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Today I learned that goodreads has been acquired by amazon.

Here is the goodreads blog



I am quite on the fence about this...

On the one hand amazon just had a thing a few months ago where they deleted a bunch of reviews because they may have been sock puppet reviews. Which I get but they lost a lot of authentic stuff.

I am also concerned because while buying power with amazon is great their integration sucks. For example my amazon cloud does not work with my kindle fire.

Not to mention shelfari sucks.

The positive is hopefully the owners will make some cash and I will never notice a difference.

What do you guys think?? Is this going to make goodreads better or worse??

If it goes the way shelfari did after amazon took over then we're in big trouble. I refuse to shop at amazon for a reason. Their idea of customer service sucks, and after they took over shelfari it became totally unusable... once the virus loaded ads showed up I left to come here.

I'm not entirely sure I like that plan. I'll have to think about it some more.

As for Shelfari, I haven't had any problems with it and I don't have any ads because I use Chrome with an AdBlockPlus extension. No ads on YouTube either which is nice.

I will reserve judgement to see if anything changes. If the site becomes a big advertising for Amazon I will be annoyed.

You can post the whole article from ABC news here. It's the official press release from Amazon.

Amazon's press release.
Amazon.com to Acquire ŷ������
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 28, 2013-- Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire ŷ������, a leading site for readers and book recommendations that helps people find and share books they love.

“Amazon and ŷ������ share a passion for reinventing reading,�� said Russ Grandinetti, Amazon Vice President, Kindle Content. “ŷ������ has helped change how we discover and discuss books and, with Kindle, Amazon has helped expand reading around the world. In addition, both Amazon and ŷ������ have helped thousands of authors reach a wider audience and make a better living at their craft. Together we intend to build many new ways to delight readers and authors alike.��

“Books �� and the stories and ideas captured inside them �� are part of our social fabric,�� said Otis Chandler, ŷ������ CEO and co-founder. “People love to talk about ideas and share their passion for the stories they read. I’m incredibly excited about the opportunity to partner with Amazon and Kindle. We’re now going to be able to move faster in bringing the ŷ������ experience to millions of readers around the world. We’re looking forward to inspiring greater literary discussion and helping more readers find great books, whether they read in print or digitally.��

“I just found out my two favorite people are getting married,�� said Hugh Howey, best-selling author of WOOL. “The best place to discuss books is joining up with the best place to buy books �� To Be Read piles everywhere must be groaning in anticipation.��

Following the acquisition, ŷ������’s headquarters will remain in San Francisco, CA. Founded in 2007, ŷ������ now has more than 16 million members and there are more than 30,000 books clubs on the ŷ������ site. Over just the past 90 days, ŷ������ members have added more than four books per second to the “want to read�� shelves on ŷ������.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Subject to various closing conditions, the acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2013.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Kindle Paperwhite is the most-advanced e-reader ever constructed with 62% more pixels and 25% increased contrast, a patented built-in front light for reading in all lighting conditions, extra-long battery life, and a thin and light design. The new latest generation Kindle, the lightest and smallest Kindle, now features new, improved fonts and faster page turns. Kindle Fire HD features a stunning custom high-definition display, exclusive Dolby audio with dual stereo speakers, high-end, laptop-grade Wi-Fi with dual-band support, dual-antennas and MIMO for faster streaming and downloads, enough storage for HD content, and the latest generation processor and graphics engine—and it is available in two display sizes��7�� and 8.9��. The large-screen Kindle Fire HD is also available with 4G wireless, and comes with a groundbreaking $49.99 introductory 4G LTE data package. The all-new Kindle Fire features a 20% faster processor, 40% faster performance, twice the memory, and longer battery life.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including , , , , , , , , and . As used herein, “Amazon.com,�� “we,�� “our�� and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

About ŷ������

ŷ������ is the world’s largest site for readers and book recommendations. Founded in 2007, ŷ������ is where readers find and share books they love. The site has 16 million members who have added more than 530 million books to their shelves and written more than 23 million reviews. Loved by avid and casual readers alike, ŷ������ members can discover new books by seeing what their friends are reading or by using the ŷ������ Book Recommendation Engine; share ratings and recommendations; track what they have read, and list what they want to read. ŷ������ is also a place where more than 68,000 authors connect with readers. For more information, visit http://www.goodreads.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment and data center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.



Source: Amazon.com, Inc.

Amazon.com
Public Relations Media Line, 206-266-7180
[email protected]
or
ŷ������
Media Relations, 415-857-1606
[email protected]

Did you read the goodreads site announcement that has a link posted to it at the top of everyone's home page?

Not sure if that's a plus or loss
Only time will tell I guess
I sure hope things don't change tho

I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing. I wonder what will change? Will our reviews automatically be posted to Amazon? Amazon doesn't let us post pretty pictures or link to things. Will that stay true when Amazon takes over?

I'm not sure where I stand with this merging of amazon and goodreads. I think as long as they stick to what attracted people to goodreads and improve on it then great but I do have bad feeling about it.

Anyone know of how the Kindle could be integrated into the ŷ������ environment?

Lisarenee wrote: "Anyone know of how the Kindle could be integrated into the ŷ������ environment?"

I would think that at some point they would have a big how to for that. It would benefit sales at Amazon.

Lisarenee wrote: "Did you read the goodreads site announcement that has a link posted to it at the top of everyone's home page?"

i see it that sucks

Someone brought up a good question--What does this mean for authors who have posted some of their works in progress in groups on ŷ������? ŷ������ present wouldn't consider it theirs, but will the new Amazon ŷ������ feel the same?

I am really hoping that we reviewers never see any difference what so ever but I just have concerns because the biggest online retailer has just taken ownership of the biggest place to discuss books.

Anyway I am going to reserve judgement... wait and see what happens BUT just in case I will only use chrome to play on goodreads thus blocking out the ads...thank you adblock :-)

You know I never see ads on youtube so awesome!!

My biggest concern is censorship and arbitrary review removal. ŷ������, IMHO, was meant to be an impartial place to talk books. And how long before links to other sellers are removed? I like Amazon for many things, but not for owning ŷ������.

@Dawn ~ I use AdBlockPlus on Chrome. It's awesome! :)

I'm not happy about it, but I sure hope we don't lose the community spirit we share with our fellow readers and groups.

And being in Aus we don't seem to get lots of crappy ads popping up. We have nice sedate ads that I ignore quite easily :D

I have a question: Since Amazon has a policy that only those people who bought something from them can post post reviews on their website, what about books I purchase elsewhere or get from the public library - but want to review?

Lisa Kay, I'm guessing we won't know the terms of Amazon's purchase for a while.

And if they don't want our reviews, its their bad luck!!!!

You know it's kind of ironic in a way. Remember last year when ŷ������ had to switch all its covers to ones not associated with Amazon? Now they're buying ŷ������? I believe they had some agreement that had come to a close so ŷ������ had to switch. Then ŷ������ seemed to get covers sooner than Amazon and was better at keeping track of series names. Will we need to go through another cover adjustment when the two actually merge?

I belong to a couple of private groups and we had to confirm our birth date (which I don't mind because there shouldn't be anyone under 18 in those groups), but we also had to remove any role play-type threads. I'm sure the next thing to go will be our naughty pics. Maybe even those private groups will be deleted. Then where would those of us who like to talk about the 'darker' BDSM gather to interact, share information, offer/get support, talk about books that have darker themes and such?

Amazon already rejects many books we enjoy, arbitrarily removes reviews and employs a rigid censorship.

I predict the ŷ������ Team will be given a lovely severance package and be gone by the end of this year and other book seller links will be removed. In any case, I'm already looking for somewhere else to go. Unfortunately, there isn't much out there. If I knew how to start up my own GR-type website I'd drum up funding and do it myself.

A Voracious Reader (a.k.a. Carol) wrote: "I belong to a couple of private groups and we had to confirm our birth date (which I don't mind because there shouldn't be anyone under 18 in those groups), but we also had to remove any role play-..."

Good point Carol. They wouldn't post one of my reviews on Amazon because I used the word damn in it. I was actually quoting a passage at them time and had to remove the word before they'd actually take the review. I can't imagine them liking anything beyond that. Could be some big changes coming our way.

I know you can start secret private groups on Facebook, but it probably wouldn't be the same.

Lisarenee wrote: "I know you can start secret private groups on Facebook, but it probably wouldn't be the same."

Yes, it's not the same. There's also Yahoo for private groups. Also not the same. LibrayThing and Bookish are still infants, but might have possibilities except I was told (not sure if it's true) that Amazon owns part of LibraryThing and Bookish was started by Penguin & Simon & Schuster.

I also predict that the meglomaniac that is Amazon will soon gobble up B&N so they can enjoy instant brick-n-mortar stores.

I joined GR in 2010 because it was an impartial site to find books with ratings from G to XXX as well as having multiple seller links where I could buy what I wanted.

I am not happy about this takeover at all. Unless Amazon keeps it's sticky fingers out of GR (not likely) then yesterday was a sad day for the 16 million book lovers here.

I found . Just more information. We'll see if it stays true.

Karena wrote: "I found this article. Just more information. We'll see if it stays true."

WOW I thought I was good at wordspin but dang...

Will Amazon use ŷ������ reviews on its own retail site, or will Amazon reader reviews migrate over to ŷ������? In general, how much content will cross between the sites?

OC: “We’re going to think about this in terms of what’s best for our members. Maybe if we find books that don’t have any ŷ������ reviews we might consider that, but I don’t think there’s any specific plans to do that at this time.��

Russ Grandinetti [RG]: “Our mentality here is to first do no harm, and make sure that if we’re going to do integrations, users genuinely find it to be a big benefit.��

Notice how RG just bypassed the question

Right now, ŷ������ includes links to many retailers (like Barnes & Noble and Indiebound) on its book pages. Will that practice continue?

OC: ”It’s incredibly important to us that ŷ������ remain a platform for all kinds of readers to use, whether they’re reading paper or on their Nook or Kindle or whatever. We always want ŷ������ to be a place for people to share and talk about books��As for specific design of [the links], we’ll see, but we really think about it from the user perspective. If users really want those links [to other retailers], then those links will probably still be there.��

Yeah whetever

Here is what is giving me peace of mind...I went over to IMDB and had a really good look at it. For the most part the site still seems rather impartial. When it comes to the links there is nothing but amazon & amazon prime. The good thing is I have the title and I am not forced to use amazon while it is a hassle to check out i-tunes or netflix I know my options.

Still I hope is still the same that at the end of the day we the readers will not notice any difference

A Voracious Reader (a.k.a. Carol) wrote: "Lisarenee wrote: "I know you can start secret private groups on Facebook, but it probably wouldn't be the same."

Yes, it's not the same. There's also Yahoo for private groups. Also not the same. L..."

Yep Amazon own a chunk of LibraryThing because they brought out AbeBooks who originally owned it, and Bookish was set up by publishers so it's spotty on books. I checked it out and couldn't find any of Patricia Briggs books :(

Lisa Kay wrote: "I have a question: Since Amazon has a policy that only those people who bought something from them can post post reviews on their website, what about books I purchase elsewhere or get from the publ..."


They don't not let you post about books you read somewhere else. You can write a review off any book you read. They have an "amazon verified" link that will show you bought it there. The theory behind this was to show people had really bought the book so you can assume they read it. Was in response to the critisms of made up reviews. There is an assumption that if you bought it you actually read it rather than getting info off the web somewhere and making up a review.

I may just be naive & I haven't been on these sights as long as many of you so I haven't had any bad past experiences BUT I don't think it will change much. This is business and about making money. They want GR because it makes a lot of money. Why change that & risk it falling apart? I don't think they will keep it the same out of loyality to users, etc (I'm not that naive) but I don't think they want this to be a money losing venture. I think they will set up additional features though that will be strickly for kindle users making owning a kindle more desirable.