Sex In The Public Square - No Freakin' Amazon! - Comments

Not a brick/mortar v. major retailer distinction

Elizabeth — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 11:06:55 -0700

I think the important distinction is not between "bricks and mortar" on the one hand and "anonymous Amazon-type retailer" on the other. More important, probably, is the distinction between community-minded businesses that show responsibility where workers' rights, environmental impact, and community health are concerned, and businesses that drive those community-minded businesses into the ground.

I understand sunburntkamel's point about getting your work out there if you're an independent artist. It seems we need to be using the internet our advantage as indie-supportive folks, to help both indie artists and community-oriented retailers!

+1 for the long tail

sunburntkamel — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 13:11:22 -0700

i would agree with the idea that supporting brick and mortar just for nostalgia is bad. amazon makes their living and their reputation on the long tail. (independent media that would be too costly for independent brick and mortar firms to stock). it seems to be a nose/face maneuver to refuse to link to them. at least in the arena of music (which i have better familiarity with), it's easier to get your works sold on amazon than at any national brick and mortar chain.

The Nature of the Beast

Chris — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 07:51:56 -0700

It's dominance and stifling the alternative that I object to. I'd rather Amazon than B&N

Well, that's the thing, though. Functionally, I don't see any difference between them. They both suck business away from the indies in a big way. The Harry Potter craze, for instance, has been of little or no benefit to the small bookstores because they can't get their hands on the books. Distributors almost completely ignore them, whereas B&N literally builds entire towers out of Harry Potter books and Amazon has it on pre-order months before the release. They're essentially the same beast in a different form.

Another listing

RC — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 14:57:42 -0700

Just to throw some devil's advocate dust in the air...I'm a big fan of using alternatives to Amazon and other oversized nodes on the network - actually I'm a booster of brick and mortar - but I'm not willing to bar the commercial space from public space just as a matter of principle. After all, Alibris and Powell's sell through Amazon, too. It's dominance and stifling the alternative that I object to. I'd rather Amazon than B&N ;-)

A couple of cool booksellers in my neighborhood:

Monkeywrench books - a radical collective bookstore in North Austin.

Bookpeople - the big indie bookstore in Austin. Center of the "Keep Austin Weird" universe.

Independent book store listing

Elizabeth — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 09:03:25 -0700

I think keeping this a noncommercial space is very important, and too many of our physical public squares are being taken over by large multinational chains and frnachises. Picking up on Chris's post, I think it would be really cool to start a listing of independent book stores in the towns and cities where we all come from. If you know of some in your town, leave a comment here with the name and address, and if possible a link!

(This isn't advertising, this is sharing information!)

Here are a couple I'd add:

NYC: Bluestockings , a radical book store and fair trade cafe at 172 Allen St (btw Stanton and Rivington. Phone 212-777-6028

San Francisco: Modern Times, a cool collectively-owned progressive bookstore with great a sex/gender section and lots of other great stuff. 888 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110

No Freakin' Amazon!

Chris — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 20:00:18 -0700

This afternoon, I was chatting online with Elizabeth, and somewhere between making lewd, ungentlemanly suggestions and parsing CSS code, I made a policy suggestion about the site. Put succinctly, it was this:

NO Freakin' Amazon links!