Bookselling Meets Social Networking:

[mandy]

The social network book sites are heaven-sent manna to book lovers, including compulsive book collectors with huge collections and an insatiable appetite for acquiring more books. This, coupled with site users want lists, and the fact that word of mouth is an effective ways of selling anything, especially books, makes the book social network sites a perfect fit for bookseller-related funding. Hence the affiliations by ABE, Amazon and other bookseller listing services.

To that end, general social network sites make sense for individual booksellers as well. Many independent brick-and-mortar bookstores have established a presence on MySpace and the others arranging and announcing author appearances and general events, making "friends" with colleagues and potential customers, particularly younger people...

The only seller downside we can think of regarding the social network book sites is a minor one: the tendency of large groups of collectors to trade, buy and sell among each other — cutting out the middle man;(advanced golf book collectors are notorious for this.) On the other hand, given all the obvious pleasures and benefits to the sites, we can see no downside for book lovers. ..

full article: http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/news/tren...hp/3754966