Pledge against Amazon
Amazon.com
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Barnes & Noble
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Powell's Books
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I have loved Amazon.com. It's been a fabulous resource for research, out-of-print books, my lovely new Kindle, and even occasionally things like yoga clothes or a hard-to-find hair product. But I pledge, as of today, not to buy anything from Amazon until all issues of censorship have been resolved--as in, removed.
Anyone else?
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Rosy Cole says:
I suspect, Louise, it's
I suspect, Louise, it's either some kind of publicity stunt they'll quickly repair, or the work of genuine hackers. Amazon is not that short-sighted.
Louise Marley says:
I wish.
Sadly, a quick survey of some writers I admire, like Nicola Griffith, shows that their books have indeed been deranked. I think the repairs have begun, but they'll take a bit of time.
To be fair, I'm pretty sure this wasn't a corporate-mandated event. I think it's an outgrowth of that "Report as inappropriate" feature on their book pages. A few of the self-righteous could have done a lot of damage with that one.
Dale Estey says:
As I already perceive der
As I already perceive der Kindle to be a tool-o-the-devil, I'm right behind ya.
Louise Marley says:
In the interest of fairness,
today the Seattle Times reports Amazon has apologized, says it's all a mistake, and is working to fix it. What an embarrassment.
Evie Shockley says:
the explanation is a little leaky
Louise,
My understanding is that Amazon is claiming that this is a recent, temporary "glitch" that has affected authors over this past weekend. But I've read that some authors began noticing their books de-ranked as long ago as early February, and that while the problem (may or) may not be intentional, there have been enough problems and warning signs that it amounts to willful neglect. Nothing happened to straighten out this "glitch" until the media caught hold of the story and the petitions (and, dare I say, tweets) started to circulate.
All this to say, I haven't bought a new book from Amazon in a year and a half (they disgusted me around that time with their strong-arm, monopoly tactics around the POD industry, which hugely impacts small presses), and I hope you and others will stick with your boycott of Amazon as long as it shows tendencies toward acting like it has a right to have a stranglehold on book distribution in the U.S.
Thanks so much for spreading the word. Peace.
Louise Marley says:
Recent developments
point to another impressive demonstration of the power of communication. I always thought that the quicker and more thorough interpersonal communication became, the faster the world would change. It's remarkable.