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Yep, noticed it this morning. Was hoping it was just some kind of glitch in the system, and that the "likes" would pop back up. Too bad.
How are we supposed to find things, or be found?
I read somewhere that they're experimenting with the like buttons, so they're showing up and disappearing all the time. Don't know what the end result will be.
Tags on all my books disappeared some time ago, but the "like" buttons have stayed. Amazon may be just experimenting as Jacqueline suggested.
Hi Neil,I think the problem here is a legal one. The internet is carrying stories at present of Facebook being sued for using the "like" button. The estate of a deceased former computer developer have laid claim to the patent used for the "like" button. This, of course, has knock-on effects for any social media site using the "like" button facility (or similar). My guess is the removal of the like button is a precautionary legal move by Amazon, pending the outcome of the law suit. If ownership of the patent is established then the owner of the patent will potentially be owed large sums of money for those sites using it. Amazon, in my experience, are a good bunch and their records of likes will still be kept somewhere no doubt. One would hope you have not seen the last of the popularity indicators on your books - it may be that it simply appears in a different form when the legal dust settles. As always, as Indies at the foot of the great corporate mountain, we can only sit round our camp fire, chink our literary bottles, and see what trickles down!
My likes are still there on .com. They must be removing them in waves, the same way they did with tags. Considering how much indie authors contribute to Amazon's bottom line, you'd think they'd treat us better.
Julian wrote: "...we can only sit round our camp fire, chink our literary bottles..."Mine's a gin & tonic. Do 'likes' actually do anything, apart from giving an author a warm glow?
Julian wrote: "Hi Neil,I think the problem here is a legal one. The internet is carrying stories at present of Facebook being sued for using the "like" button. The estate of a deceased former computer developer..."
It sounds plausible but what I don't understand is why Amazon didn't realize that about the "like" button when they started using it. Was it after FB instituted the usage of it or before?
Steph wrote: "Julian wrote: "...we can only sit round our camp fire, chink our literary bottles..."Mine's a gin & tonic. Do 'likes' actually do anything, apart from giving an author a warm glow?"
Steph, that is so cool. I am still laughing. Succint. To the point. Chic and Sleek. Good one!
Pamela - I am afraid I have no more info than that which I posted. I may even be wrong, but in this litigious world I would not be surprised if I wasn't (litigation double negative double speak!)
Mine's gone, and now free books are posted on a separate page and are not visible next to sold books.To see the free books, the reader has to know about them and click the free button. It's not easy to see a free book like before.
Mine's gone, and now free books are posted on a separate page and are not visible next to sold books.To see the free books, the reader has to know about them and click the free button. It's not easy to see a free book like before.
My MacBook has both safari and google chrome search engines installed. When I view my book on Amazon with safari, no likes. When I view with google chrome, they are all there. Must be a browser issue.
I use with Google Chrome and no Likes
Hmm, I use Firefox and I still see my Likes. Weird!
Thanks, all. Julian, especially helpful.
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I don't even think that I have any likes but the problem I have with this is that Amazon should've come up with their own type of device and not a Facebook-esque one. It sounds like once authors and readers got used to it, they snatched the rug out from under them.
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I agree! As an author, I'm also a HUGE reader and I always try to write good reviews of books to help other readers sort through them. I'm so glad to have Goodreads!
Yes. I agree, there is a lot of resentment in the Amazon forums. There are, it is true, a small amount of authors who leave spiteful reviews to big up their own book but most don't.I like reading in the genre I write, and I would love to leave reviews for authors on Zon. I do agree there are issues with dodgy reviews but I think punishing everyone for the sins of the few is rather harsh.
Is there a compromise? I have no idea. Not from the same IP address or resistered address of the author, 6 5 star reviews in a week maybe yes look into it or if the author complains about a spiteful one star review then look into it.
I bet it isn't just authors who leave nasty reviews.
I guess it has gone from one extreme to the other.
All my reviews are from real readers. Not a single friend or family member has ever left a review. A real reader will spot a false 5-star review after five pages into a bad book.
The notion that Amazon is favoring trads over indies is--I hate to be blunt but--just SILLY. Amazon created the indie revolution. Amazon has relentlessly battled the trads in court to break their iron grip on the industry.As for Amazon's new policy regarding reviews written by like-genre authors, I see both sides of that issue. But in the end, Amazon is going to do what makes business sense for Amazon. And since the core of that philosophy from Day One has been taking care of the customer, I suspect they have good data to indicate this is the best way to do that.
could be a browser issue. but then again who knows, one min I can see them, the next I cant so I guess we'll just have to wait and see
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I may be wrong here, but I'm pretty sure tagging was never intended for the author/book, but to monitor the buyer's preferences. Same with likes. Amazon may have started as a book seller, but its goal has never been to promote authors. They're in business to promote customer purchasing. Free titles are a way to get the customer in the virtual door where they will likely buy something else.I'm a huge Amazon fan. Without them, I would be hawking my books door to door instead of climbing their charts, but their royalties are lower than other purveyors which is a cost effective way to support those freebies. I make it up in volume because they are the biggest bookseller in the world, but I never make the mistake in thinking they give a tinker's dam for little ole me.
Their business practices - reviews, tags, likes - are designed to make them money. If the system doesn't work in their favor, the practice will be discontinued. It has nothing to do with us.
Jacqueline wrote: "I may be wrong here, but I'm pretty sure tagging was never intended for the author/book, but to monitor the buyer's preferences. Same with likes. Amazon may have started as a book seller, but its g..."I'm pretty sure you're right. :)
Amazon has done a wondrous thing for authors because it was a good thing to do for Amazon customers which in the end is best thing to do for Amazon. Plain old business sense. Just executed in an extraordinary way.
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Hey everyone! My name is Tanner, I live in Arizona. I am actually an author, I work with both YA and Romance. I actually wanted to take a second and welcome everyone to my fan page on Facebook! Everyone is welcome and I encourage you to check it out. If you are a reader, I am constantly posting quotes and sneak peaks of my current work in progress. If you are an author, I would love to hear from you, I will gladly promote your novels! I hope everyone out there has found the book of their dreams. See you soon!https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tanner...
I think the best thing to do is to focus on Amazon customer reviews at this point.Speaking of which, it would be amazing if any of you guys could buy/review my newly released inspirational book "Win No Matter What." It's made up of a collection of motivational stories. Ebook version is only $3 and most profits are going to charity to fight global poverty!
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Seems Amazon has decided to get rid of all ‘like’ buttons and tags for books and products. Why, you ask? I have a theory.
The rise of indie publishing and authors self-publishing and selling their own work has skyrocketed. And not just in the publishing world, in all aspect of the entertainment industry. This last Grammy Awards is a perfect example of how independents are taking over. More than half the awards went to artists who published under their own labels. Even the song of the year has no major label backing.
So, why is Amazon so afraid of independents when they appear to be gaining popularity, respect, and success? They’re not. It’s the big publishers who are.
Independent authors are usually also marketing machines and spend hours promoting their own books. And one of the best ways was by encouraging readers and friends to ‘like’ and tag. Which book would grab your interest more, one published by Random House that has twenty ‘likes’ or an independent book that has 300 ‘likes’? That’s what scares the big three. Getting rid of the ‘likes’ and tags greatly diminish the opportunity for readers to stumble upon a book just by searching random keywords. What was once a level playing field between indies and the traditionally published author has become greatly skewed. And that only hurts the reader looking for a good story.
All my books had many more than 100 ‘likes’ each and I think that definitely drew attention to the content. Think about it, if you had two books side by side, both with great reviews, one book with ten ‘likes’ or one with a hundred, which would you take a look at?
My sales have dropped since Amazon incorporated these new “indie buffers” so the big publishers can sell more books. What puzzles me is why Amazon would continue to try and keep the independents from selling thousands of copies? After all, royalties is money no matter who is selling. It just doesn’t make good business sense to hamper a segment of profit.
Though Amazon gives traditionally published books precedence over indies, as the recent Grammy Awards showed, there is no stopping the rising tide of new age artists. The internet will allow us to sell our books worldwide forever with no limit on the possible audience. Whether on Amazon, Smashwords, Nook, Kobo, or any of the thousands of other bookselling sites, a good story will always find its readership.
That said, I bid farewell to the combined 2,500 + ‘likes’ my books used to have and I thank all those that took the time to check me out and hit the buttons. I ask that you re-tweet and repost this blog to as many sites and social media as you can to let Amazon know that the indie author is here to stay and we can all work together to share our stories with the world.
http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com