#amazonfail
Ah, the power of the internet. Or rather, the people behind the internet. I’m in love with how information, rumors, photos, speculations, data and fears move so quickly through so many anonymous lives. Then, when something like this happens how people band together to use the internet not only to react but to change minds.
It all started when author Mark Probst wrote on his blog about a curious incident in which all of his novels (which contain homosexual characters and themes) began disappearing from the sales rank numbers. That’s a problem because those numbers are used to generate lists and in turn those lists are used by consumers to purchase books. So…what’s up?
Here’s the answer he received when inquiring about his numbers:
Uh, no, you don't. -picture from Rocko's Modern Life, Nickelodeon
“In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude “adult” material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature.
Hence, if you have further questions, kindly write back to us.
Best regards,
Ashlyn D
Member Services
Amazon.com Advantage”
Uh huh. Let’s be clear. Mark Probst novels are not ’steamy’ enough to be considered erotic and even if they were… In fact, as he points out, his novel The Filly is meant for young adult readers. But this post isn’t about how ridiculous or unfair the whole ordeal is – this is about what people did about it. What you can do about it.
Twitter exploded. Adding the hashtag #amazonfail to the end of their tweets, the public expressed their anger, shared updated news and blogs. The result, Amazon answered with this:
I’ll pause while you laugh. If you really want to continue the Amazon onslaught add #glitchmyass to the end of your tweets.
How does this effect the graphic world? So far, it hasn’t appeared to, which isn’t surprising. The amount of young children carried into Watchmen proves that the general public still thinks books with pictures are for kids. Yaoi and explicit graphic novels still have their sales rank as do Alex Sanchez and Nancy Garden -two young adult writers who focus on gay themes. Though a quick last check reveals that Alex Sanchez’s brilliant Rainbow Boys lost its ranking.
And it looks like it probably won’t ever spread. This censorship was cut off in a matter of hours!
Will there be another movement? One that pushes for Amazon to reinstate the “glitch”? Probably but I don’t see it being that strong. Usually the first outcry is the loudest, the strongest. Having something taken away from you is a powerful motivator and this weekend, we took it back.
On that note, get pumped about the power of the people with The Getbackers! Then read some yaoi – I’ve heard Red Blinds the Foolish is really good. Also, if you want a great overview of the situation plus updates plus blacklisted titles and shocking titles that still stand – check out this Jezebel post. – link via Precocious Curmudgeon.
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Power to the people!