2 Exciting New Amazon Features

 

 

New-Amazon-Features

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It looks like Amazon will compete with Google’s YouTube Video platform and Udemy – an online education marketplace with over 7 million students enrolled in more than 30000 courses,taught by 19000 instructors.
Amazon’s other new feature on Goodreads, the eBook-Giveaway function is also a competition to LibraryThing.

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FINALLY: eBook-Giveaways on Goodreads in the US!
Goodreads, an Amazon company, has established a giveaway program for Kindle ebooks, currently in beta version, and initially only be available in the US.  All authors or publishers can now offer Kindle ebook giveaways and choose how long it will run.  Goodreads will choose winners randomly and automatically send the Kindle e-books to the winners device.

During the beta period, Goodreads will work with Amazon Publishing to host Kindle ebook giveaways.  Once the program is out of beta, it will be open to any author or publisher who sells e-books on Amazon.

The downside?  The cost of listing a Kindle ebook giveaway on Goodreads will be $119 for up to the 100 e-book giveaway limit – however you save the costs of print books and shipping fees. LibraryThing e-book giveaways are free, but authors and publishers don’t have the same huge amount of potential readers as Amazon has.  Listing a print book giveaway on Goodreads will continue to be free.
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Amazon Video Direct
Jeff Bezos started “Amazon Video Direct“, a platform, comparable to Kindle Direct Publishing and offers Videos producers a direct way to millions of Amazon-Video customers.  The new Video Direct service will be open to anyone.

The WallStreet Journal wrote: “Amazon account holders can upload original or their own licensed videos to the Video Direct service, the Seattle-based online retailer said. Such users can designate whether their videos are free to everyone, available to rent or own, offered through a subscription channel, or behind Amazon’s $99-a-year Prime paywall.  With Video Direct, Amazon says it is targeting “creators and storytellers,” giving it a cheaper way to stock up on professionally made video other than purchasing licensed content.”
“Amazon said it would keep 45% of revenue it takes in from ads appearing during free broadcasts, which matches YouTube’s arrangement. It will keep 50% of revenue from channel subscriptions and video purchases or rentals. For ad-free Prime videos, the company will pay content holders 15 cents for each hour of streamed content in the U.S. and six cents overseas.”
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Not Geared Towards the Average Joe who Wants to Upload a Cat Video.
“For most publishers, the need is for ad revenue to be associated with video content, not to charge for video (though a few publishers are certainly moving in this direction). Hell, it seems everyone wants to take advantage of publisher’s content and profit from it. The problem, of course, is publishers rarely make much in return. So, like its eBook programs, Amazon is not cutting its take, but instead throwing money into a pot to be shared by participants: Amazon will distribute a share of $1,000,000 per month as a bonus to the Top 100 titles included with Prime through Amazon Video Direct” writes TalkingNewMedia.

Initially, videos will be viewable in the US, Germany, Austria, Japan and the UK.  Amazon: “We’re excited to make it even easier for content creators to find an audience, and for that audience to find great content.”

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