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Amazon Connect

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the author-self-defense dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The New York Times is reporting that Amazon is now providing the ability for authors to reach out to their fans via blogs in a program called Amazon Connect. So far, Amazon has recruited a group of about a dozen authors, including novelists, writers of child care manuals and experts on subjects as diverse as real estate investing, science, fishing and the lyrics of the Grateful Dead. Now the authors finally have the ability to respond back to comments!

6 of 75 comments (clear)

  1. Finally news! by JonN · · Score: 4, Insightful
    I can't remember reading an article on /. that had such few Google matches as this one.

    I shall dube thee "news"

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    do.what.promptcmds
  2. Respond to comments in a good way? by garcia · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Now the authors finally have the ability to respond back to comments!

    Are they going to sidestep or blatantly ignore valid questions like Peter Dawkins did at a recent talk/book signing that I attended?

    Are these authors going to have control over what posts are kept and which are not?

    Personally, I don't want to see another astroturfing arena show up on Amazon. There are already plenty of "professional" reviewers out there that skew the impression of the books/items they review. I don't need the author to have an avenue to hype his own research while getting to pick and choose which comments to ignore/delete and which to keep and respond to.

  3. next up: by revery · · Score: 2, Insightful

    next up: Bezos patents weblogs

  4. Of course you can have a blog-free Internet! by mmell · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Just unplug your computer.

    Of course, television is just a primative version of blogging, except it's very one-way, so you'd better unplug that, too!

    Books! Books are an even more one-way version of some asshat publishing his opinion, and you can't unplug those. Well, I suppose you can go on burning them, if you like.

  5. Book comments.. by jskline · · Score: 2, Insightful

    While this whole idea has a lot of utility for a lot of folks, I also see a lot of squabbling and possible other "problems" that can amount from it. In the past there have been incidents of people reading books only to turn round and threaten the author or get the author into a public forum of some type and try to publicly discrace them. Sometimes, people are fickle. You have to account for that.

    I think this might have more use and merit in a university or other school setting as a means for discussion and topical ideas, but as a way to merge a reader and writer, probably dangerous...

    Just a thought anyway.

    Cheers

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  6. Mike Jeffress by JWhiton · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Did anyone see the quote from the Reverend Mike Jeffress?
    "It must be that at the root of the current war against Christmas is spiritual warfare in which Satan and his demons are seeking to gain control of the most powerful free nation in the world in order to persecute Jesus Christ and his followers," Mr. Jeffress wrote. "All the more reason why I believe my latest book, 'The Prayer of Jehoshaphat for America: The Power of Repentance in a Time of Crisis,' would make a great Christmas gift this year."

    Satan is among us, so make sure you buy my book so you can find out how to stop him! Usually people aren't so brazen about these kind of cash grabs, but I guess he was inspired by all the hullabaloo lately.

    Makes me wonder what other sorts of author opinions they'd be willing to host. If I write a book about UFO conspiracies, can I count on Amazon to post my latest theory?