Category: Technology Author : Duncan Riley Posted: April 12, 2009
Tags : amazon, amazonfial, amzn
As we reported earlier today, Amazon has been removing GLBT related books from its sales pages on the grounds that they are “adult content” even when they aren’t.
Amazon is now denying that they are banning gay books from their sales lists, saying instead that the removal of GLBT material is a “glitch.” As I noted on Twitter, since when could a “glitch” be homophobic. There’s also a problem with what can best be described as an attempt to paper over a PR nightmare: Amazon has already told at least one author it wasn’t a glitch but a policy decision. So far, nobody believes the glitch story, even if it turns out to be somehow true.
PR disasters on a Sunday are always a little rough, and no doubt that the Amazon PR team has been caught off-guard. They’ll no doubt try to spin a better story in the coming days to explain their homophobic “glitch,” but it may be too late.
Twitter is already being flooded with people calling for Amazon boycotts and users who have canceled existing orders, and others who have sworn to close their Amazon accounts for good.
Angry Twitter users alone may not account for millions in lost sales, but it’s the seed of something much larger. Every angry Twitter user will tell their friends that Amazon is homophobic. And they’ll tell their friends….and before you know it Amazon will lose tens of thousands of customers, maybe even more. Even if Amazon spins their heart out now, the damage has already been done, and there will be no stopping lost orders; the only possibility is to mitigate the flood.
A stretch? well, so is calling this thing a “glitch” when it’s pretty clear that GLBT content has been targeted. We may have just seen a company crucified on Twitter (appropriate given it’s Easter Sunday) and #AmazonFail will go down with Dell (Dell-Hell) in the history books of companies that did the wrong thing, and were damaged by social media.
I’d be selling AMZN stock when the NASDAQ opens Monday morning US EDT if you hold any, if not for the hit on sales they’re about to take, but because they were stupid enough to do this in the first place, whether you agree with the politics or not.
Apr 12, 2009
In addition to the obvious homophobia, I'm troubled by what this means for the future of digital censorship: http://urbzen.com/2009/04/12/making-books-disap…
Apr 12, 2009
If this were censorship, why are all of the items still available on amazon.ca and other sites? This really does seem like a glitch…
Apr 12, 2009
Joe User: When rankings are removed, the book disappears from many standard search results. For example, when I searched for Dancer from the Dance earlier today, the current edition – which is the one the ranking has been removed from – was nowhere on the results page. All that was there were some used copies and four pages of unrelated flotsam. I had to go through one of the used copies and click on the author's name to bring up the current edition. When LGBT books are actually removed from search results, including results for that very book, I think we can start talking about censorship. Whether it's deliberate on Amazon's part or a nefarious third party exploiting some unrelated but idiotic policy remains to be seen, as will the actions that Amazon will take.
Apr 12, 2009
I think “losing millions” is a long stretch.
Yes, something happened, one way or another. Yes, *some* people are upset.
But most people aren't going to even find out about this. And the ones that hear it from friends or family will likely discount it.
And all of those complaining on Twitter? You can't take them seriously.
People are not going to give up the convenience and awesomeness that is Amazon because of this little incident. Maybe they see a *very small* dip in sales for a short period, but the only ones that will continue a boycott are the same ones who walk in parades, hold demonstrations, and write their Congressmen.
Remember all those people who were going to leave Facebook if Zuckerberg et. al didn't do some action X? X could be the new layout change, mini feed, or any number of things…
The point is that those users didn't leave. Ever.
–Kyle
Apr 12, 2009
I have a “shop” on Amazon and the problems with Amazon are legion. People really have no idea how Amazon manipulates things to give false impressions. A new edition of a book which I helped publish was put on Amazon. To the surprise of the publishers Amazon had a big link telling people that Amazon was selling it cheaper than the publisher. Yet Amazon had never purchased this edition from the publisher so how could they sell it cheaper? They, in fact, then redirected viewers to a different edition of the book entirely. So they advertised it as the same edition but when you clicked on their link you were actually taken to a different edition. If you didn't notice that you got shunted to an out of date edition you would know it. And something like 82% of the people seeking that book, according to Amazon, “bought' the old edition Amazon was pretending was the same edition.
My advice, if you must use Amazon, is never buy directly from Amazon. Look at the tiny links they try to hide to other dealers on Amazon, who have independent shops there. Try to contact them directly and buy directly, cutting Amazon out. This is hard because Amazon now hides the bookstore's contact details from you and your contact details from the bookstore.—to prevent you from dealing with each other. Of course, that means if there is a problem you must go through Amazon to talk to each other. Often such messages get lost and you never know the bookstore tried to tell you there was problem (you probably blame the store not realizing where the problem sometimes lies). The way around this is to send a query to the bookstore via Amazon. Ask any quesiton you can think of, like “do you have more copies available or can I pay you extra to ship by UPS. You can't include your phone number or it will get blocked. Amazon will send the message to the bookstore.
At this point the bookstore can respond to you directly because your email will now be visible to them — though it was hidden before. Ask the bookstore if they will accept an email or phone order. Most will. Now go to them directly and order the book. Amazon over charges for shipping in many cases (especially if you are Canadian) so this can save you money. And the bookstore, who is actually doing most the work, will now get most the profit. As Amazon sets things up they take most the profit from the bookstore even though the bookstore is responsible for any loses, such as items going missing in the post. Deal directly with the book vendor whenever you can.
I used to be a big Amazon customer until I discovered how badly they treat bookstores. Now I use them for research but I won't order though them anymore. You can do the same.
Apr 13, 2009
As of 6:00AM central time Monday morning, Sharmila S. of Amazon.com customer service assures me that this was still, yes that's right, still just a glitch. Amazon is not taking this seriously. They think it's just an image issue, and all they need to to is repeat their branding message “just a glitch” enough times until it sinks in and everyone buys it. Not gonna happen. This is more than an image problem… This is about real harm and real damage done to real people. The public at large is harmed when infrastructure such as a book distribution and ranking system is corrupted and co-opted. Amazon has proven it's self to be the anti-thesis of freedom of access to information. Amazon is now the anti-thesis of freedom.
transcript of the e-mail I got this morning from Amazon:
http://www.yudc.com/amazonfail.html
Apr 13, 2009
That's not necessarily true. A select group on Twitter sometimes succeed in bullying a large corporation.
Apr 13, 2009
I guess i will start buying from amazon now!!!!!!!! Go amazon at least someone has morals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Apr 14, 2009
I know that this is completely different do when fandom voiced out against LiveJournal back when they started banning accounts for “erotica”, but from that, LiveJournal happened to dropped–many deleted their accounts, cancelled their memberships, causing the company profits to drop. If it happened on LiveJournal, Twitter can make it happen to Amazon.
Apr 15, 2009
http://www.amazonfail.com needs a good home – someone should use the site to continue to keep this movement alive.
Apr 15, 2009
Your article turned out to be very prescient, in light of AMZN's price drop this week.