The Creepy Amazon Algorithm that Suggests Explosive "Must" Haves

by Kim D.

As first reported in UK's Independent, Amazon's algorithm that makes helpful suggestions of what customers might like to buy based on past purchases needs quite a bit of adjustment. The report claims the following:

Amazon is linking potential bomb-making components under the “frequently bought together” tab, guiding its users to all the ingredients required to make an incendiary device.

The simple products are widely available in shops too, but Amazon’s algorithm recommends product combinations.

This basically means that some users had bought at least one component used in home-made bomb making so Amazon suggested the rest of the ingredients:

If users click on Thermite, for example, which is a pyrotechnic composition of metal powder, the website links to two other items, which constitute the basic bomb-making materials. 

For the most part, my recommendations are pretty tame.  I recently bought dog food because our pup is on a special diet and due to flooding issues, our vet is temporarily out of business.  However, because I have Amazon Prime account, in this past month I have noticed a slew of emails making recommendations for me and not based on past purchases.

Amazon Prime was sending me friendly reminders of things I have searched for at Amazon, like an Rtic Cooler, or tons of suggestions of what I might like to listen to, read on the Kindle, or watch on my Fire Stick.  After learning about about Amazon's creepy recommendations, I went to my account and under "Emails, Alerts, and Ads,"  I disabled and unsubscribed to all to stop the bombardment of emails I'd been receiving.  I recommend you review your account because I noticed that I was magically subscribed to receive emails from 71 Amazon departments, something I never consciously did.

Go Indie! Bezos would have liked that phrase at one time.

By Angela K. Durden

The most current circulation numbers I could find predated Jeff Bezos buying The Washington Post. Can't seem to find any stats from after the 2013 purchase by Nash Holdings, a company Bezos set up to acquire the paper. Up until that date, the numbers were declining quickly. Would it be too far off target to suggest the numbers are worse now? Probably not.

As if the newspaper business isn't chapping his backside enough, Amazon (which, rumor has it, has never made a profit) is pushing a price war to get sales volume up.

This is particularly disturbing to the Big 5 book publishers. Amazon is playing games with the book business. If you are an author published with one of the Big 5 or their subsidiaries, you will want to read this disturbing report here.

Of course, as a small publisher, my sales volume does not put me in his sites. But then I have to ask, "If many of the buttons consumers click are set by automated algorithms, whose to say I'm not losing out on sales, too?"

Independent bookstores are making a comeback. I know because I have one in my neighborhood I've been buying from for years. Business is picking up for Eagle Eye Bookstore. People like to talk to people. The owner, Doug Robinson, is president of SIBA, a trade association for indie book stores.

Want to find an independent bookstore near you? Take a look at this list here.

At one time, Bezos would have appreciated the phrase "Go Indie!"
Too bad Jeff wants to rule the world.
Photo credit (WikiCommons)

Read more from Angela K. Durden here.

And here.