QUESTION #2: MARCH 25, 2020




Why was the use of recommendations beneficial to Amazon?
Why was it controversial? (Pg. 100-101)

Comments

  1. It was beneficial to amazon because it allowed each persons shopping experience to be tailored to the individual and by recommending items based on their previous interests, it gave customers an incentive to buy it because they would probably like it.

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    1. Not only were recommendations a big thing, but when Amazon recognized you? (i.e. "Welcome, Aakash!") that feature was POPULAR! And everyone copied it.

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    2. I agree with this, especially with the popular "If you like x, then you'll like y" feature.

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    3. I think that extra incentive to buy more and more items probably was very beneficial to Amazon in growing a customer base.

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    4. Honestly, IDK how I figured out what to read or watch before that was a thing!!

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  2. I like the idea of recommendations because it was able to expand markets and what people bought from Amazon, giving people a generally better user experience.

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    1. I agree that it did give the user a better experience. It allowed them to have trust in credible products that are worth their money, ultimately giving more money to amazon.

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  3. Recommendations and reviews were beneficial to Amazon because it allowed customers to tell other people how well the book was, causing more people to buy the product. It became a key component to online retail. It was controversial because authors resented bad reviews getting posted along with their books.

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    1. I agree with this, I think it was useful for users to get feedback or an overview of a book before they order a book that they may not enjoy.

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    2. This was important because we couldn't physically check out the book. It wasn't until recently that you could "look inside" or read the first chapter before you bought it, so recommendations served the purpose of previewing a book.

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    3. The way amazon did things really worked at selling product. That's why these features are on every retail site now. Amazon figured out the formula early on and grew massively because of it.

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    4. I agree with this as well. Recommendations not only helped Amazon's success, but it inspired other sites on the web to follow this model.

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  4. Using recommendations was beneficial to Amazon in that it built a reputation for reliability among its users. This was a huge differentiator for online retail. Although it did bring Amazon success, it was controversial because authors were unappreciative of bad reviews displayed alongside their books.

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  5. I think it was beneficial because it encouraged users to buy more books based on their likes and other people's likes to increase their sales. I think it was controversial because anyone could post reviews, and bad reviews were posted alongside books on the sales page and this could discourage people from buying books based on incorrect reviews. I do think it was important for Amazon not to keep honest reviews on their site.

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    1. I think that fact that anyone could review was crucial to the business model, to get unfiltered views on the book.

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    2. And some of those reviewers became powerhouses themselves. The first of these was Harriet Klausner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Klausner

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    3. I meant to say I think it's important for Amazon to keep honest reviews on their site. I changed the sentence and forgot to take out the "not". Oops :)

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  6. Recommendations built a sense of trust with users and that is what made it so revolutionary. You can't see reviews when you shop irl but with an online business with the nature of Amazon, you need reviews so that consumers can see what is the best product, in theory.

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    1. That's true that reviews gave Amazon another aspect that brick and mortar stores don't have because you can read reviews right underneath a product online, but you don't get that same experience in person.

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    2. That's a great point. The trust was such an important factor and it probably helped grow their business because a community was built. I also never thought about the fact that you can't see reviews in person, but that is definitely a big factor.

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  7. Recommendations and reviews were really important to Amazon because they started credibility on the platform and made users accountable to help each other in choosing to buy products. If you weren't satisfied with a purchase, you now had a responsibility to warn others about buying it and a community evolved from it. I think it was controversial because authors didn't want their books to get bad reviews, but then good reviews became a driving force behind making recommendations to others.

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  8. It was beneficial for Amazon because it showed people what they would probably want to buy, which meant that they were more likely to make an order. It also allowed people to see reviews and understand if they would like the book. This meant that sales would go up. This was controversial because it meant that Amazon was displaying an opinion, something that authors would not be happy with.

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  9. The use of recommendations was beneficial to Amazon and the online community because it showed user feedback. It created a connection and reliability factor as people were giving their honest inputs to help others. It was controversial because these opinions could offend and affect the sales of certain authors.

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    1. That's still a big deal today. Some authors respond to negative reviews (and that never ends well).

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    2. People never like receiving negative feedback on something they're proud of. I doubt that will ever go away.

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  10. This was because with recommendations it was specifically tailored to each person so as they were looking at one product they were faced with another one that would immediately pique their interest, thus enticing them to want to buy it. This was controversial because the reviews could be fabricated to make the product seem really good or really bad so the customers don't really know if the reviews are legit.

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    1. do you think that people were more worried about fake reviews or negative reviews? i dont see how you can fake a book review

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    2. I think they were probably afraid of negative reviews but if someone is motivated enough by the subject of a book or the author they could fake the review and give it one star.

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  11. it helped them stand out from physical retailers, because they could give an air of personality and promote user community. they were controversial because the authors of the books didnt want people to post their personal opinions next to their books, but amazon thought it was important

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    1. Truthfully, I don't think negative reviews hurt books in the long run - if a book is terrible, word will get out somehow!!

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    2. When you go on Amazon do you trust the recommendations you see?

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    3. I do! The recommendations fit me decently well, sometimes they're a little odd, but they're definitely helpful when I want to try something new.

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    4. well all of them are cookie generated, so no i dont really trust the internet watching me, but i do trust the buyer reviews, especially if im trying to but something cheap that probably isnt good quality

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    5. Recommendations are usually a bit wacky, but I always read reviews, especially if I'm trying to buy clothes (which I usually only do when I need something last minute for spirit week)

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  12. It was beneficial because recommendations bring products to people's attention, making them more likely to buy something. Authors didn't like that negative reviews could be displayed. (I posted a comment saying essentially this, but received an error message so I'm answering again to be safe)

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  13. Recommendations benefitted Amazon because many people would find that a book might've been exactly what they were looking for and they would go on to buy something from their recommended. It also may have given them a greater sense of reliability. It was controversial because there weren't always honest reviews and made it difficult to trust anything that was posted.

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    1. Yeah! I think there are also times when you don't realize you want/need something until it's recommended, and then it's hard not to buy it

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