Recent hires by Amazon show that etailer is toying with contextualised, social shopping. In a talent buyout, Amazon have acquired four key employees of social shopping service Quorus in the past month, geekwire reports. Quorus co-founder Logan Bowers was poached to become a senior software engineer at Amazon in November, …

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Thursday 29th December 2011 09:26 GMT Joe Harrison

Is it just me

I don't want "post-click marketing engagement." Last month my MOT was due and I needed a new lightbulb but didn't fancy a trip to Halfords through the xmas shopping crowds. I ordered a bulb online price £1.50 and got it all sorted out.

Then I had an e-mail asking me to fill in a feedback survey. How was my bulb experience? Then two follow-ups after I ignored the first. Maybe yes if I bought a TV but it doesn't work for trivial purchases.

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1. Tuesday 3rd January 2012 17:01 GMT Anonymous Coward
  
  I am SO SICK of getting feedback survey emails and all their followups.
  
  I strongly agree. Like many people in the working world, I receive hundreds of emails a day, and I don't want to deal with even more. It's great that companies are trying to get customer feedback, but since everyone and their brother bombards you with emails requesting feedback for every little thing these days, it's just going to annoy and anger.
  
  Either that, or make the feedback experience A LOT more pleasurable. With treats at the end.
  
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Thursday 29th December 2011 10:08 GMT Ian Stephenson

Colour me cynical..

Amazon bought up Lexcycle (makers of Stanza - arguably the best ebook reader on iOS) and proceeded to bury it - to the point of releasing an "update" that doesn't just impair the program, it actively and totally breaks it. Contact customer services and if you get anything other than buy a kindle it is sorry we wont release another update or roll back to a working version.

They also have not actually told Apple that Lexcycle no longer exists as an entity as Apple suggest that you contact Lexcycle to complain.

So if you liked Quorus say good bye to it.

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Thursday 29th December 2011 10:53 GMT Drew V.

I agree, it sounds like a nightmare for no-nonsense buyers. Something tells me that the Amazon experience is only going to get worse from here on out.

It's way past time they got a serious competitor.

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Thursday 29th December 2011 11:10 GMT Inventor of the Marmite Laser

WTF? Seriously, WTF?

“message their visitors with unique calls-to-action which personalize the site experience.”

Sounds like a death-knell

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Thursday 29th December 2011 14:22 GMT FunkyEric

It's the end of civilisation as we knew it

What on earth makes these cretins think we want / need a "post-click marketing engagement."? Ahhhhh a trip to the high street suddenly sounds so much more appealing.

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Friday 30th December 2011 12:12 GMT Sirius Lee

It's just four people

The article says they're acquiring the skills of four individuals. You think they'll knock up something in a couple of weeks and hang you out to dry. Come on. Bezos is hiring people he believes are knowledgeable to help him work out what he can do with the 'social' stuff - if anything.

You'll remember a blog post by some oompa-loompa a few months ago. In it the author complained that Bezos fretted over every pixel and hired an Apple 'UI guru' to help with the design but ignored every suggestion and let the guru go.

The cost of four people is trivial. However, if it turns out they've some good ideas and it boosts business (because the site's users like what they've done) by even a fraction of 1 percent, they will have earned their money. If not, they'll be parting company and Amazon will move on.

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