Why am I showing an old Kindle 2?After seeing the story below, my mind went back to my older Kindles, and this Kindle 2 was one I enjoyed a lot in its day.
Saw today, in the Huffpo, an excerpt from Jason Merkoski's Burning the Page -- the chapter on Inside Story of the Kindle
From what I gather, Merkoski, as a former Amazon staffer and early innovator on Amazon's Kindle team, doesn't offer a glowing look at the whole scene, and the New Times blog area recently had this quote:
' "Q. Why did you leave Amazon?
A. Working at Amazon was like getting an M.B.A. and a Ph.D. at the same time.
It was an incredible education. These were the smartest people I ever worked
with. But Amazon had a dark side as well, as if it were the mean stepmother in a
fairy tale.
There was this push to get great products out to consumers. It makes
a lot of teams very haggard. Amazon is held together by adrenaline, spreadsheets
and people running around like crazy." '
Note to Kindle Edition readers (subscribers) (UK page) of the blog (which shows the most-recent 25 blog articles) - When you click through a link, you can get a more readable version of the web article by selecting Menu/Article View. (Then, press 'back' arrow or Menu/Web View.)
"Will Amazon tremble at Walmart’s same day delivery dream?"
Mediajob's Cheryl Ross describes Walmart's possible plans for same-day delivery, which she apparently feels Amazon might fear, though she then explains why it might not.
I don't know. What do you think about it? From the story: (emphases mine)
' The idea? Offer in-store visitors a discount on their purchases if they agree to deliver a same-day package to a Walmart e-customer on the way home.
Karen E. Edwards, an e-retailing expert from the University of South Carolina, explains:
“Walmart would want to have a proof-of-delivery system, as well as a written agreement with the delivery person that includes a reimbursement clause if the goods are damaged or not delivered. That would probably have a chilling effect on some people who otherwise might have performed the service, but would also reduce the likelihood of theft...”
The company would also need to find a way of establishing that such delivery persons are not Walmart employees and aren’t entitled to Worker’s Compensation, Edwards continued, and there’d need to be a waiver to release Walmart from liability if the deliverer got injured during the errand... '
How many of us would welcome delivery by strangers not officially employed by the store, who would bring us what we ordered, to our doorstep? Granted, there'd be a record of the customer who was sent out to bring you your package...
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The only reason Walmart is considering same day shipping is that Amazon is already doing it ("Local Express Delivery"). They, not Amazon, have reason to be fearful. I think Amazon has opened a warehouse in San Bernadino last year, and two more (Patterson, Tracy) are on the way:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.costar.com/News/Article/Amazon-Formally-Announces-Third-California-Warehouse/144935
Reading 'Burning the Page' & trying out the twitter thingy (which I'll probably). So far, I'm not too impressed, some of the information seems dated or inaccurate, as if he hasn't really kept up with things since leaving Amazon. Not as interesting as I had expected. But it is 'of the moment', so that is fun.
As always, Tom, great feedback and info. I know Amazon has been trialing it in Seattle and a couple of other places but had not paid attention, it seems awhile now. I can't believe Walmart's idea of an implementation of that with random customers bringing packages to others' homes! to get discounts, no less.
DeleteInteresting re the info in the book, but yes, pretty timely, and most who leave Amazon are not exactly free to say much.