Wow. Amazonfail update

[erastes]

Whether there is a result with AMAZONFAIL or not, I’m stunned, STUNNED, with the reaction. 

I stand here now and look those few people who have commented here and there who said “But what’s the point of making a fuss” (or things of a similar ilk) and say because you can make a fuss. Sometimes it’s just a case of having a whine and it’s like crying into the ocean and no-one notices, and sometimes, just sometimes, AMAZONFAIL happens. All it took was one post from Mark R Probst, four emails from me to a few well-known sites, and a twitter comment by Vashtan. – and look what we did!

As things stand, Amazon have changed their stance from “we are protecting the public” to “flail flail computer error redo from start” – so who knows where we’ll be by the time normal operating hours kick in tomorrow.

There are over 11000 signatures on the PETITION – I was aiming for 1000.  Now I’ll have to up the target again, I guess.

I’m going to attempt to list the media sites who have covered this, but I’m bound to miss some, so if you see more, please let me know, and I’ll add.

LONG List under the cut.  We rock.

THE BBC

The Daily Beast

CNN "Amazon have not reponded to our calls"
 

New York Times

The Guardian (for the win)

Publishers Weekly

Lambda Lit

America Blog
http://www.americablog.com/2009/04/this-just-in-amazon-is-re-classifying.html

Booksquare

Canada National Post

Dan Savage:

LA Times

Think Progress

Associated Press

The Independent

Denver Examiner

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Huffington Post

Smart Bitches

Dear Author (a couple of posts)

Firefox News

The Inquisitor

Information Week

CNET

The Register

LIS news (Library and Information Service)

Locus

Digg

Naughty & Spice

Ed Rants

Gizmodo

Net Effect

Mashable

Gawker

Journalfen

Powells offer to have a GLBT sale to counteract Amazonfail

Something Awful

Daily Kos

Slashdot

Ficton Circus

Politics-Random Playground

Gehayi has a great list of links here including blogs

Fireball removes Amazon links

http://6d6fireball.com/rpg/amazon-fail/

Inquisitr advises people to sell shares

The lazarus corp

http://new-media.lazaruscorporation.co.uk/2009/04/what-amazon-needs-to-do-next/

Norway notices!

http://www.dagbladet.no/2009/04/13/kultur/litteratur/homofili/amazon/5721152/

News Journal online

http://blogs.news-journalonline.com/247/2009/04/amazonfail-a-twitter-movement.html

http://afterthree.livejournal.com/85878.html

http://www.di2.nu/200904/13a.htm

http://urbzen.com/2009/04/12/making-books-disappear/

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/afterword/archive/2009/04/12/amazon-policy-on-lgbt-books-spurs-twitter-uprising.aspx

http://iwantedparklifebutitwastaken.blogspot.com/2009/04/amazonfail.html

http://www.churchofcustomer.com/2009/04/customers-revolt-over-amazon-gay-book-deranking-aka-amazonfail-.html

http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2009/04/12/amazon-possibly-using-category-metadata-to-filter-rankings/

http://rhodrimarsden.independentminds.livejournal.com/13813.html#cutid1

http://hubbit.livejournal.com/109681.html

http://mothershandbook.net/2009/04/12/censorship-my-job/

After Ellen

http://www.afterellen.com/TV/2009/4/glitch?p

Making Light
http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/011173.html

Oh no they didn't
http://tinyurl.com/dmx39m (expand) http://tinyurl.com/cnlf6o

http://www.markblevis.com/why-the-amazon-glitch-is-so-significant-amazonfail/

http://atara.livejournal.com/582330.html

http://www.amazon.com/gp/tagging/items-tagged-with?ie=UTF8&flatten=1&tag=amazonfail&search=1

http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/593237.html

http://www.aigoo-chamna.net/2009/04/13/amazon-fail-situation/

http://integralthought.livejournal.com/7549.html

http://www.readerville.com/index.php/blog/view/a-brief-history-of-amazonfail/

http://www.lilithsaintcrow.com/journal/2009/04/this-is-not-a-glitch-amazonfail/

http://gawker.com/5209381/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/12/AR2009041202958.html

http://applicant.com/amazonfail-twitter-users-revolt-against-amazon-screenshot/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090413/ap_on_en_ot/books_amazon

San Diego Examiner:
http://www.examiner.com/x-5465-San-Diego-Erotica-Books-Examiner~y2009m4d12-Twitter-versus-Amazonfail-What-is-the-big-deal

MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30184475/

Techdirt
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090412/2156574467.shtml

http://www.corporateidealist.com/2009/04/amazonfail-and-the-importance-of-customer-trust/

http://www.queerty.com/the-gay-books-amazon-doesnt-want-you-to-read-20090413/

http://blue-fjords.livejournal.com/15587.html

http://www.queerty.com/gay-lit-too-adult-for-amazoncom-20090412/

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/books/blog/2009/04/amazon_bans_lgbt_titles_from_s.html

http://bookkake.com/2009/04/13/on-amazonfail-another-case-study-for-the-pile/

http://ladyelleth.livejournal.com/225304.html

http://sbisson.livejournal.com/927640.html

WALL STREET JOURNAL http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/04/13/blogs-and-twitter-coin-amazonfail/

Ubergizmo

http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2009/04/amazon_tries_to_explain_blacklisting_lgbt_books_a_glitch.html

The Bookseller

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/82456-page.html

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2009/04/amazon_learns_a_painful_lesson.html

http://www.lilithsaintcrow.com/journal/2009/04/idosyncratic-code-amazonfail/

http://ncacblog.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/amazon-removes-glbt-books-from-search-books-back-in-online-store/#comment-1889

http://www.feministing.com/archives/014797.html

http://jaciburton.com/blog/?p=1611

Wired

L A Times update

Fiction Matters

You Do That Voodoo

The Globe and Mail

PC World

Aqueduct Press

Aqueduct Press update

Mouseworks 1  Mouseworks 2

The Salon

IT World

Cream and Written by a Woman

Boing Boing

Kate Harding

Vromans Bookstore

Fox News

Tanja Huff:

Leah Braemel

The Coyote's Bite

Ace Weekly

Angry Black Woman

Short Form Blog
 

Comments

[emmyjag.livejournal.com]

Sometimes, people rawk hard. This is one of those times. Reading the #amazonfail and #glitchmyass on Twitter has been...fascinating.

This is the Information Week article I just read.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

*adds*

Thank you, Emmy!

*skippity*

[marquesate.livejournal.com]

9.5K just now. Yay!

Thousands and thousands of Tweets on Twitter, thousands of blog posts, Google bombing, mainstream media ... and all that in less than 24 hours.

The power of the masses and clearly the GOOD side of the internet. I did some reasearch on this phenomenon a couple years ago when I ran a seminar, and to be in the middle of it now and seeing it unfold (Twitter does make a difference now, makes the 'net even more powerful in user protest) is absolutely amazing.

Take THAT Amazon! The world is not populated primarily by rightwing nuts. It gives me hope, it really does. This response is incredibly uplifting. Every cloud has its silver lining, aye?

[erastes.livejournal.com]

It makes a nice change from negativity and wank, too.

:)

I'm having trouble keeping up with it all!

[yolandasfetsos.livejournal.com]

Hi Erastes! What Amazon are doing is totally ridiculous. I just signed the petition. :)

[marquesate.livejournal.com]

I failed (ha! see what I did there? ;-) in keeping up because I needed sleep. Big mistake, I woke up to an explosion of info, I can only scratch at the surface on my own Twitter and Blog.

[vashtan.livejournal.com]

We rock very hard. I'm so proud.

[calligrafiti.livejournal.com]

Slashdot picked it up, too (http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/04/12/2234258), although they're referring to "offensive books" without bringing up that it's targeted at LGBT books specifically. Still, they linked to The Fiction Circus (http://www.fictioncircus.com/news.php?id=346&mode=one) article titled "Amazon is a Gay-Hating Company for Nazis", so I suspect that bit will come across. I don't know if Slashdot is a media outlet per se, but they do see and direct a lot of traffic.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

We so do!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I will add.

[the-sea-to.livejournal.com]

E. Loves. Brilliant.

[storm-grant.livejournal.com]

Wow. Look what we done. Fear us for we are the internetz!

[lexin.livejournal.com]

Well that went wild in one day, didn't it? [is awed]

[the-sea-to.livejournal.com]

I fear you. but that is just on principle.

[lamardeuse.livejournal.com]

A bit late to the party, but this is fabulous. Out of curiosity, I did a little Googling to see if I could turn up any cries of victory from the other side, but the only relevant articles I could find were a couple of years old:

here, from 2006

and

here, from 2007.

I wonder if anyone's found anything fresher so that we could trace the origin of this move on Amazon's part?

[camillaspace.livejournal.com]

Nice article in one of Norway's biggest newspapers this morning. You are listed as one of the offended authors. :)

I assume you can't read it, but I'll give you the link anyway (and there's pretty pictures):

http://www.dagbladet.no/2009/04/13/kultur/litteratur/homofili/amazon/5721152/

[erastes.livejournal.com]

And it continues, unabated.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

*LAUGHS *

How wonderful - thank you!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

*smooch*

amazonfail

[vjbanis.livejournal.com]

For an old activist like me, this was very gratifying. It's part of a trend I've noted of late, a big swing in favor of glbt folks. You can see it in the gay marriage polls. Lots of non-gay folks waking up and saying, "Hey, that just isn't fair." It augers well for the future. I've thanked Erastes elsewhere for leading the charge, and I am happy to do so again, and all of those who jumped on the bandwagon. It's been quite a ride, hasn't it? Let's hope it gets to the station.

Victor

[vashtan.livejournal.com]

More links:

http://afterthree.livejournal.com/85878.html

http://www.di2.nu/200904/13a.htm

http://urbzen.com/2009/04/12/making-books-disappear/

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/afterword/archive/2009/04/12/amazon-policy-on-lgbt-books-spurs-twitter-uprising.aspx

http://iwantedparklifebutitwastaken.blogspot.com/2009/04/amazonfail.html

http://www.churchofcustomer.com/2009/04/customers-revolt-over-amazon-gay-book-deranking-aka-amazonfail-.html

http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2009/04/12/amazon-possibly-using-category-metadata-to-filter-rankings/

http://rhodrimarsden.independentminds.livejournal.com/13813.html#cutid1

http://hubbit.livejournal.com/109681.html

http://mothershandbook.net/2009/04/12/censorship-my-job/

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http://atara.livejournal.com/582330.html

http://www.amazon.com/gp/tagging/items-tagged-with?ie=UTF8&flatten=1&tag=amazonfail&search=1

http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/593237.html

[jessewave.livejournal.com]

Erastes

I was so busy posting my own protests that I didn't check out many others yesterday, although I did send you a couple of emails. :) Way to go. I signed my protest when it was about 1,200. I suggested in my post that we all boycott amazon and go to other online booksellers until this mess is all over. In addition, until amazon changes its ways I'm no longer using their book links in reviews posted on my blog. Let's hit them on their balance sheet by no longer buying from them. Their latest response that this was a glitch is so laughable - the conservative right strikes again! OR maybe some of the "romance" groups who don't want to see gay romances on "their" lists.!!

[aunty_marion]

Nearly 11,000 signatures on the petition now! Awesome.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Staggering - I'm tempted to push it up to 20,000

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Sorry i didn't get back to you yesterday - I trust Alex implicitly and between writing and ... net explosions - it suddenly got a bit busy.

I've cancelled my Amazon Prime and my pre-orders, I'll be buying from someone else until this gets sorted out and i hope that 10,000 people are too.

[vashtan.livejournal.com]

Do it! It's just gaining momentum!

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the terrific roundup. Now I can refer folks here instead of trying to gather all the goodies.

The "why bother?" folks? After 8 years of the right-wing crazies being given free reign (will no one bash me this inconvenient queer?) I think a lot of folks in the US had just decided to keep their heads down... just the atmosphere a repressive regime needs.

Obama's election has galvanized a lot of us - yes, even expats - with a dose of YES, WE CAN. Look at the leaps forward in marriage equality, and the people activated by the Prop Hate issue.

And with our own books at stake? Fired up, READY TO GO.

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

Ah free rein. But given the King George reference, perhaps not a typo.

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

Yes, let it ride for awhile. It's not quite 7 am in California and a lot of folks were offline for Easter.

[marquesate.livejournal.com]

Brilliant article by the Guardian (my favourite newspaper), you can't get much more mainstream ... I love how they clearly don't believe the "glitch":

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/apr/13/amazon-gay-writers

[aphephobia.livejournal.com]

Heya: I just emailled Fishpond with "Thanks for not being like Amazon (with a description of what Amazon have been doing) and keep up the selection of m/m fiction and not calling it "adult."" :)

Re: amazonfail

[aphephobia.livejournal.com]

It angers me as a human being.

Yes, there's a level of self-interest-- I'm a "paying customer" when it comes to m/m romance, but seriously... I'm really over the whole "samesex = taboo/naughty/not-as-serious-as-het" thing, too. (Katy Perry and that whole "I kissed a girl and I'm so dirtysexyalternative" thing shits me too.) Love and romance are just that, regardless of the genders of the people involved. "Straight" isn't the default. And double standards suck royally. Acting like people don't exist, or that their lovelives are somehow "dirty" or "abnormal" (and they only get to exist in a sphere inaccessible to the majority and written off as "about sex and nothing but") is revolting, and way to encourage prejudice from people who just don't know any better.

*sighs*

And then there's the fact that some of us have kids. Maybe our kids will realise they're heterosexual when they're older, maybe they won't. And if it's not our kids, it's going to be their friends and classmates.

The idea of any kid feeling alone and invisible and a comapny like Amazon inadvertantly denying them access to materials which might make them feel less so -- just floors me. Haven't we learned from the mistakes we've made as a society? Bigotry is senselessy ruining people's lives, destroying potential, and limiting people for absolutely no good reason.

[mylodon.livejournal.com]

Words fail me at the reaction to this. Well done to you, Mark, Vashtan and all those who got the ball rolling.

*mwah*

[bloodrebel333.livejournal.com]

Thank God for the internet community - it's so good to see how many people are speaking up against this. :)

Re: amazonfail

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Thank you, Victor - still not completely there, but we are winning.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Done - don't think that's enough

[erastes.livejournal.com]

will keep it open! we are nearly at 18000 now

[erastes.livejournal.com]

You are forgived.

*hugs*

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Unreal. Guardian. Independent. Wall Street Journal. NYT emailed me for an interview...

it's like.. I don't know, another world.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

People said "what's the point of complaining?"

I hope this explains that.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Incredible.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Excellent! :D

[vashtan.livejournal.com]

http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,25333281-5014239,00.html
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/04/14/amazon-explains-why.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/technology/2009/04/the_amazon_firestorm.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/14/amazon.gay.lesbian.ranking/index.html
http://www.cheryl-morgan.com/?p=4528
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-04-13/is-amazon-really-anti-gay/
http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=20895