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message 1: by Theodore (last edited Jul 01, 2023 08:26AM) (new)

Theodore Cohen (theodorejeromecohen) | 1449 comments Just saw this article on The Washington Post website:

Goodreads was the future of book reviews. Then Amazon bought it.

Here are the first few paragraphs:

SAN FRANCISCO — Goodreads — an Amazon-owned review site beloved by the bookish — has grown beleaguered.

The site is built on outdated technological infrastructure, which made the cost of overhauling and updating it a challenge that was ultimately not worth it for the e-commerce giant, according to former employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. Meanwhile, limited manual content moderation and a lack of protective features allow users to engage in targeted harassment known as “review bombing” — behavior that has resulted in the cancellation of books and their authors.

Former employees said Amazon seemed happy to mine Goodreads for its user-generated data and otherwise let it limp along with limited resources. In Amazon’s more than 20-year history, the company has made dozens of acquisitions, and it is not unusual for it to try to cheaply acquire properties in markets that it wants to dominate, only to let them languish. Until recently, Amazon owned Book Depository and camera-enthusiast favorite DPReview, and it still operates discount marketplace Woot, collectibles website AbeBooks and movie database IMDb.

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I can "gift" the article if you can't access it, so give me your email address if you are interested.

Ted


message 2: by Carole (new)

Carole P. Roman | 4665 comments Mod
Thanks for posting, Ted.


message 3: by Anna (new)

Anna Faversham (annafaversham) | 1236 comments I saw something similar but not so damning in a UK newspaper.


message 4: by Anita (new)

Anita Dickason (anitadickason) | 220 comments Have you noticed Goodreads reviews are now posted on books on Amazon? Not the individual reviews but the total and averages.


message 5: by Carole (new)

Carole P. Roman | 4665 comments Mod
I saw it last week


message 6: by Anna (new)

Anna Faversham (annafaversham) | 1236 comments Anita wrote: "Have you noticed Goodreads reviews are now posted on books on Amazon? Not the individual reviews but the total and averages."

Yes, I noticed that the number of reviews on some of my books shot up. Then the other books have done the same. Yay!


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