Could TrackBack Go Bigtime?
Forgot blogging going bigtime. Mena Trott talks about TrackBack going bigtime on Six Log:
Given the rare opportunity to be able to speak with Bezos, I made sure to throw my usual self-effacing demeanor out the window and pitch the idea of TrackBack-enabling Amazon’s Reviews to work with tools that support the protocol.
To those who aren’t familiar with the TrackBack framework, that basically means that you could write a product review, publish it anywhere on the Web, and an excerpt of your review would appear on Amazon’s product page with the rest of the reviews. Kind of like this:
The first review is a regular Amazon review, and the second is a fictitious “Web review” on my website. An excerpt of my review would appear after I pinged the Amazon product page.
- 28 Apr 03
- amazon, blogging, movable type, software
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Comments
Huh. That’s a really interesting idea - and I think a good one. Wouldn’t that be fun - not only to contribute reviews like that, but to be able to learn more about folks who are giving reviews. I find that really helpful - a bad (or good) review coming from someone who isn’t into the same thing as you is pretty useless.
Keith on 30 Apr 03
Won’t happen for two reasons.
First Amazon would not be able to control the information. For example what’s being said isn’t the major concern (as they could just censor new entries and submissions), but rather external site uptimes. The fear being that if your website does not respond, the user may consider this to be a sign that Amazon isn’t working and discontinue their shopping experience. Yes, there are people who think this way.
Second in a business sense, it leads a customer away from your store front. This is not something that is typically favored by any style merchant.
Dan Kalowsky on 30 Apr 03