to find out yesterday that Amazon just bought Goodreads, a book reviewing and discovery website. As you may know, I am a Hall of Fame and a top 50 Amazon reviewer and have spent a lot of time posting my reviews on Amazon. A few years ago I also started posting my book reviews onto other sites, including Goodreads. It is a good book-centered website, and it also helps me keep track of all the books I’ve ever read (even the ones I haven’t reviewed). Amazon long time ago stopped being a book-centered online shopping site, and that has been reflected in the profile of the top reviewers on the site. Due to various reasons, it’s almost impossible nowadays to become a top 10 Amazon reviewer by reviewing primarily books. I have long time ago branched out into all sorts of consumer goods as well. So from that perspective, it will be a good thing for readers and writers to have a place within the Amazon ecosystem that will again be primarily targeting books and authors. This is particularly the case now that we are witnessing a major publishing revolution, and Amazon is leading in terms of enabling authors to connect directly with their readers. However, I am a bit weary about how this might affect Amazon reviewing standards and practices. Naturally, I have been invested in the current system and would be very disappointed if it gets completely overhauled.
About the Author
Bojan Tunguz
Bojan Tunguz was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he and his family fled during the civil war for the neighboring Croatia. Over the past two decades he has studied, lived and worked in the United States. He is a theoretical physicist with degrees from Stanford and University of Illinois. Tunguz has taught physics at several prominent liberal arts colleges and has been writing about physics, science and technology for more than a decade. He also has a wide spectrum of interests, and reads and writes about current events, society, culture, religion and politics. Over the years he has reviewed many of the books that he has read, and posted his reviews on various online outlets. In 2011 he had become a top 10 reviewer on Amazon.com, where he continues to be very active. Aside from reading and writing, Tunguz enjoys traveling, digital photography, hiking, and fitness. He resides with his wife in Indiana. You can follow my review updates on the following pages as well: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tunguzreview Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tunguzreviews Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104312842297641697463/posts
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