Mary Newman's Blog - Posts Tagged "facebook"

One of the fun things about being an avid reader, which I most definitely am, is writing reviews for those books I really enjoyed. I'm finally getting back to that. I'd taken a break from doing much more than the star rating here on Goodreads or Amazon.

One of my favorite authors, Alexa Land, had a problem a couple weeks ago with Amazon removing her reviews because they said they were written by "friends". This came down to Amazon looking at Goodreads and Facebook friends as I-know-you-well-visit-your-home-call-you-on-the-phone-regularly kind of friends. This completely ignored, of course, that most authors connect with their readers, and each other, through social media, as well as the fact that Alexa Land is a pen name. The situation got so out of hand they (Amazon) threatened Alexa with not being allowed to sell her books on their site because she was unfairly manipulating reviews. Yeah, a total crock. It was settled, by the way, but Amazon really didn't handle it well, as far as I'm concerned, and showed just how much they relied on faulty algorithms instead of human beings with a modicum of common sense.

That's the main reason I stopped writing any reviews for a period of time. I didn't want to get an author I enjoyed reading in trouble simply because we were "friends" on Facebook. For the record, I've never met any of my author friends from Facebook. Never attended an author's convention of any type and probably won't ever do so because I'm not comfortable around a lot of people. Yes, we interact on Facebook. Yes, we see each other's posts. But, do we know each other and would I be comfortable inviting them into my home? Probably not because I don't really "know" them, only their online persona.

I don't have my Amazon account connected to my Facebook account, but I'm sure through the world of cyberspace, since I only have one active email account, they do have a way of checking up on who my "friends" are and if I'm writing reviews for them. I have Goodreads and Facebook connected so I can share posts between the two. I'm no longer sure that's a smart thing, now, in light of the fact Amazon owns Goodreads.

Although, I am, once again, writing reviews; it is mostly just here on Goodreads and only if the book was especially awesome. I'm not sure I trust that I'm helping another author out by doing so, and I would never want my review to be seen as undeserved simply because I have "friended" them on a social network.

The really bad thing about this entire situation is that authors depend on reviews in getting their work noticed. They also have come to depend on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter and other social networks as a means of advertising their books. For Amazon to take the stance they have, has effectively taken that form of advertising away from us, singling authors out of any other business who sells their wares on their site. I just don't see how that's a good thing, Amazon.