My inner book addict has loved Amazon since the day Jeff Bezos launched it. I've grown to rely on the site even more as a you-name-it-we'll-ship-it shopping resource because of the buyer feedback mechanisms. However, those have evolved into something a little scary lately. Visitors not only rate your rating, now they can post comments about your comments. Is this... blogging?


I say it's pretty darned close, only because I have the same obsessive-compulsive need to periodically check on my reviews to see if I need to respond to someone, just like I do here on Daily Fix. I realize that might seem weird behavior to the average Amazon customer who posts something, never to look back.
But maybe, just maybe, this is a stroke of marketing genius by some Amazonian who has figured out how to draw me back into the site. Allowing reviews was already brilliant. Turning them into conversations is something else entirely.
Take, for instance, my unabashed affection for my cast-iron smoker. I felt obliged to update my first review, which is when I found that not only was my extensive posting voted helpful, but that someone said it "smacks of authenticity."
Then I had to check my flaming review of a deep fryer. (Almost ashamed to admit to THAT purchase, folks.) Sure enough, voted helpful again, plus commentary there that I couldn't stop myself from responding to. That's when it hit me. I'm blogging here.
I don't know how long this feature has been active, but I'm fairly certain it's new. Amazon always seems to push the limits for attracting market feedback. Next, I'm waiting for some kind of barometer that indicates how far sales have skyrocketed or plummeted based on my solitary product review. ;]
What do you think? Does this kind of interactive experience make you a more valuable customer for Amazon?
p.s. Jeff, when am I going to see that refund on the deep fryer?