Retailers Trying to Build Reader Communities. Is it Working? Not For Me.
Borders produced a 25 minute video (release) to support its latest book club pick. They are clearly aiming for some Oprah-level of love at the new Borders website. That is a long vid by web standards but that aside it makes me wonder does anyone trust a retailer to tell them what to buy? If it was shorter, would it matter?
I have been following the Amazon blog for a while and I dip in and out of the various publisher podcasts.
None of these sources for book recommendations really land with me. I am informed but I am bored.
It has gotten to the point where I expect rich media from authors, publishers, and retailers but I resent when they try and be anything other than publishers, retailers, and authors. A publisher is not an aggregator. A retailer is not a TV station. An author is not (always) a compelling media personality.
I feel a trust gap here. Is it just me? A case of cognitive dissonance? Is it an age thing? If you were younger or older would you care?
Don’t get me wrong interruptive marketing sucks. I want Indigo’s book community to be the best thing in the world. I want to be in awe of the Amazon bloggers. I want to be able to sit through just one Borders video interview. But the fact of the matter is none of these efforts have me excited enough to tell my friends about them. Yet. I suppose that is, and always will be, the gold standard.
Just a quick endnote — I know the Lace Reader is not ‘meant’ for a guy like me. That is not what I am talking about. Instead it is a feeling that the retailers are trying too hard. Their efforts feel insincere. Maybe that is important, maybe it is not. Please leave a comment…
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