At Amazon’s Bookstore, No Coffee but All the Data You Can Drink(nytimes.com)
nytimes.com
At Amazon’s Bookstore, No Coffee but All the Data You Can Drink
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/27/opinion/sunday/at-amazons-bookstore-no-coffee-but-all-the-data-you-can-drink.html
84 comments
Commerce is slowly zooming out - the next step will be less like a mega corp and more like a mega delivery network.
Look at the way information has evolved - first through local gazettes and slowly consolidating into international publishers and newspapers. Then the internet came and blew things up with a new protocol, as we all know.
The creation and delivery of physical products looks like it's going down a similar path. Amazon will be almost like an API for physical products. (Developers in the house, forgive me if my metaphor is off.)
Create stuff, send it it to the API and then wait for customers to ping the API for your products.
It will be an automated network of bots that pick up your products, store it (with refrigeration if need be) and then deliver it to any point around the world. The way information packets flow around the internet - this will be the way physical products flow around the world. 100% automated, end-to-end, fully democratizing product creation.
AI will determine which warehouses get the most of your products but every producer in the world will have access to the best logistics network in the world. Think of how many companies have a moat based on distribution. The promise of eCommerce will finally be fulfilled - and all of this because of driverless car tech and automated warehouses.
Look at the way information has evolved - first through local gazettes and slowly consolidating into international publishers and newspapers. Then the internet came and blew things up with a new protocol, as we all know.
The creation and delivery of physical products looks like it's going down a similar path. Amazon will be almost like an API for physical products. (Developers in the house, forgive me if my metaphor is off.)
Create stuff, send it it to the API and then wait for customers to ping the API for your products.
It will be an automated network of bots that pick up your products, store it (with refrigeration if need be) and then deliver it to any point around the world. The way information packets flow around the internet - this will be the way physical products flow around the world. 100% automated, end-to-end, fully democratizing product creation.
AI will determine which warehouses get the most of your products but every producer in the world will have access to the best logistics network in the world. Think of how many companies have a moat based on distribution. The promise of eCommerce will finally be fulfilled - and all of this because of driverless car tech and automated warehouses.
I like this dream. The only fear is in Amazon's monopoly. The Internet fits your metaphor but was designed so anyone could sign on and play. This delivery network would present far more obstacles even if it were designed for easy onboarding and expansion.
Don't forget the flip side of that, when there are very few mega-corps who provide everything, then everybody [who works] works for them. I've read science fiction where this was culturally significant, since you are part of a tribe which has a long and perfect memory. If you got a bad report from your manager one time, then it can affect you in subtle ways for the rest of your life. If your [favoured] co-worker behaves like a dick to you and you react badly and you get dismissed[0], then this can essentially destroy your life since you won't work under that mega-corp again and perhaps the others won't be that keen on taking you on either. This is a future scenario which is a bit extreme but we can see the indications of it already.
[0] I have personal experience of this from 20+ years ago, and though I'm long since moved on there are companies I remain unwelcome at though I've never worked there. Years afterwards it could have affected me badly except that the HR at the place which asked for a work-history reference and were told nonsense actually dealt with it in an adult manner and were ok with my explanation.
[0] I have personal experience of this from 20+ years ago, and though I'm long since moved on there are companies I remain unwelcome at though I've never worked there. Years afterwards it could have affected me badly except that the HR at the place which asked for a work-history reference and were told nonsense actually dealt with it in an adult manner and were ok with my explanation.
Why stop there? Mega-corps will eventually supersede governments. When Amazon, Google, and Apple all have 10.000.000 employees, then "Waymo v. Uber" isn't just law it's a wartime skirmish! Employment will be more valuable than citizenship. Would make a nice dystopia.
Wouldn't it just! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Government
(I considered linking to its Amazon listing, but that seemed like it would've been a little too on the nose.)
(I considered linking to its Amazon listing, but that seemed like it would've been a little too on the nose.)
I love that book, it made me realize that it's possible to build a capitalist society without government (which is technically completely against the intention of the author who wanted it to be a 1984 style commentary on Capitalism).
It's possible to build a government society without capitalism, too. One wonders whether there's a point to be drawn, not about one system versus the other, but about the potential for mishap inherent in putting too much weight on any one thing.
I mean sure, but I don't know why you'd want to.
That is basically the premise of Syfy channel's TV show, Incorporated.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incorporated_(TV_series)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incorporated_(TV_series)
It was the exact plot of the movie Robocop. There was also a bit of Aliens in the mix.
So Syndicate?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syndicate_(video_game)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syndicate_(video_game)
A year before that was Snow Crash, which described the dominance of corporate enclaves in a compelling fashion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash
Of course, the earlier Neuromancer had many of the same themes. Both are seminal works in the cyberpunk genre.
Of course, the earlier Neuromancer had many of the same themes. Both are seminal works in the cyberpunk genre.
Yeah, Snow Crash is great. Wouldn't surprise me if the Syndicate guys were fans of the book.
Interesting, but what would happen if companies start to print their own money?
If? Video games currently have in-game currency, for which they employ real economists.
MANY companies allow you to fund a wallet of one kind or another for internal transactions.
It's also happened in the past: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_store
MANY companies allow you to fund a wallet of one kind or another for internal transactions.
It's also happened in the past: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_store
Then they'd be competing with other company's money and govt's money. Like Linden dollars was already doing in 2007 (pre-bitcoin era) and IRS had to step in to make the tax obligations clear on the Second Life economy.
Since bitcoin, if you look at all the ICOs on the Ethereum platform then technically all these companies ARE issuing their currency (i.e. tokens).
Since bitcoin, if you look at all the ICOs on the Ethereum platform then technically all these companies ARE issuing their currency (i.e. tokens).
Amazon has more selection with lower cost of entry for small players. With a near-infinite capacity of inventory, Amazon does not sell only books that people read. Given the low cost of Amazon to host your book for sale, the odds of someone without significant traction getting "squeezed out" is much lower than a physical book store, where real-estate is much more valuable. Self-publishing is much easier and cheaper than the alternative.
Amazon made available practically every book in print to its customers, but some continue to fetishize this non-existent egalitarian book store ideal.
Amazon made available practically every book in print to its customers, but some continue to fetishize this non-existent egalitarian book store ideal.
You have a microchip that tracks everything you do. It's called a smartphone.
The internet (if it doesn't get choked out) will continue to provide an avenue for content beyond what the megacorps create.
I think what will happen is a version of what you suggest where essentially megacorps will take care of the broad human needs, but the niches will remain open playgrounds. Until they become mainstream too, opening up new niches.
I think what will happen is a version of what you suggest where essentially megacorps will take care of the broad human needs, but the niches will remain open playgrounds. Until they become mainstream too, opening up new niches.
Might not even make that much difference if they still technically sold every book and product there is, since if your whole life was targeted to you you'd be funnelled more and more into your own personalised bubble anyway.
> These days I'm buying as much as I can from places other than Amazon.
Why? Most of the things you described sound like a much welcome improvement over the stuff we have to deal with now.
Why? Most of the things you described sound like a much welcome improvement over the stuff we have to deal with now.
Microchip tagging was parodied well in Idiocracy.
> no obvious signs of corporate guilt at having driven countless independent bookstores to oblivion
I spent decades browsing bookstores with their paltry inventory of bestsellers, occasionally resorting to ordering a book through them. I like Amazon a lot better (and the prices are far better, too). I buy a ton of books from Amazon.
I don't miss the bookstores.
I spent decades browsing bookstores with their paltry inventory of bestsellers, occasionally resorting to ordering a book through them. I like Amazon a lot better (and the prices are far better, too). I buy a ton of books from Amazon.
I don't miss the bookstores.
When we talk about missing the bookstores, it's more about missing the librarians running them, at least in my opinion. They'd stock the shelves with the discoveries they had made over their life and be able to give very opinionated advice over various books. Talking to them to find your next coup de coeur is better in my mind than browsing the recommended section on Amazon.
There were mainly two types of bookstores, both adversely affected by Amazon, chains like Barnes & Noble on the one hand and independent (i.e. proprietor owned and operated). Chains could have knowledgeable staff, but most of the time they were kids working their first job. Some independents had very knowledgeable owner and staff, but many were just so-so.
In the spirit of HN then:
It seems like if the key value added is talking to the people, requiring a whole bookstore to do so was useful when you needed the bookstore itself but now it's a huge add on cost and hassle.
Effectively they were bundling two reasonably distinct services into one. One of which is now served (generally) better by Amazon.
So with that in mind, could a business be built entirely around the extra value added? Real, personalised recommendations that come from speaking to someone who loves the topic.
Pay for some time to speak to them, and get recommendations.
This could be extended into other fields too, films, tv series and games are the main ones that spring to mind.
It seems like if the key value added is talking to the people, requiring a whole bookstore to do so was useful when you needed the bookstore itself but now it's a huge add on cost and hassle.
Effectively they were bundling two reasonably distinct services into one. One of which is now served (generally) better by Amazon.
So with that in mind, could a business be built entirely around the extra value added? Real, personalised recommendations that come from speaking to someone who loves the topic.
Pay for some time to speak to them, and get recommendations.
This could be extended into other fields too, films, tv series and games are the main ones that spring to mind.
That's actually a great breakdown of a current trend identified by several large retailers. For example Sephora's "Cast Members", Best Buy's "Geek Squad", Apple's "Geniuses" etc.
Their strategy is lift the burden of closing sales for their employees thanks to seamless payment (or even better, Amazon Go technology) and have them focus on adding value through conversation and recommendations.
Their strategy is lift the burden of closing sales for their employees thanks to seamless payment (or even better, Amazon Go technology) and have them focus on adding value through conversation and recommendations.
I doubt many people would pay someone $50/hour to optimize their next $9.99 kindle purchase.
The one-on-one approach does not scale. We already have the many-to-many form of this (goodreads, for example).
The one-on-one approach does not scale. We already have the many-to-many form of this (goodreads, for example).
The hourly cost sounds high, but as an honest question, how long would it take? You likely didn't speak to the proprietor of the book store for an hour every time you visited to get a single book recommendation. Would you pay $5 for 5 minutes and a set of recommendations?
It's worth noting that what we had previously was effectively a store manager working part time as what I'm suggesting. Your hourly cost there is also (if full time) equivalent to well into the top decile of earners in the UK.
> The one-on-one approach does not scale.
Does it need to scale? The previous setup was already a one on one approach. The advantage of it now is that location is not important and I could talk immediately to a recommender pretty much anywhere rather than only the one at my local book store.
It's worth noting that what we had previously was effectively a store manager working part time as what I'm suggesting. Your hourly cost there is also (if full time) equivalent to well into the top decile of earners in the UK.
> The one-on-one approach does not scale.
Does it need to scale? The previous setup was already a one on one approach. The advantage of it now is that location is not important and I could talk immediately to a recommender pretty much anywhere rather than only the one at my local book store.
> Would you pay $5 for 5 minutes and a set of recommendations?
You'd probably need more than 5 minutes for the first set of recommendations, right? If they can give you 5 recs in the first 5 minutes of talking to you, then those recommendations aren't necessarily so personalized (or, at least, the nominal lift above crowd-sourced recs is dubious).
> what we had previously was effectively a store manager working part time as what I'm suggesting.
Good point. Let's call it $20/hour, then? Starts to sound a little better. (but, of course, without a physical footprint & actual books to sell, you need to spend more on marketing, so you need to charge more).
> The advantage of it now is that location is not important and I could talk immediately to a recommender...
I get the appeal. If I was provided reliable, way-better-than-crowdsourced recommendations, then that would be worth a lot to me - easily enough to justify a one-time fee (say, $30) and then $1 per book or $5 per series. I doubt that's possible, though =( Even really close friends with really similar tastes to mine, with whom I have regular long conversations about books, still have occasional misses when the recommend books to me, and vice-versa.
You'd probably need more than 5 minutes for the first set of recommendations, right? If they can give you 5 recs in the first 5 minutes of talking to you, then those recommendations aren't necessarily so personalized (or, at least, the nominal lift above crowd-sourced recs is dubious).
> what we had previously was effectively a store manager working part time as what I'm suggesting.
Good point. Let's call it $20/hour, then? Starts to sound a little better. (but, of course, without a physical footprint & actual books to sell, you need to spend more on marketing, so you need to charge more).
> The advantage of it now is that location is not important and I could talk immediately to a recommender...
I get the appeal. If I was provided reliable, way-better-than-crowdsourced recommendations, then that would be worth a lot to me - easily enough to justify a one-time fee (say, $30) and then $1 per book or $5 per series. I doubt that's possible, though =( Even really close friends with really similar tastes to mine, with whom I have regular long conversations about books, still have occasional misses when the recommend books to me, and vice-versa.
I find the reviews on Amazon to be far more helpful.
Besides, just today I was reading HN and saw a reference to a book. I popped over to Amazon and bought a copy. I never would have heard of the book by any bookstore proprietor (and it was published in the days before those bookstores vanished).
Amazon has hardly eliminated serendipity.
Besides, just today I was reading HN and saw a reference to a book. I popped over to Amazon and bought a copy. I never would have heard of the book by any bookstore proprietor (and it was published in the days before those bookstores vanished).
Amazon has hardly eliminated serendipity.
Everyone reading only the perceived best will have a strange affect on society over time.
“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” -- Haruki Murakami
“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” -- Haruki Murakami
I always find it interesting to read quotes like that. The point is to read everything. But, why a famous author for the quote?
This one, in particular, would be a lot more powerful from a librarian.
This one, in particular, would be a lot more powerful from a librarian.
There's no way Amazon isn't going to make that particular situation better, not worse. The vast majority of the bookstores of yore stocked a few hundred, perhaps a few thousand, titles, and those were necessarily the ones "everyone" was reading.
Today everyone (not just those near a well-stocked bookstore with a good librarian) can browse and order from literally millions of titles.
The (relatively few) people who used to have a well stocked bookstore with a good librarian nearby are probably a bit worse off under Amazon. Everyone else is a lot better off.
Today everyone (not just those near a well-stocked bookstore with a good librarian) can browse and order from literally millions of titles.
The (relatively few) people who used to have a well stocked bookstore with a good librarian nearby are probably a bit worse off under Amazon. Everyone else is a lot better off.
I'd would disagree with that quip. Not everyone interprets things the same way. Two examples, religious texts and the corpus of laws.
The other day I went in to check a bookstore, and it was run by an unabashed fan of bolshevism and FARC. I got the feeling that if this guy ran my country, I would probably be killed by the state.
I've seen other bookstores which at least have a quiet librarian, but frankly I don't know how half the bookstores in Toronto stay afloat.
Amazon has way more selection, including cross-listings from self publishers (which for some obscure topics and authors, is the only way). They don't try to bundle a communist manifesto with your order, and they actually list some details about the book which even somebody who's read it might have missed.
One thing I maybe miss a little is being able to feel and see the print quality of the book in advance, but I think that's more a matter of bias than a judgement of the quality of the contained words.
I've seen other bookstores which at least have a quiet librarian, but frankly I don't know how half the bookstores in Toronto stay afloat.
Amazon has way more selection, including cross-listings from self publishers (which for some obscure topics and authors, is the only way). They don't try to bundle a communist manifesto with your order, and they actually list some details about the book which even somebody who's read it might have missed.
One thing I maybe miss a little is being able to feel and see the print quality of the book in advance, but I think that's more a matter of bias than a judgement of the quality of the contained words.
But we still have libraries, with librarians running them. And those are free.
I never understood why people were mourning bookstores while libraries seem such a better thing anyway.
Libraries could be much better if they stop focusing on the NYT best sellers list. They are starting to come around on indie books (and local community engagement), but it takes time. And, given how a libraries content budget works, a successful library book can suck out all of the budget. This is especially true if it is a book from a big 5 publisher with a high price tag.
Libraries and librarians tend to be more generalists, while niche bookstores and their employers are more focused. If I walk into a bookstore specializing in X then I can be pretty sure that the person working there knows a lot about the subtle differences in all the books about X. The same isn't necessarily true about libraries.
In my experience the books I wanted to read we're often already on loan to someone and I would have to wait for them to be returned or for them to get the book from another branch. It was particularly bad with series.
I was pretty excited by the fact that I could buy my own books when I got my first job. I still miss Borders.
I was pretty excited by the fact that I could buy my own books when I got my first job. I still miss Borders.
Borders was amazing: they even carried conference proceedings.
Never seen that anywhere else.
Never seen that anywhere else.
I don't read a lot of stuff, so Amazon makes a lot more sense.
I'm just outside of the city limits, so a library card would cost me $130 / year. I don't spend much more than that on books plus Amazon ships it to me, so it's less expensive in the end.
I'm just outside of the city limits, so a library card would cost me $130 / year. I don't spend much more than that on books plus Amazon ships it to me, so it's less expensive in the end.
In middle and high school, I lived just outside the curiously squiggly border of the nearest library, and they didn't offer a card at any price. I don't think I'm alone in that. Amazon would have been amazing.
I don't rent books. If they are good enough to read once I want to own the book and be able to refer back to it occasionally.
The three books I am deeply into right now are all a thousand pages and I have been reading two of them for around four months now, and just started the third. Libraries tend to get annoyed when you keep a book for over six months.
That said, I rarely visited used book stores anyways because they usually don't have the books I am looking for.
I mourn the decrease in readers in general. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/10/19/slightly-few...
My problem with public libraries was always the miserable scifi section. I never understood that. Even the littlest bookstores had a bigger scifi section than the library. B+N had racks and racks of scifi.
I also don't really see how independent is a useful thing in a book shop anyway. It's exactly the same books. The literature isn't any better quality. Independent or corporate, they're all just retail middlemen and neither can add anything except being efficient at selling me the book.
Second hand bookshops are a different matter though.
Second hand bookshops are a different matter though.
Pre-internet, independent bookstores excelled at curation and quality recommendations. They provided better access than chain stores, and they often helped the customer avoid weak selections.
Some chain bookstores certainly had a few good staff members, but the selection and consistent quality of the staff was lacking.
I will also humbly suggest that independent bookstores were great places to find likeminded people back when being a geek/nerd wasn't trendy.
Anyway, the internet has solved a lot of the recommendation and curation problems of the past, so the independent bookstores have had to struggle to find a way to add value such that people actually shop there. It's possible, but much tougher than the past, imho.
Some chain bookstores certainly had a few good staff members, but the selection and consistent quality of the staff was lacking.
I will also humbly suggest that independent bookstores were great places to find likeminded people back when being a geek/nerd wasn't trendy.
Anyway, the internet has solved a lot of the recommendation and curation problems of the past, so the independent bookstores have had to struggle to find a way to add value such that people actually shop there. It's possible, but much tougher than the past, imho.
Independent bookstores have different selections as they are often targeted at some niche whereas a chain focuses on bestsellers and proven authors. Still, Amazon has increased my reading by several thousand percent, because the books I read now I wouldn't know about without Amazon nor would I be able to purchase them.
> I also don't really see how independent is a useful thing in a book shop anyway.
What if you never see great book on the shelf because it's an indie book and not published by one of the big 5? That's really where an independent bookshop comes into play. In this way Amazon operates closer to an independent because it pushes indie books as well.
What if you never see great book on the shelf because it's an indie book and not published by one of the big 5? That's really where an independent bookshop comes into play. In this way Amazon operates closer to an independent because it pushes indie books as well.
I miss bookstores, but it's mostly sentimental. Back in the early 90s I used to love to peruse the tech section of our local Borders (a former competitor to Barnes & Noble, in the huge bookstore category).
It was the only place I could go to easily be exposed to technologies and products that I had never heard of. Also great where the game development books that would have a CD just full of the weirdest and craziest games that they got from who knows where.
It was the only place I could go to easily be exposed to technologies and products that I had never heard of. Also great where the game development books that would have a CD just full of the weirdest and craziest games that they got from who knows where.
[deleted]
> no obvious signs of corporate guilt at having driven countless independent bookstores to oblivion
Hmm... at one time, New York City had probably a couple of dozen full-featured daily newspapers. Does the New York Times have any "obvious signs of corporate guilt" about having driven those to oblivion?
Hmm... at one time, New York City had probably a couple of dozen full-featured daily newspapers. Does the New York Times have any "obvious signs of corporate guilt" about having driven those to oblivion?
It's doubtful the NYT would have been the main player in those newspapers' downfalls. The NYT has almost always been seen as having weak local coverage compared to papers like the Daily News and the Post.
But surely in the same way amazon is less specialized in local language books or smaller scale books written by local people than a bookstore. The same still applies
That analogy doesn’t really hold. In the US, the local language is pretty much just english, and I’d be surprised if there was a trend of people in Chicago going to bookstores to buy books written by locals. Not to mention that Amazon is not really weak when it comes to books written by anyone, local or otherwise. They are all likely to be available on Amazon.
Barnes & Noble already did that. "You've Got Mail."
In the UK we almost lost our largest remaining bookstore chain, however they've performed a pretty miraculous turnaround. I'm sure I read a better article in the past than this: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/feb/03/balancing-the-..., but I can't remember where it was. Essentially it boiled down to the new CEO ditching a lot of existing agreements and systems like the bestsellers lists, and instead giving most of the control of stock to the local stores, so each store is now more likely to stock books relevant to the local area.
I've been in a number of their stores over the past year and each one has felt rather different, and I discovered quite a few interesting books I otherwise would never have come across. I hope they continue to be a viable business.
On another note, I've experienced progressively worse delivery and customer service from Amazon over the past two years, causing me to cancel my Prime subscription (which I had from launch) and to stop ordering from them altogether. They need to ditch their crap courier service in the UK.
I've been in a number of their stores over the past year and each one has felt rather different, and I discovered quite a few interesting books I otherwise would never have come across. I hope they continue to be a viable business.
On another note, I've experienced progressively worse delivery and customer service from Amazon over the past two years, causing me to cancel my Prime subscription (which I had from launch) and to stop ordering from them altogether. They need to ditch their crap courier service in the UK.
I want a discovery service that shows me the things "most different (but also quality)" from the things I've already seen. It seems like this should be doable.
That's trivial to do without using any machine learning.
Go to Goodreads/Librarything, choose a subject/genre you never read and choose the 6th highest rated book (to avoid spam/flash popularity problems)
Personally I'm pretty doubtful this method will give you something you actually want to read though.
Go to Goodreads/Librarything, choose a subject/genre you never read and choose the 6th highest rated book (to avoid spam/flash popularity problems)
Personally I'm pretty doubtful this method will give you something you actually want to read though.
> Personally I'm pretty doubtful this method will give you something you actually want to read though.
I've read about 20 books per year for the last three years. I buy most of them through Amazon and always mark them as read on Goodreads in order to get better recommendations.
And yet, I can't remember a single book that I have read exclusively based on showing up as recommended on Goodreads/Amazon. It's usually a word of mouth, some researching, and a couple of classics I've never gotten around to from time to time (currently finishing Fahrenheit 451 for example).
At best, the recommendations end up on my to-read list, usually forgotten, and disappear from there too when I do a cleaning of my to-read list because it got cluttered.
I've read about 20 books per year for the last three years. I buy most of them through Amazon and always mark them as read on Goodreads in order to get better recommendations.
And yet, I can't remember a single book that I have read exclusively based on showing up as recommended on Goodreads/Amazon. It's usually a word of mouth, some researching, and a couple of classics I've never gotten around to from time to time (currently finishing Fahrenheit 451 for example).
At best, the recommendations end up on my to-read list, usually forgotten, and disappear from there too when I do a cleaning of my to-read list because it got cluttered.
In contrast to your experience, I've read over 150 books in the past 2 years and around 50 of them have come from Goodreads/Amazon recommendations.
I assume it depends on the genres, especially with something like Goodreads. I mainly only read a single genre so it must be fairly easy for them to recommend me books.
I assume it depends on the genres, especially with something like Goodreads. I mainly only read a single genre so it must be fairly easy for them to recommend me books.
Yup, I tend to read a lot of genres, going from highly technical ones, to the fiction and science fiction, all the way down to a couple of YA books when I need something really light just to pass my time.
To make the matter even more complicated, I sometimes read books from my own region, not translated into English (which, of course, makes them unavailable on Amazon), so the algorithm would have to count those ones into recommendations too.
I don't think that anyone is investing a lot of effort in solving this gigantic problem. Amazon just wants to sell you more books, it doesn't matter if you read them or not. I don't think that Goodreads has enough of the capacity to make their recommendations actually work for someone as complex as me.
To make the matter even more complicated, I sometimes read books from my own region, not translated into English (which, of course, makes them unavailable on Amazon), so the algorithm would have to count those ones into recommendations too.
I don't think that anyone is investing a lot of effort in solving this gigantic problem. Amazon just wants to sell you more books, it doesn't matter if you read them or not. I don't think that Goodreads has enough of the capacity to make their recommendations actually work for someone as complex as me.
Subscribe to a magazine with a substantial book review section, perhaps even one of the "The X Review of Books" ones. Besides giving you thoughtful reviews (go for some of the books that don't immediately appeal to you, but that the reviewer is really excited about), the reviews are often very interesting discussions of the books' subjects by writers who know their stuff.
I am curious as to how will you define "quality" here? Is it based on wisdom of the crowds or expert reviews or your own personal consumption pattern?
Could you use something like a convolutional deep net -- in it should have similar low-level features to things you have read, but low scores on higher parts of the network?
I mean, if you generated one for each class of people, you'd probably find that there are easier statistical trends, but conceptually.
In fact, now that I think about it a bit more, you likely could use something like the Netflix algorithm and very broadly read people, who overlap on what you have read, then look for books they've read that score lowest on similarity to things you've read based on inverting the scoring mechanism.
It wouldn't be perfect, but with some tuning you could probably make that work as a simpler model than the DNN one.
I mean, if you generated one for each class of people, you'd probably find that there are easier statistical trends, but conceptually.
In fact, now that I think about it a bit more, you likely could use something like the Netflix algorithm and very broadly read people, who overlap on what you have read, then look for books they've read that score lowest on similarity to things you've read based on inverting the scoring mechanism.
It wouldn't be perfect, but with some tuning you could probably make that work as a simpler model than the DNN one.
What you are saying sounds similar to collaborative filtering[0], which afaik is widely used by likes of amazon. The main challenge I find with the collaborative filtering approach is that it gives lot of weight to my recent behavior so it gets boring very quickly. Not to mention the fact that it starts restricting me to narrow genres & inhibiting the discovery of something new & novel.
[0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_filtering
[0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_filtering
What about discovery service called 'talking to people'? Book groups in FB, forums, friends and family... Not only do they actually have good advice, but it has a lot of other merits, too.
I visited the Amazon Bookstore in Columbus Circle when it opened. It was evident that with its vast computing and data facilities, Amazon can solve economic allocation problems with an accuracy and precision beyond the wildest dreams of the planners of the command economy of the former Soviet Union.
> no obvious signs of corporate guilt at having driven countless independent bookstores to oblivion
http://bookweb.org/for-the-record
Barnes and Noble got driven out of business because they tried to be Amazon with store space. Right now it's hard to improve on Amazon's supply chain.
Independent bookstores that add value (carefully curated books, signing events, an educated staff) are doing well. They just have to put effort into it so they can make money.
This is not a case of predatory licensing, it's about adding value. Independent bookstores that are just a crappy offline version of Amazon with no differentiation are getting their lunches eaten, since they just don't add any value.
http://bookweb.org/for-the-record
Barnes and Noble got driven out of business because they tried to be Amazon with store space. Right now it's hard to improve on Amazon's supply chain.
Independent bookstores that add value (carefully curated books, signing events, an educated staff) are doing well. They just have to put effort into it so they can make money.
This is not a case of predatory licensing, it's about adding value. Independent bookstores that are just a crappy offline version of Amazon with no differentiation are getting their lunches eaten, since they just don't add any value.
> Barnes and Noble got driven out of business
The one down the road still seems to be open and not having a liquidation sale. Maybe you're thinking of B. Dalton Bookseller or Waldenbooks?
The one down the road still seems to be open and not having a liquidation sale. Maybe you're thinking of B. Dalton Bookseller or Waldenbooks?
He's thinking of borders
I'm not a fan of Amazon, but for books it is unmatched. I've been in local bookstores and checked reviews on amazon before buying in the store. I have found a local store where its nice to ask for advice, but for computer books especially that isn't any help.
Has anyone found good online alternatives to Amazon for books? Best I've found is jet.com which resells B&N at a lower price subsidized by Walmart - nice, but selection isn't huge. Abebooks is good but is owned by Amazon.
Has anyone found good online alternatives to Amazon for books? Best I've found is jet.com which resells B&N at a lower price subsidized by Walmart - nice, but selection isn't huge. Abebooks is good but is owned by Amazon.
I sometime have Old timers nostalgia and think about all the video store owners, postal staff who delivered telegrams, phone switch operators, dusty mom and pop stores, ceiling fan companies and encyclopedia sellers who have been put out of business by rampant corporate greed of Netflix, Gmails, Skypes and Amazons of the new age. At least Coal Jobs are coming back. Yipee.
Greed? Consumers put those people out of business by opting for convenience and value (at least in the short term).
No one forced people to stop shopping at a mom and pop store, but why the hell would I when I can look up exactly what I want, research it in detail and buy it in less time than it takes for me to get the car down the block.
No one forced people to stop shopping at a mom and pop store, but why the hell would I when I can look up exactly what I want, research it in detail and buy it in less time than it takes for me to get the car down the block.
He's being sarcastic. But no one does seem to consider how much this has gutted local economies
Next you'll be tagged with a microchip and every action you do, every item you purchase, every location you visit will be tracked and used to push you more "specialized" and individualized content and adverts from the said mega corps.
Regarding the books, since the amazon book store is only selling books that people read and if there are nothing but amazon book stores, people can only buy (and read) the books that they sell, which means that a book that they don't sell can't be read, which means it won't be sold and thus cannot be read etc.
These days I'm buying as much as I can from places other than Amazon.