It has been announced today that Amazon has acquired Goodreads. From the press release,
Amazon and Goodreads share a passion for reinventing reading,” said Russ Grandinetti, Amazon Vice President, Kindle Content. Goodreads has helped change how we discover and discuss books and, with Kindle, Amazon has helped expand reading around the world. In addition, both Amazon and Goodreads have helped thousands of authors reach a wider audience and make a better living at their craft. Together we intend to build many new ways to delight readers and authors alike.
How will this change the face of Goodreads, or will it change anything at all? A lot of people are excited about this news because it will mesh both book review worlds but others are worried about the integrity of the reviews on Goodreads now that it will be owned by Amazon. How do you feel about this development?
Read the announcement on Goodreads
Author (and reader) Rachel Bateman has written a wonderful blog post that sums up the fears a lot of authors and readers are having.
To be honest, I’m really not happy about this development. GoodReads was perfect just the way it was, and I feel like with it now under Amazon things are going to change – and not for the better. And so many companies seem to be eaten up these days, I’d much rather GoodReads stood in an independent capacity. :S
It’s not surprising but I’m a bit sad because I enjoyed that Goodreads stood alone as well. What a wonderful acquisition for Amazon–not only all the marketing data but I’m sure their sales will increase. Also, what will this mean for Barnes and Noble? Guessing its another strike against them as they flail in the market. We shall see how it all plays out. fingers crossed
Aw, CRAP. This means Goodreads is going to become Amazon-ified, which means it’s going to be not as good. Which sucks. 🙁
Hopefully it’ll turn out better than we all expect.
Doesn’t Amazon already own Shelfari? You can’t help but wonder if these two are going to keep being operated separately or if they will some how be merged.