Press Release
August 20, 2003
"Amazon Hacks": Tips and Tools for Tapping into Amazon's Power
Sebastopol, CA--"The largest river in the whole world!" exclaims Benito
Garral to his friend Manoel Valdez as they anticipate their journey
down the Amazon in Jules Verne's spirited novel "Eight Hundred Leagues
on the Amazon." To which his friend adds, "And along its whole extent,
like the thousand tentacles of some gigantic polyp, two hundred
tributaries, flowing from north or south, themselves fed by smaller
affluents without number. And in its course, five hundred and sixty
islands...forming a kind of archipelago, and yielding of themselves the
wealth of a kingdom!" And yet, as they gaze at the water flowing
peacefully at their feet, Benito and Manoel simply see the river they
have known all their lives.
Mention "Amazon" today and most people will think of something quite
different. But, as with Benito and Manoel, they may have to exert
themselves to visualize the full extent of the power lying beyond the
familiar facade of Amazon.com. As Paul Bausch, author of Amazon Hacks
(O'Reilly, US $24.95) says, "The common conception is that Amazon.com
is a web-based bookstore. While that's true, once you begin to look
beneath the surface a bit, you realize that Amazon is really a complex
web application. Instead of viewing the site as a series of pages
offering items for sale, I hope readers of 'Amazon Hacks' see Amazon as
a tool they can customize and adapt to their own uses; whether that's
participating in the Amazon community, earning money through Amazon's
Marketplace and Associates Program, or just improving the way they
interact with the site."
The latest addition to O'Reilly's popular Hacks series shows Amazon
readers of every level how to tap into the vast power that Amazon
offers. Through its collection of industrial-strength tips and tools,
the book helps readers get the most out of Amazon.com, including how
to:
Find just the product you're after among the millions available at
Amazon Access, control, and fine-tune your Amazon preferences,
recommendations, and information Participate in the growing Amazon community and integrate Amazon
features into your own web site Become an Amazon Associate, develop your own online storefront, and
hone your recommendations for better linking and higher referral fees Sell products online using Amazon's billing, inventory, and marketing
infrastructure Build full-scale desktop and server applications on Amazon's Web
Services API
Bausch hopes that "Amazon Hacks" will help people see Amazon in a new
way. "Over its lifetime, Amazon.com has invested $900 million in
technology," he explains. "Though they're often thought of as an online
'shop,' they're a technology company. And more and more they're in the
business of providing technology to other businesses, as well as their
customers. For instance, thirty percent of Amazon's business is from
third-party sales. That means other businesses, and sometimes even
'competitors' are making money through Amazon.com."
"'Amazon Hacks' is much more than a guide for getting the most out of
Amazon.com as it is today," states the Amazon.com Technology Team in
their foreword to the book, "It is a call to all true hackers out there
to innovate on the platform." In closing, they add, "By lowering the
barriers to entry and experimentation on top of the Amazon platform, we
invite true hackers to extend and enhance the platform for all to
enjoy--including us!"
"One can easily imagine the progress which commerce will one day make
in this immense and wealthy area, which is without rival in the world,"
wrote Jules Verne of the Amazon River. Armed with a copy of "Amazon
Hacks," Amazon.com users of every sort--from bargain hunters to power
hackers--may find themselves thinking the same thing.
Additional Resources:
Amazon Hacks
Paul Bausch
ISBN 0-596-00542-3, 280 pages, $24.95 US, $38.95 CA, 17.50 UK
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938; 1-707-827-7000
About O'Reilly
O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.
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