Amazon in the Wringer
The hot book news from the weekend is that Amazon suddenly and inexplicably stripped sales rankings from “adult” books (which includes gay-themed books, even those that wouldn’t get an R-rating, such as Ellen Degeneres’s bio). Online sites lit up in outrage, boycotts were threatened, and the tag #amazonfail became the top trending topic on Twitter.
Amazon is now saying this was a “glitch” and will be fixed shortly. We may never know the truth of what happened, but it’s another lesson in how swift the reaction can be from unhappy customers.
A new Twitter group has formed, #glitchmyass.
Salon, Why did gay books disappear from Amazon?
PC Magazine, Amazon Eliminates Sales Rankings; Twitter Erupts
Entertainment Weekly, Amazon.com under criticism for de-ranking gay-themed books
The Guardian, ‘Gay writing’ falls foul of Amazon sales ranking system
Los Angeles Times, Jacket Copy blog, Amazon responds to queries, blames a ‘glitch’