Amazon will acquire Seattle-based Shelfari, a social networking site for bookworms, Shelfari’s CEO has confirmed on the company blog. John Cook broke the news yesterday and has a nice analysis of the ongoing tensions between Shelfari and its top rival, LibraryThing, in which Amazon also has a stake. And TechCrunch reports that Amazon previously invested $1 million in Shelfari. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In his blog post, Shelfari CEO Josh Hug waxes on about joining “the Amazon family” and spouts out all the traditional stuff about what a great team they will make. He also puts out a call to readers for new ideas:
“Amazon and Shelfari are committed to enhancing our members’ experiences so we want to hear from you on what we can do better. What changes or suggestions do you have? Tell us how you’d like to see Shelfari and Amazon work together to make your site experience the best it can be.”
One big question is how Shelfari might work with LibraryThing. When Amazon acquired Vancouver, Canada-based AbeBooks a few weeks ago, it also got a 40 percent stake in LibraryThing. Cook writes that LibraryThing’s CEO has accused Shelfari of astroturfing, the PR practice of planting comments on blogs and the like—in this case, glowing reviews of Shelfari—designed to look like spontaneous, grassroots activity. But hey, there’s bad blood in a lot of families. Why should Amazon’s be any different?
Author: Robert Buderi
Bob is Xconomy's founder and chairman. He is one of the country's foremost journalists covering business and technology. As a noted author and magazine editor, he is a sought-after commentator on innovation and global competitiveness. Before taking his most recent position as a research fellow in MIT's Center for International Studies, Bob served as Editor in Chief of MIT's Technology Review, then a 10-times-a-year publication with a circulation of 315,000. Bob led the magazine to numerous editorial and design awards and oversaw its expansion into three foreign editions, electronic newsletters, and highly successful conferences. As BusinessWeek's technology editor, he shared in the 1992 National Magazine Award for The Quality Imperative.
Bob is the author of four books about technology and innovation. Naval Innovation for the 21st Century (2013) is a post-Cold War account of the Office of Naval Research. Guanxi (2006) focuses on Microsoft's Beijing research lab as a metaphor for global competitiveness. Engines of Tomorrow (2000) describes the evolution of corporate research. The Invention That Changed the World (1996) covered a secret lab at MIT during WWII. Bob served on the Council on Competitiveness-sponsored National Innovation Initiative and is an advisor to the Draper Prize Nominating Committee. He has been a regular guest of CNBC's Strategy Session and has spoken about innovation at many venues, including the Business Council, Amazon, eBay, Google, IBM, and Microsoft.
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