Amazon adds the ability to quiz authors through the Kindle

By Mike Flacy August 31, 2011

reading-kindle — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Announced today, Amazon is testing a new feature of the Kindle that allows readers to directly ask questions to the author of a book. Borrowing a page from Twitter, the program is called @author and allows readers to post questions from the Kindle. Readers can also visit the Amazon Author page to post questions on the Web. Questions are published on the Amazon Author page and readers interested in the author can read all questions. Using the 5-way controller, the reader can highlight a specific passage on the page and ask a question by typing ‘@author’ previous to the query. Readers are limited to 100 characters as Amazon is tweeting the question to the author.

Since the high-tech program is currently in beta form, there are only twelve authors participating in the process. Popular authors include action-adventure writer James Rollins, The 4-Hour Workweek author Timothy Ferriss, staff writer for The New Yorker Susan Orlean, suspense novelist C.J. Lyons, Rich Dad, Poor Dad scribe Robert Kiyosaki, Brad Meltzer of Identity Crisis fame and thriller, suspense writer Ted Dekker. Amazon is encouraging readers to ask specific questions about characters and situations within novels as well as an author’s personal influences and background on how they got started writing. Amazon is also attempting to dissuade readers from posting inflammatory or negative comments.

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This new program from Amazon is designed to help self-publishing authors open up a new venue for online marketing and accessibility. Traditional publishers have been slow to catch up to online promotion and successful authors that are publishing exclusively on the Kindle continue to be approached by large publishers that wish to purchase rights of publication for print. For instance, John Locke, one of the authors in the Amazon promotion, recently signed a deal with Simon & Schuster that allows the company to handle the promotion and sales of the print version of his works. However, Locke can continue selling digital versions without paying any piece of revenue to Simon & Schuster.

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Outdoors

Juiced Bikes offers 20% off on all e-bikes amid signs of bankruptcy

Juiced Bikes Scrambler ebike

A “20% off sitewide” banner on top of a company’s website should normally be cause for glee among customers. Except if you’re a fan of that company’s products and its executives remain silent amid mounting signs that said company might be on the brink of bankruptcy.That’s what’s happening with Juiced Bikes, the San Diego-based maker of e-bikes.According to numerous customer reports, Juiced Bikes has completely stopped responding to customer inquiries for some time, while its website is out of stock on all products. There are also numerous testimonies of layoffs at the company.Even more worrying signs are also piling up: The company’s assets, including its existing inventory of products, is appearing as listed for sale on an auction website used by companies that go out of business.In addition, a court case has been filed in New York against parent company Juiced Inc. and Juiced Bike founder Tora Harris, according to Trellis, a state trial court legal research platform.Founded in 2009 by Harris, a U.S. high-jump Olympian, Juiced Bikes was one of the early pioneers of the direct-to-consumer e-bike brands in the U.S. market.The company’s e-bikes developed a loyal fandom through the years. Last year, Digital Trends named the Juiced Bikes Scorpion X2 as the best moped-style e-bike for 2023, citing its versatility, rich feature set, and performance.The company has so far stayed silent amid all the reports. But should its bankruptcy be confirmed, it could legitimately be attributed to the post-pandemic whiplash experienced by the e-bike industry over the past few years. The Covid-19 pandemic had led to a huge spike in demand for e-bikes just as supply chains became heavily constrained. This led to a ramp-up of e-bike production to match the high demand. But when consumer demand dropped after the pandemic, e-bike makers were left with large stock surpluses.The good news is that the downturn phase might soon be over just as the industry is experiencing a wave of mergers and acquisitions, according to a report by Houlihan Lokey.This may mean that even if Juiced Bikes is indeed going under, the brand and its products might find a buyer and show up again on streets and trails.

Cars

Volkswagen plans 8 new affordable EVs by 2027, report says

volkswagen affordable evs 2027 id 2all

Back in the early 1970s, when soaring oil prices stifled consumer demand for gas-powered vehicles, Volkswagen took a bet on a battery system that would power its first-ever electric concept vehicle, the Elektro Bus.
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Cars

Nissan launches charging network, gives Ariya access to Tesla SuperChargers

nissan charging ariya superchargers at station

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