Amazon cuts social-networking features for authors, customers

Amazon killed its "Friends" networking feature that had enabled authors and readers to forward messages through the online retailer.

It's the latest in several recent steps Amazon has taken restricting communication among authors and customers. (Update: please see the first comment below this post; Amazon has blocked new authors from its Connect blogging feature.)

Until recently, Amazon's "Friends" feature has been a popular way for authors to recruit amateur reviewers to critique their work, as explained in this guide.

Here's how it used to work: Authors who visited a reviewer's profile could click a link to send a "Amazon Friends Invitation." If the invitation was accepted, the friends were listed on each others' Amazon profiles, and could exchange e-mail through Amazon. Privacy was assured because neither friend needed to make their e-mail address public.

The Friends feature had enabled self-published authors to supply complimentary review copies and compete with big-name authors with more resources. Few independent authors can afford $15,000 to enroll their book in Amazon Vine, in which Amazon mails advance review copies to its Top Reviewers.

Now, do-it-yourself authors will need to work harder to find reviewers. On the redesigned profile pages, there is only a yellow button on the top right labeled "Add to Interesting People." Clicking here produces a pop-up box containing a checkbox for "Add as an Amazon Friend." But the process is no longer reciprocal; Amazon does not notify the person you've selected as a friend.

If you have an Amazon account, you can visit your own Amazon profile page at this address: http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/. Here are examples of other Amazon profiles:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A2KEKKJ9CAC2KC
http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A2BMBIS5SKD7AB
http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A3UM5IR9AZL1WZ

Clearly, this eliminates most of the benefits of being "friends" on Amazon. If there is no way to communicate, the value of the friendship is diminished.

My personal take on why Amazon has been scaling back these features: certain account details -- such as wish lists, birth dates, "favorite items" and recent purchases -- were visible to other Amazon Friends. Although these displays can be adjusted using profile settings, Amazon has received complaints by folks irritated by a perceived privacy invasion.

The good news is, there's more than one way to contact Amazon reviewers: Googling their names and the hometown they list on their Amazon reviews. For example, when I published my latest book, there were several dozen new reviewers I was able to find by Googling their name (provided they didn't use a nickname when signing their Amazon reviews). Eventually you can find contact information from the reviewer's blog, Web site, or other social-networking profile.

Amazon has been gradually cutting its social-networking features available to authors. Other recent changes:

• Authors' Amazon Connect blog posts are truncated on book detail pages. Previously, the three most-recent posts appeared on book detail pages in their entirety, now only a few lines appear. Also, authors can no longer specify which titles the blog posts will appear with, which severely reduces their value.
  
• Book detail pages no longer contain a link to the author's profile page. Currently the only practical way of finding a profile to search Google for "Amazon.com: profile for [name]."

One more detail: Technically, it's still possible to send a Amazon Friends invitation, but you need to know the person's Amazon-registered e-mail address beforehand. If you do, click the link at the bottom of your profile page labeled "Invite new friends."

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