On #amazonfail

[deza]

OK, by now everyone and their brother has heard of AmazonFail, the sudden disappearance of a large number of books featuring homosexual content from Amazon's ranking system. This move makes it nearly impossible for a random browser to discover these books. According to an email from one of Amazon's PR people over the weekend, the move was made due to the adult nature of the books--even though some of the books are YA and various other adult-content items (vibrators, for instance, and the complied collection of Playboy centerfolds, and anything that's heterosexual in content rather than homosexual) are still easily available and in the rankings.

I wasn't saying anything about it, because something hasn't been sitting right with me. Amazon? Come on, these guys know better than to embark on a PR nightmare like this, and doing it over a holiday weekend with no prepared canned responses to the outrage is utterly ridiculous.

Dely has a very sound theory on what's going on. I think he's got it. This has many of the earmarks of a coordinated trolling attack against the Amazon corporation as well as against homosexual content materials. The kneejerk reaction of bloggers and twitters has the potential to bring Amazon to its knees. If this is an attack from some fringe religious right organization, the blogging community has been playing right into their hands.

Read what Dely has to say. He explains it better than I ever could.

Comments

[libwitch.livejournal.com]

I think this sort of explains the problems that may exist (I state may because it is so far only a theory and not proven) of what happens when machines are allowed to make decisions better made by humans - the fact that any materials could be removed for any period of time without human review is mind boggling to me.

Of course, if humans are involved, its even more mind boggling to me.

(I should state that I am probably one of the few people who can state I am not surprised by this, since I already refused to shop at Amazon since I am already befuddled/frustrated/angered by a vast array of their policies and complete lack of customer service, as exemplified by a series of nightmares of I have had dealing with them, so I can just add this to my list!)

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

If it IS a coordinated trolling attack, then the reaction by the bloggers will force Amazon to fix the issue.

If it isn't, then the reaction by the bloggers will force Amazon to own up to their own mistake.

Either way, I don't see the widespread outraged reaction as a problem.

[miintikwa.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly.

[sanachan1.livejournal.com]

Agreed.

[deza.livejournal.com]

And if the loss of marketshare seriously affects Amazon's future business concerns, would it be a problem then?

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

No, because Amazon would have learned a lesson.

[carisjax.livejournal.com]

What is the lesson they will learn? Don't carry titles of interest to niche consumers, because they will over react?

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

No, the lesson would be "Don't allow suppression of minority groups by means of the tagging system."

[carisjax.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, closing your account and calling for a boycott of the company before the company has a legitamate chance to address the issue doesn't send that message. It sends a message of unreasonableness and whining. It only furthers the agenda of those who want to paint the gay rights movement as wanting special treatment.

And no I do not beleive that is all the high internet drama that got it so when I put "homoseuality" into the Amazon.com search engine yesterday that I got plenty of hits on Gay friendly books. I think it was Amazon's normal policies and procedures.

So, what exactly do you consider an appropriate response from Amazon? Dropping the tagging system? Making certain categories of books "immune" to the tagging system?

[cchan8.livejournal.com]

I'm curious whether anyone actually checked Amazon to see whether the books really did become unsearchable, or if people just believed the rumors without verifying themselves.

Speaking of vibrators on Amazon, I recently found them in the search results after entering the keywords "rabbit" and "health."

[carisjax.livejournal.com]

Well, I just did a couple of search and my favorite result was that number 6 under all departments key words: "gay" "erotica" was a salad spinner.

[grimmtooth.livejournal.com]

Agreed with many here - Amazon is not off the hook if it's someone exploiting store mechanics. They set that up. They can correct it. Databases aren't made of magic and kitten fluff, and "we're just victims" is not a credible response.

[carisjax.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but what about the people that automatically assumed malice from Amazon? The ones that accused Amazon of having a double standards (which is probably not the case, since the same tactics could have been used against material that they found to be objectionable), bigotry and discrimination? Wouldn't they owe Amazon an appology?

[grimmtooth.livejournal.com]

People that won't take the time to learn about the issue for realsies aren't likely to apologize at any rate. They're more content to bleat about it. I have to fight my inner bleater all the time, it's the easy way to go.

(I don't always win, either)

[carisjax.livejournal.com]

So they are off the hook, because it is human nature, but we have to hold Amazon to a higher standard?

[grimmtooth.livejournal.com]

Amazon's selling a product. Amazon made promises about that product that they failed to deliver on. So no, they don't get a free pass. They have to take responsibility for thier defective product and the distress it has caused - unless they really ARE stupid enough to do this as a policy, which BTW is still not out of the question.

(human nature is to be silly ... corporate nature is to be self-destructively so)

I hold the people I know to certain standards, but I don't police them. I plan on treating those "they" people the same way I'd treat someone at work that was like that. Outside of that I have no suggestions.

Somebody starts an invasion or something, I might get concerned. But basic laziness is not on my list anymore.

[grimmtooth.livejournal.com]

Let me restate that, because I think I'm coming across as an ass.

Flatly stated, Amazon is held to the standard of delivering the product they promised.

I don't let these other people off the "hook" because I just don't care what they think. The human nature here is my apathy about these people. You're free to feel otherwise.

Given how corporates generally behave, I can even understand the natural assumption that evil is afoot. It seems to be in fashion.