Currently viewing the tag: "amazon"
Kindle bookmark:
iBooks bookmark:
Ever heard of “don’t bend the pages, use a bookmark!” in your childhood?
Warren Ellis (via Daring Fireball) on Amazon customer support:
“Isn’t it strange, to be so shocked by actual efficient, friendly and delightful customer service? To have a global electronics company say, “well, hell, we’re sorry about this, how about we sort this out quickly and cheaply for you instead of humping you right in the eyesockets and stealing your wallet?” “
Copying good strategies and tactics is the next best thing that can happen in a market (second to inventing them); mimicking products and features, as Samsung and Google do – is subhuman. Don’t give me the “this is business” crap; a circus chimp is also making money by mimicking people, that doesn’t turn it into a human.
Mafia message to its “business partners” was this: “You keep paying me until you’re stronger than me“.
The bad part of this story was nobody felt stronger than Mafia, therefore all the “partners” were paying up until their end.
The good part, though, was that for everybody it was clear they’d never be able to match Mafia resources, force, determination and so on. Being stronger or weaker than Mafia was a no-brainer, therefore there wasn’t much trouble for Mafia to rein. No blood, at least as long these “business partners” were not brain-washed.
Let’s leave the Mafia, but keep its message, with a twist. Let’s say Somebody tells you this “You keep paying me until you’re smarter than me“. What’s the dynamic in this case?
The results are the exact opposites of the Mafia case’s:
First, everybody would think they are smarter, so they all stop paying without a doubt.
Second, as everybody feels smarter and stops paying, there will be a bloodbath. Unless, there isn’t a bloodbath.
On the contrary, if you challenge this Somebody and prove to be really smarter, you’re free and happy; if you’re not that smart as you hoped, this Somebody will help you make a living with a share revenue and you’re also free and happy.
This Somebody is Apple and it says: unless you have a smarter solution to sell your stuff, you can use my premises, address my customers and still make 70% of the total revenue.
Now, ReadWriteWeb’s Richard MacManus, on Amazon’s cloud based Kindle:
Today Amazon launched an HTML5 browser version of its market leading eReader application, Kindle. Called Kindle Cloud Reader, it’s a direct response to the 30% cut of sales that Apple now takes from in-app purchases and subscriptions via iOS apps. The 30% Apple toll hits businesses like Amazon hard, because the margins on book sales are slim enough as it is. Should Apple be concerned about that? You bet. It’s a going to end up being a very large hole in its wall, caused by companies wielding HTML5 sledgehammers. Amazon has struck one of the first blows.
Why should Apple be concerned? Amazon decided they don’t need iOS to address their own customers and Apple’s, as they decided they have a smarter solution for delivering their books. Good for them! The proof that Richard is “writing it wrong” is Amazon actually being able to to leave iOS and still be free and happy!
The next stupid thing from RWW:
Apple’s App Store is a classic walled garden. Apple controls what apps are approved, just as AOL used to control what content its users could access on the Internet.
This couldn’t be more wrong. One is education, the other one was censorship; although these two might look alike for some unfortunate illiterates, “censorship” and “education” are opposites, at least for those who got a taste of one.
For some, it looks strange for Apple to keep 30% of all sales. I wonder why; maybe because people got used to be given stuff for free, already?
On the face of it, it’s hard to believe those claiming outrage aren’t primarily motivated by the fact that this is Apple, and any Apple headline is “news.” Let’s face it, “Amazon’s 70% Cut is Evil and Publishers Will Perish” is an article few would have read.
TheSmallWave via @counternotions
