Re: [FRIAM] [ SPAM ] RE: IIIJ » HOW TO DISRUPT UNEMPLOYMENT

[Steve Smith]

On 11/30/14 8:08 AM, Jochen Fromm wrote: Some argue that being jobless is better than being employed by Walmart or its digital counterpart Amazon. I even wrote an application for Amazon once, but they rejected it. Maybe a reason why I started to dislike them. Another reason is they destroy bookshops and bookstores all over the world. And they don't treat their employees well. http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/nov/28/being-homeless-is-better-than-working-for-amazon I wrote an e-mail to Bezos early, early on.  I was trying to help R Books, Los Alamos prepare for the changes coming with the internet (ca 1994).  I wasn't sure Amazon was going to be "IT" but it sure looked like it from early on despite all the haters screaming "but where's the bricks and mortar?".   I suggested to Bezos that he loop "Indie Bookstores" into his business plan.   The simple concept was that when you get ready to order up on Amazon, that one of your options is to accept "fulfillment" through a local independent, either *because* they already have a copy in stock, or because they are already receiving bulk shipments from distributors and can have it there as quick as it can be delivered to your door.   In many cases, you might be able to pop down to the Indie *right now* and get the book.    Pricing, of course, is a challenge, because the Indies *do* pay for their bricks and mortar...  but if they are diversified enough, I think it could (could have?) worked.   The shipping cost + book cost from Amazon is always less than MSRP on the book... but if they already have it on the shelf, and you want it *today*, maybe you would pay a small bit over the Amazon price for the benefit of "right now"... and the Indie gets the benefit of increased traffic in-store (can you go into a bookstore without at least looking around, maybe making a full-retail impulse buy?). Bezos, surprisingly, engaged a little, but mostly to tell me why bricks and mortar are history and why he was going to soon own the world.   After a few rounds, I let it go... he clearly was "on a mission" that didn't include maintaining some of the character of small communities and small businesses.   Oh well... now the employees (and owners) of the Indies are working at WalMart or on Unemployment and wishing they could afford to buy books from Bezos, even at the discounts afforded by the UberScale, Just in Time everything. - Steve -J. Sent from my Tricorder -------- Original message -------- From: Tom Johnson Date:30/11/2014 15:49 (GMT+01:00) To: "Friam@redfish. com" Subject: [FRIAM] IIIJ » HOW TO DISRUPT UNEMPLOYMENT Cerf: still thinking big. http://iiij.org/disrupting-unemployment/1502 =================================== Tom Johnson - Inst. for Analytic Journalism Santa Fe, NM SPJ Region 9 Director t...@jtjohnson.com               505-473-9646 =================================== ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com

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