Kindle popular
May 4, 2010 1:12 PM Subscribe
Amazon is sharing the books and passages that Kindle readers highlight the most.
Useful if you want to feel dismayed about our species because the top 10 passages are from 3 books (Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, and some book called The Shack) or if you need a business-y quote for a Powerpoint presentation. You can also see the top passages for individual books.
Useful if you want to feel dismayed about our species because the top 10 passages are from 3 books (Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, and some book called The Shack) or if you need a business-y quote for a Powerpoint presentation. You can also see the top passages for individual books.
He didn’t feel particularly loved at the moment.“Mack, pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being able to fly.” She waited a moment, allowing her words to settle. “And if left unresolved for very long, you can almost forget that you were ever created to fly in the first place.” Mack was silent. Strangely, the silence was not that uncomfortable.
Prose so leaden it leaves not an aftertaste but an exit wound.
posted by kid ichorous at 1:20 PM on May 4, 2010 [41 favorites]
Prose so leaden it leaves not an aftertaste but an exit wound.
posted by kid ichorous at 1:20 PM on May 4, 2010 [41 favorites]
Yeah, I should have read the more inside first, because that depressed me.
posted by aclevername at 1:22 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by aclevername at 1:22 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
Metafilter: Strangely, the silence was not that uncomfortable.
posted by punchdrunkhistory at 1:23 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by punchdrunkhistory at 1:23 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
This is interesting. Did Kindle owners (I'm not one) know that Amazon could harvest this information from their units? I'm sure that it's covered in the EULA or whatever, but I am surprised to learn that they can do this.
Still, it's an interesting glimpse into the Kindle hive mind, or something.
posted by hippybear at 1:23 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
Still, it's an interesting glimpse into the Kindle hive mind, or something.
posted by hippybear at 1:23 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
#95 is at least To create a highlight: use the 5-way controller to highlight the content you want to clip and then press the 5-way to save your selection. Which is kinda cute.
posted by randomination at 1:24 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by randomination at 1:24 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
Eskimo.
posted by malocchio at 1:26 PM on May 4, 2010 [11 favorites]
posted by malocchio at 1:26 PM on May 4, 2010 [11 favorites]
The crickets and the rust-beetles scuttled among the nettles of the sage thicket. "Vámonos, amigos," he whispered, and threw the busted leather flintcraw over the loose weave of the saddlecock. And they rode on in the friscalating dusklight.
posted by Damn That Television at 1:27 PM on May 4, 2010 [8 favorites]
posted by Damn That Television at 1:27 PM on May 4, 2010 [8 favorites]
The thing to do is find an ebook with the phrase, "Fuck you, Amazon" and organize thousands of Kindle Users to highlight it.
posted by Bromius at 1:28 PM on May 4, 2010 [14 favorites]
posted by Bromius at 1:28 PM on May 4, 2010 [14 favorites]
I was all optimistic. Christ, I'm such an asshole.
posted by From Bklyn at 1:31 PM on May 4, 2010
posted by From Bklyn at 1:31 PM on May 4, 2010
Highlighting a mediocre book is equivalent to reloading the revolver mid-murder.
posted by condour75 at 1:33 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by condour75 at 1:33 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
Passages from Nineteen Eighty-Four took a sharp dive in July of '09.
posted by Babblesort at 1:35 PM on May 4, 2010
posted by Babblesort at 1:35 PM on May 4, 2010
Thrilled again to have a Sony Ereader and no Big Brother -- yeah, I'm looking at you, Jeff Bezos-- to check what I read and highlight.
posted by bearwife at 1:36 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by bearwife at 1:36 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
Ok, well, as far as I understand it, this feature is only available to Kindle users with the 2.5 software update. It's only started rolling out the past couple of days and supposed to be generally released at the end of the month, so I'd guess that things are a little skewed right now. Small sample size, anyone?
I'm crossing my fingers for an opt-out function for the highlight sharing, because I really want my Kindle folders.
posted by alynnk at 1:37 PM on May 4, 2010
I'm crossing my fingers for an opt-out function for the highlight sharing, because I really want my Kindle folders.
posted by alynnk at 1:37 PM on May 4, 2010
So is there anything that happens on a Kindle that doesn't get recorded by Amazon?
Jeez. I can't wait for the first subpoena.
posted by Leon at 1:38 PM on May 4, 2010
Jeez. I can't wait for the first subpoena.
posted by Leon at 1:38 PM on May 4, 2010
All the most popular books on kindle are free stuff. I have to admit that the last two "purchases" i made were free books, that i was first drawn to because of the price tag.
posted by djduckie at 1:44 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by djduckie at 1:44 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
Is it just me but isn't it creepy that a) Amazon backdoored the Kindle so it reports back what passages are highlighted by its users and b) publishes a public report about it?
No.
Do you consider the Google Zeitgeist to be creepy?
posted by Ratio at 1:45 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
No.
Do you consider the Google Zeitgeist to be creepy?
posted by Ratio at 1:45 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
@bearwife: "Thrilled again to have a Sony Ereader and no Big Brother -- yeah, I'm looking at you, Jeff Bezos-- to check what I read and highlight."
If Sony decides to do to your ereader what it did to it's Playstation 3, you may be changing your mind.
posted by toekneebullard at 1:45 PM on May 4, 2010
If Sony decides to do to your ereader what it did to it's Playstation 3, you may be changing your mind.
posted by toekneebullard at 1:45 PM on May 4, 2010
Thrilled again to have a Sony Ereader and no Big Brother -- yeah, I'm looking at you, Jeff Bezos-- to check what I read and highlight.
The data is not traced back to a specific device.
Unlike, say, your cellular provider.
So relax.
posted by Ratio at 1:46 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
The data is not traced back to a specific device.
Unlike, say, your cellular provider.
So relax.
posted by Ratio at 1:46 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
Ugh, The Shack sounds like the worst book ever.
posted by peacheater at 1:47 PM on May 4, 2010
posted by peacheater at 1:47 PM on May 4, 2010
Reminds me of the time I was reading Monk's biography of Wittgenstein, for whom I have tremendous admiration and respect. At the same time I was researching a character for a story idea -- a pompous, narcissistic, academic jerk.
I had placed numerous post-it flags and made quite a few underlinings, but they were all selected around his intermittent property of being something of an asshole. So a house guest finds the book, spends three hours reading all the parts I flagged, then tells me, "I've always been curious about Wittgenstein, but it seems like he's a real jerk."
posted by StickyCarpet at 1:48 PM on May 4, 2010 [7 favorites]
I had placed numerous post-it flags and made quite a few underlinings, but they were all selected around his intermittent property of being something of an asshole. So a house guest finds the book, spends three hours reading all the parts I flagged, then tells me, "I've always been curious about Wittgenstein, but it seems like he's a real jerk."
posted by StickyCarpet at 1:48 PM on May 4, 2010 [7 favorites]
The thing to do is find an ebook with the phrase, "Fuck you, Amazon" and organize thousands of Kindle Users to highlight it.
Yeah! How dare they anonymously collect customer data. They are unlike any company in the history of the internet, ever.
Did you know that Amazon.com keeps a record of the products you buy? Were you aware that they keep track of what products you look at? It's an outrage, I tell you.
posted by Ratio at 1:50 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
Yeah! How dare they anonymously collect customer data. They are unlike any company in the history of the internet, ever.
Did you know that Amazon.com keeps a record of the products you buy? Were you aware that they keep track of what products you look at? It's an outrage, I tell you.
posted by Ratio at 1:50 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
Has anyone here actually read the Shack?
I only ask because my conservative Christian friends have been pushing me to read it, explaining that it "revolutionized" their understanding of grace.
At the same time, my progressive Christian friends have been pushing me to read it, because they say it eloquently confirms many things they've understood to be true.
I wish I could get some kind of doctrinal overview of the thing. If conservative and progressive Christians agree on something, it's has to have something going for it.
Also, for the record, the movie adaptation of Dan Brown's Angels and Demons was excellent.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 1:53 PM on May 4, 2010
I only ask because my conservative Christian friends have been pushing me to read it, explaining that it "revolutionized" their understanding of grace.
At the same time, my progressive Christian friends have been pushing me to read it, because they say it eloquently confirms many things they've understood to be true.
I wish I could get some kind of doctrinal overview of the thing. If conservative and progressive Christians agree on something, it's has to have something going for it.
Also, for the record, the movie adaptation of Dan Brown's Angels and Demons was excellent.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 1:53 PM on May 4, 2010
Highlighting a mediocre book is equivalent to reloading the revolver mid-murder.
Jeez. I can't wait for the first subpoena.
I'm always amused when a true crime book about a serial killer gets around to the damning evidence that the suspect owned one or more true crime books about a serial killer.
posted by StickyCarpet at 1:55 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
Jeez. I can't wait for the first subpoena.
I'm always amused when a true crime book about a serial killer gets around to the damning evidence that the suspect owned one or more true crime books about a serial killer.
posted by StickyCarpet at 1:55 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
The data is not traced back to a specific device.
Unlike, say, your cellular provider.
So relax.
Sorry, have no faith in Jeff Bezos. He loves knowing our individual tastes.
posted by bearwife at 1:55 PM on May 4, 2010
Unlike, say, your cellular provider.
So relax.
Sorry, have no faith in Jeff Bezos. He loves knowing our individual tastes.
posted by bearwife at 1:55 PM on May 4, 2010
I can't wait to read Cory Doctorow's breathless, unhinged and uninformed rant about this. You know it's coming.
Cory, in case you're reading this, here are some headline suggestions:
Big Brother Bezos Builds Bad Book Backdoor, Cory Writes Novel
Why Amazon.com Is Worse Than Hitler's SS, Also, Here's My Novel, Were You Aware Of It?
Podcast: Cory Reads From New, Award-Nominated Novel
The Kindle Will Give You AIDS and CANCER And Is The Worst Thing In The Entire History Of Western Civilization And I Am The Only One Who Can Stop It And I Also Wrote A Novel
posted by Ratio at 1:59 PM on May 4, 2010 [17 favorites]
Cory, in case you're reading this, here are some headline suggestions:
Big Brother Bezos Builds Bad Book Backdoor, Cory Writes Novel
Why Amazon.com Is Worse Than Hitler's SS, Also, Here's My Novel, Were You Aware Of It?
Podcast: Cory Reads From New, Award-Nominated Novel
The Kindle Will Give You AIDS and CANCER And Is The Worst Thing In The Entire History Of Western Civilization And I Am The Only One Who Can Stop It And I Also Wrote A Novel
posted by Ratio at 1:59 PM on May 4, 2010 [17 favorites]
If you click this version of the link, you can see the number of people making the highlight. The Last Lecture quote, with 746 or so highlights, is actually quite hood.
I like that people clearly had trouble navigating the Fairy Tales book, thus all the accidental highlights, which happen if you click the navigation button at the wrong location when trying to select a story.
posted by blahblahblah at 2:00 PM on May 4, 2010
I like that people clearly had trouble navigating the Fairy Tales book, thus all the accidental highlights, which happen if you click the navigation button at the wrong location when trying to select a story.
posted by blahblahblah at 2:00 PM on May 4, 2010
The Kindle app on the iPhone/iPod touch does this as well. I discovered this a couple days ago, went WTF? and disabled it. I do buy used books, but I try to buy unmarked copies. I don't want to know what the previous reader thought was important before I've figured out what I think is important.
posted by rtha at 2:01 PM on May 4, 2010
posted by rtha at 2:01 PM on May 4, 2010
I'm non-pulsed about data mining anonymously. The Census does the same thing. So does your bank. Your broker. Your doctor. etc..
Dorian Gray has the best quotes.
posted by stbalbach at 2:04 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
Dorian Gray has the best quotes.
posted by stbalbach at 2:04 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
The Last Lecture quote, with 746 or so highlights, is actually quite hood.
“That’s a good thing,” the assistant told me. “When ya screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means either they don't know, don't show, or don't care about what's going on.” That lesson has stuck with me my whole life.
posted by cashman at 2:07 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
“That’s a good thing,” the assistant told me. “When ya screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means either they don't know, don't show, or don't care about what's going on.” That lesson has stuck with me my whole life.
posted by cashman at 2:07 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
Has anyone here actually read the Shack?
My mother read it. She's a Christian, and she said it was stupid.
posted by something something at 2:09 PM on May 4, 2010
My mother read it. She's a Christian, and she said it was stupid.
posted by something something at 2:09 PM on May 4, 2010
I learned that The Shack is this decade's Johnathan Livingstone Seagull.
posted by kozad at 2:09 PM on May 4, 2010
posted by kozad at 2:09 PM on May 4, 2010
I'm non-pulsed about data mining anonymously
It's a real killer.
posted by Babblesort at 2:12 PM on May 4, 2010 [5 favorites]
It's a real killer.
posted by Babblesort at 2:12 PM on May 4, 2010 [5 favorites]
I used to fret about Amazon knowing what books I was buying. This was very early on. Then after a while I realized that their artificial intelligence engine was recommending to me books I had already bought from Amazon.
In other words, the machine it wasn't really paying attention at all; the programmers didn't care.
U-unless of course that was on purpose to distract me from their obviously heinous plans to out me for reading this, that or the other.
posted by chavenet at 2:12 PM on May 4, 2010
In other words, the machine it wasn't really paying attention at all; the programmers didn't care.
U-unless of course that was on purpose to distract me from their obviously heinous plans to out me for reading this, that or the other.
posted by chavenet at 2:12 PM on May 4, 2010
Prose so leaden it leaves not an aftertaste but an exit wound.
posted by kid ichorous
I'm highlighting this comment!
posted by ts;dr at 2:13 PM on May 4, 2010
posted by kid ichorous
I'm highlighting this comment!
posted by ts;dr at 2:13 PM on May 4, 2010
Is this where I bitch about Wayne Dyer and how I wrote my undergrad thesis on him. Well, the unreligiosity of mass-market new age and spiritual pop-psychology. That was a harrowing paper to write. I'm glad to see his still peddling his same crap.
posted by khaibit at 2:16 PM on May 4, 2010
posted by khaibit at 2:16 PM on May 4, 2010
Wait, so Amazon tracks whatever you highlight when you use your kindle?
---
Also, I thought this was weird:
Second of all, you know exactly what data you give to the census, and what's done with it. And there are just a handful of specific questions, which you have two answer yourself and on top of that there are a ton of legal safeguards.
There are an enormous amount of safeguards around what happens to your medical data. I'm not sure what you think is going on with your bank and brokerage firm, but generally that has only a very specific information about your finances. I suppose banks do know where you shop, and I remember an article a while back about jacking up interests rates for people who shopped at the same stores as people who later fell behind in payments. So it's not exactly harmless.
posted by delmoi at 2:18 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
Yeah! How dare they anonymously collect customer data. They are unlike any company in the history of the internet, ever.They collect data, then claim to anonymize it. There are some important differences
1) no way of knowing if it's actually anonymised or notPlus, this is hugely fucking different from recording what purchases you make. People are going to know when you order something from someone, that's obvious. I wouldn't expect Amazon to record everything I do on the kindle any more then I would expect Microsoft to record everything I type on my computer. Why not? I'm sure they anonymity it it!
2) they could change it at any time.
3) It's not always that difficult to de-anonymise data. If someone were to get all the records for a specific, anonymous kindle, they could cross reference with reviews or public lists to see who might have made the highlights. It would be even easier with access to purchase records, which Amazon was actually planning to sell at one point, but backed off over the outcry.
---
Also, I thought this was weird:
The family was so extensive that he was forced to create a database in his iBook. He used the NotePad programme (www.ibrium.se), one of those full-value products that two men at the Royal Technical College had created and distributed as shareware for a pittance on the Internet. Few programmes were as useful for an investigative journalist. Each family member was given his or her own document in the database.I guess it was people who wanted to try the URL out later on. It does seem to exist.
I'm non-pulsed about data mining anonymously. The Census does the same thing. So does your bank. Your broker. Your doctor. etc..First of all it's "nonplussed" and it means " A state of perplexity, confusion, or bewilderment."
Second of all, you know exactly what data you give to the census, and what's done with it. And there are just a handful of specific questions, which you have two answer yourself and on top of that there are a ton of legal safeguards.
There are an enormous amount of safeguards around what happens to your medical data. I'm not sure what you think is going on with your bank and brokerage firm, but generally that has only a very specific information about your finances. I suppose banks do know where you shop, and I remember an article a while back about jacking up interests rates for people who shopped at the same stores as people who later fell behind in payments. So it's not exactly harmless.
posted by delmoi at 2:18 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
There is a difference between words you read, and things you buy. As things like the First Amendment illustrate, many people put a lot more stock in protecting what you say, think, and read, than what you buy, watch, or listen to. It's one thing to monitor every purchase you make in a store or on Amazon; another to monitor every website you visit (many cookies do); yet another to monitor every book you read and passage you highlight; and yet another to monitor, say, every word you say in a public place (as London is quickly approaching), or every word you email (probably occurring already), or every word you say on the phone (again, probably already), or every word you say in your own house (still 1984 territory).
Obviously lots of people are fine with having their every word surveilled by corporations or the government, but there are many others who are (grudgingly) okay with having banks, doctors, the census, and other corporations and government agencies collating their data on purchases, health, and demographics -- but not at all okay with these same practices being applied to what we read and say. In terms of politics and liberalism (or libertarianism) there is a huge difference between these two categories of surveillance.
[Incidentally, many here are asserting that the data are "anonymous". It does appear that the published data are anonymous (though the Netflix case showed that such aggregate data can often be linked to individuals nevertheless), but reading the "What's this" section of Amazon's highlighting website, it seems clear that they must retain individual-level details in their own database to continually update their categories. It is little comfort to those who worry about idea-level surveillance that the individual-level data exist only in corporate or government coffers -- particularly when the latter can so readily access the former.]
posted by chortly at 2:19 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
Obviously lots of people are fine with having their every word surveilled by corporations or the government, but there are many others who are (grudgingly) okay with having banks, doctors, the census, and other corporations and government agencies collating their data on purchases, health, and demographics -- but not at all okay with these same practices being applied to what we read and say. In terms of politics and liberalism (or libertarianism) there is a huge difference between these two categories of surveillance.
[Incidentally, many here are asserting that the data are "anonymous". It does appear that the published data are anonymous (though the Netflix case showed that such aggregate data can often be linked to individuals nevertheless), but reading the "What's this" section of Amazon's highlighting website, it seems clear that they must retain individual-level details in their own database to continually update their categories. It is little comfort to those who worry about idea-level surveillance that the individual-level data exist only in corporate or government coffers -- particularly when the latter can so readily access the former.]
posted by chortly at 2:19 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
"Has anyone here actually read the Shack?"
Yes, my mother had it, so I read it. It was an absolute pile of crap.
posted by HopperFan at 2:20 PM on May 4, 2010
Yes, my mother had it, so I read it. It was an absolute pile of crap.
posted by HopperFan at 2:20 PM on May 4, 2010
The aggregate highlighting of text was something that I always felt was lacking in the kindle. It's an nice advantage the ebooks have that traditional books don't. On the other hand I didn't expect to find myself wanting to hunt down the two other people that highlighted the same passage.
posted by kingfisher, his musclebound cat at 2:23 PM on May 4, 2010
posted by kingfisher, his musclebound cat at 2:23 PM on May 4, 2010
Hey Ratio, from your previous Ask MeFi post it looks like you work at a large software company in Seattle. Is it Amazon.com or Microsoft? Those are pretty much the two largest in the city. If it is Amazon.com, do you know for a fact that highlight data is not linked to the Kindle account? I assume you're not speaking on behalf of the company regardless.
And just because the data is "anonymous" doesn't mean there isn't risk of leaking personal information, see the Netflix and AOL data releases as examples:
Porter, C. (n.d.). De-identified data and third party data mining: the risk of re-identification of personal information..
As a disclaimer, I was previously an employee at Amazon.com, but I was not involved with Kindle development and do not know anything specific about the Kindle data collection or retention policies or methods.
posted by formless at 2:25 PM on May 4, 2010
And just because the data is "anonymous" doesn't mean there isn't risk of leaking personal information, see the Netflix and AOL data releases as examples:
Porter, C. (n.d.). De-identified data and third party data mining: the risk of re-identification of personal information..
As a disclaimer, I was previously an employee at Amazon.com, but I was not involved with Kindle development and do not know anything specific about the Kindle data collection or retention policies or methods.
posted by formless at 2:25 PM on May 4, 2010
Haha, the data collected is anonymous. Right. Pull the other one.
posted by adipocere at 2:26 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by adipocere at 2:26 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
I discovered this in the iPad Kindle app the other day and, unlike most of y'all, actually think this is pretty cool. It's easy enough to turn off if you don't like it, but in the few cases where I've seen the highlight in the past few days, it's served as a nice subtle indication of particular passages that might be worthy of a slightly closer read. Sometimes I'd notice these things on my own, and sometimes they might escape my attention if I'm reading quickly or miss something. Personally, I like that, find it really unobtrusive, and don't see what all the fuss is about here.
The privacy aspects don't bother me one bit here either. I agreed in my settings to send my highlights and notes to Amazon so I can access them online, and all we're talking about here is aggregate information about highlights (not my notes) in commercially available books. No big deal.
posted by zachlipton at 2:35 PM on May 4, 2010
The privacy aspects don't bother me one bit here either. I agreed in my settings to send my highlights and notes to Amazon so I can access them online, and all we're talking about here is aggregate information about highlights (not my notes) in commercially available books. No big deal.
posted by zachlipton at 2:35 PM on May 4, 2010
here's an example of credit card companies data mining personal data -- in this case where you shop -- to see who is more likely to default on their cards. So for example people who spend their money at a bar are more likely to default then those who spend it at a dentist, people who buy "chrome skull accessories" are some of the most likely to default then people who buy birdseed.
I know there was an article sometime after the crash in '08 where citibank actually raised people's rates based on this kind of data, but I can't seem to find it now. I think there was a metafilter thread about it.
posted by delmoi at 2:36 PM on May 4, 2010
I know there was an article sometime after the crash in '08 where citibank actually raised people's rates based on this kind of data, but I can't seem to find it now. I think there was a metafilter thread about it.
posted by delmoi at 2:36 PM on May 4, 2010
If you click this version of the link, you can see the number of people making the highlight.
Which version lets me see video feeds of the people as they're making the highlights? Which version lets me see naked pictures of them?
I don't actually want to see naked pictures of people who read The Shack, thanks. I was just curious.
posted by infinitywaltz at 2:38 PM on May 4, 2010
Which version lets me see video feeds of the people as they're making the highlights? Which version lets me see naked pictures of them?
I don't actually want to see naked pictures of people who read The Shack, thanks. I was just curious.
posted by infinitywaltz at 2:38 PM on May 4, 2010
This reminds me of the good old days of browsing second hand bookshops and picking up a book say like The Ninja and finding all the sex-scenes have been dog-eared...
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:38 PM on May 4, 2010
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:38 PM on May 4, 2010
I agreed in my settings to send my highlights and notes to Amazon so I can access them online, and all we're talking about here is aggregate information about highlights (not my notes) in commercially available books. No big deal.
If it's obvious that it's happening, and you can opt out, then it's not a big deal. But all this data mining mania among corporations is getting pretty obnoxious.
posted by delmoi at 2:39 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
If it's obvious that it's happening, and you can opt out, then it's not a big deal. But all this data mining mania among corporations is getting pretty obnoxious.
posted by delmoi at 2:39 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
Amazon has been pretty upfront that the highlight data is not anonymous, although this particular feature uses only aggregate data. In the Kindle's preferences, users can choose to either send their annotation data automatically to Amazon's servers or store them only locally. I don't recall offhand if this is opt in or opt out, but my memory is that it asks you to choose when you setup your Kindle for the first time. If you choose to store them locally, you can access them all in a text file (when you connect the Kindle to a computer by USB) and do with them as you please, but you don't get the automatic backup Amazon provides when you sync them wirelessly. Using the sync feature also enables kindle.amazon.com, which allows you to view all your highlights and notes online, for easy reference and copying/pasting.
It's entirely your choice, and Amazon has provided a nice alternate path for those who choose not to enable this feature. There are a number of privacy concerns with the Kindle, but I don't consider this one of them at all.
I'll second formless' disclaimer by saying that I, too, worked for Amazon.com (for a summer), but not on the Kindle.
posted by zachlipton at 2:51 PM on May 4, 2010
It's entirely your choice, and Amazon has provided a nice alternate path for those who choose not to enable this feature. There are a number of privacy concerns with the Kindle, but I don't consider this one of them at all.
I'll second formless' disclaimer by saying that I, too, worked for Amazon.com (for a summer), but not on the Kindle.
posted by zachlipton at 2:51 PM on May 4, 2010
I am so going to start highlighting every WTF phrase I come across in Kindle books from here out.
posted by nonliteral at 2:56 PM on May 4, 2010
posted by nonliteral at 2:56 PM on May 4, 2010
Which version lets me see video feeds of the people as they're making the highlights? Which version lets me see naked pictures of them?
The bad news is that you'll have to watch them at e-ink frame rates...
posted by nonliteral at 2:57 PM on May 4, 2010
The bad news is that you'll have to watch them at e-ink frame rates...
posted by nonliteral at 2:57 PM on May 4, 2010
The Shack tells the story of Mackenzie Phillips, who must learn to live, one day at a time ...
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 3:08 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 3:08 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
Like Metafilter Favorites, some people highlight the good, some the bad, and some the parts so terrible that they want to use them to warn future generations.
posted by blue_beetle at 3:12 PM on May 4, 2010
posted by blue_beetle at 3:12 PM on May 4, 2010
Yeah, if you make a choice during setup, that sounds reasonable to me. There's clearly things Amazon could do with this data that are useful to the reader (suggestions, personalization, etc). Various media player software does this for similar reasons. Individual users can choose whether the benefits outweigh the costs.
(This assumes zachlipton is correct that it's fairly upfront. I know Windows Media Player, for example, has you make a choice during setup, it's not hidden or anything. That seems OK -- something where you have to know about an opt-out 15 levels deep in some Advanced menu... less so).
posted by wildcrdj at 3:22 PM on May 4, 2010
(This assumes zachlipton is correct that it's fairly upfront. I know Windows Media Player, for example, has you make a choice during setup, it's not hidden or anything. That seems OK -- something where you have to know about an opt-out 15 levels deep in some Advanced menu... less so).
posted by wildcrdj at 3:22 PM on May 4, 2010
I try to buy unmarked copies.
I borrowed a book from the library the other day, and was horrified to find that someone had underlined all over the book. 1, it's a library book, jerkface, wth?. 2, it can't ALL be highlighted or else you aren't making a particular passage stand out.
It only recently occurred to me that I left all my notes and highlights in place when I gave my older kindles to my folks. d'oh.
posted by nomisxid at 3:32 PM on May 4, 2010
I borrowed a book from the library the other day, and was horrified to find that someone had underlined all over the book. 1, it's a library book, jerkface, wth?. 2, it can't ALL be highlighted or else you aren't making a particular passage stand out.
It only recently occurred to me that I left all my notes and highlights in place when I gave my older kindles to my folks. d'oh.
posted by nomisxid at 3:32 PM on May 4, 2010
I abhor this idea for the same reasons I never buy used books with highlighting. I do not want to know what other people think are the most important passages in a book. I am fully capable of making that decision for myself. Drawing attention to an excerpt will merely deprive me the pleasure of discovering it for myself, which would diminish its importance to me.
posted by charlie don't surf at 3:37 PM on May 4, 2010
posted by charlie don't surf at 3:37 PM on May 4, 2010
Mack was silent.
Strangely, the silence was not
that uncomfortable.
It's almost a haiku.
posted by philip-random at 3:46 PM on May 4, 2010
Strangely, the silence was not
that uncomfortable.
It's almost a haiku.
posted by philip-random at 3:46 PM on May 4, 2010
Man, the only Kindle book I have is a seven-volume Tom Corbett, Space Cadet compilation. I bet I could get some really good highlights out of that, since it's 1950s pulp SF with a lot of teenage boys walking around "stripped to the waist" and telling each other to "go blow your jets."
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 3:50 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 3:50 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
It makes sense to me that Dan Brown fans should be the sort of people who REALLY GET OFF ON HIGHLIGHTING SHIT.
posted by nebulawindphone at 4:08 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by nebulawindphone at 4:08 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
> The thing to do is find an ebook with the phrase, "Fuck you, Amazon" and organize thousands of Kindle Users to highlight it.
What you want is to coordinate a couple thousand of your closest friends with copies of Why Do Men Fall Asleep After Sex?: More Questions You'd Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Whiskey Sour, by Mark Leyner and Billy Goldberg, to highlight the phrase, "Fuck those idiots at Amazon..."
In researching this comment, I learned that the words "Amazon" and "bitch" are juxtaposed far more often than should be necessary, and I feel a little dead inside now.
posted by ardgedee at 4:14 PM on May 4, 2010
What you want is to coordinate a couple thousand of your closest friends with copies of Why Do Men Fall Asleep After Sex?: More Questions You'd Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Whiskey Sour, by Mark Leyner and Billy Goldberg, to highlight the phrase, "Fuck those idiots at Amazon..."
In researching this comment, I learned that the words "Amazon" and "bitch" are juxtaposed far more often than should be necessary, and I feel a little dead inside now.
posted by ardgedee at 4:14 PM on May 4, 2010
First of all it's "nonplussed" and it means " A state of perplexity, confusion, or bewilderment."
Second of all, you know exactly what data you give to the census, and what's done with it. And there are just a handful of specific questions, which you have two answer yourself and on top of that there are a ton of legal safeguards.
Third of all it's 'to', not 'two'.
sorry
posted by a womble is an active kind of sloth at 4:14 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
Second of all, you know exactly what data you give to the census, and what's done with it. And there are just a handful of specific questions, which you have two answer yourself and on top of that there are a ton of legal safeguards.
Third of all it's 'to', not 'two'.
sorry
posted by a womble is an active kind of sloth at 4:14 PM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
Just because it has a battery, doesn't mean The Da Vinci Code wouldn't sell well on the thing.
posted by vectr at 4:20 PM on May 4, 2010
posted by vectr at 4:20 PM on May 4, 2010
Wow, this reads like a list of presents I receive from my evangelical Singaporean relatives every Christmas.
posted by superquail at 4:46 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by superquail at 4:46 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
my evangelical Singaporean relatives
"Have you considered the advantages of not observing Daylight Saving Time?"
posted by DU at 4:52 PM on May 4, 2010
"Have you considered the advantages of not observing Daylight Saving Time?"
posted by DU at 4:52 PM on May 4, 2010
When the imagination of a writer and the passion of a theologian cross-fertilize the result is a novel on the order of "The Shack." This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" did for his. It's that good! --Eugene Peterson, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, B.C.
Eugene Peterson, please accept this award for Most Unpleasant Mental Image of the Day.
posted by DU at 4:54 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
Eugene Peterson, please accept this award for Most Unpleasant Mental Image of the Day.
posted by DU at 4:54 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
That this is possible is part of why I don't want a Kindle.
posted by Pope Guilty at 4:54 PM on May 4, 2010
posted by Pope Guilty at 4:54 PM on May 4, 2010
I used to fret about Amazon knowing what books I was buying. This was very early on. Then after a while I realized that their artificial intelligence engine was recommending to me books I had already bought from Amazon.
In other words, the machine it wasn't really paying attention at all; the programmers didn't care.
U-unless of course that was on purpose to distract me from their obviously heinous plans to out me for reading this, that or the other.
Surely nothing so devious. I expect they're just hoping you'll forget you bought it and buy it again. Or, best case scenario, tickle your memory so that you will buy it for someone else.
Of course, this assumes that the programmers were up to snuff, which is always an open question.
posted by IndigoJones at 5:46 PM on May 4, 2010
In other words, the machine it wasn't really paying attention at all; the programmers didn't care.
U-unless of course that was on purpose to distract me from their obviously heinous plans to out me for reading this, that or the other.
Surely nothing so devious. I expect they're just hoping you'll forget you bought it and buy it again. Or, best case scenario, tickle your memory so that you will buy it for someone else.
Of course, this assumes that the programmers were up to snuff, which is always an open question.
posted by IndigoJones at 5:46 PM on May 4, 2010
wildcrdj: I'm not certain that the Kindle asks you about this at setup time, though my recollection is that it does. In any case, the Kindle's settings page only has about 4 things on it, so there's definitely no burring within submenus.
IndigoJones: Amazon actually displays a notice at the top of the item page for any item you've already bought, so as to help you avoid accidentally purchasing the same thing twice when you forget what you've read. Really pretty rare for a company to try to stop you from placing an order in that way.
posted by zachlipton at 6:06 PM on May 4, 2010
IndigoJones: Amazon actually displays a notice at the top of the item page for any item you've already bought, so as to help you avoid accidentally purchasing the same thing twice when you forget what you've read. Really pretty rare for a company to try to stop you from placing an order in that way.
posted by zachlipton at 6:06 PM on May 4, 2010
MetaFilter: the words "Amazon" and "bitch" are juxtaposed far more often than should be necessary, and I feel a little dead inside now.
posted by hippybear at 6:15 PM on May 4, 2010
posted by hippybear at 6:15 PM on May 4, 2010
yep, this definitely answers my question from march. not ever buying a kindle. ::shudder::
posted by sdn at 6:58 PM on May 4, 2010
posted by sdn at 6:58 PM on May 4, 2010
Thanks for posting the update link, alynnk. Yay, the ability to finally zoom in on .pdfs will be so useful.
posted by cmgonzalez at 9:39 PM on May 4, 2010
posted by cmgonzalez at 9:39 PM on May 4, 2010
I can't wait to read Cory Doctorow's breathless, unhinged and uninformed rant about this.
What a pointlessly unpleasant thing to say.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 12:11 AM on May 5, 2010 [3 favorites]
What a pointlessly unpleasant thing to say.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 12:11 AM on May 5, 2010 [3 favorites]
What a pointlessly unpleasant thing to say.
Read his comment history. It seems like half his comments (maybe more like a quarter of those on the first page) mention Cory Doctorow, in generally completely spuriously. It's pretty weird.
Actually I just checked. 9 out of the past 50 posts mention him. Ratio's "Ratio" of posts to posts about Cory Doctorow is 18%!
(The past 50 because that's what shows up on the first page of your comment history)
In fact, his most recent comment is about Doctorow, a thread that has nothing to do with him whatsoever!
posted by delmoi at 5:30 AM on May 5, 2010 [2 favorites]
Read his comment history. It seems like half his comments (maybe more like a quarter of those on the first page) mention Cory Doctorow, in generally completely spuriously. It's pretty weird.
Actually I just checked. 9 out of the past 50 posts mention him. Ratio's "Ratio" of posts to posts about Cory Doctorow is 18%!
(The past 50 because that's what shows up on the first page of your comment history)
In fact, his most recent comment is about Doctorow, a thread that has nothing to do with him whatsoever!
posted by delmoi at 5:30 AM on May 5, 2010 [2 favorites]
It's true. I have an unhealthy hatred for Cory Doctorow and I like to shit on him whenever I get the chance.
posted by Ratio at 10:46 AM on May 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Ratio at 10:46 AM on May 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
Be that as it may, this isn't really an appropriate venue for crankery.
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:58 AM on May 5, 2010
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:58 AM on May 5, 2010
But it's clever and witty crankery! It's high quality, clinically tested crankery!
At least, 19 people in this thread seem to think so.
posted by Ratio at 11:37 AM on May 5, 2010
At least, 19 people in this thread seem to think so.
posted by Ratio at 11:37 AM on May 5, 2010
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posted by Mister_A at 1:19 PM on May 4, 2010