DPReview bought by Amazon.

[Andrew70]

I just saw this announcement on the site.
This makes me feel a bit uneasy as I'm not sure how independant the site can remain when it will now have to serve the corporate goals of it's Amazon masters.

[pkr]

Just noticed that myself.

I'm always sceptical about takeovers where editorial independence is assured.

[pkr]

Hmm. I hadn't realised IMDB was also an Amazon site. That at least appears to be largely the same as ever.

Assimilation!

[Matholwch]

I know that DPReview has had affiliated links with Amazon for a while - if you look at their camera spec page, you'll find a direct link to the product on Amazon.

But yes, it would make me fairly uneasy too. But I'm sure the guy who runs/ran DPReview would've stipulated that the site remained independent in its approach to reviews.

Also with Amazon backing it, he may be more privy to some newer releases - there were some raised eyebrows about the fact that he wasn't given a preview sample of the new cameras Canon released.

[chrisns]

But I'm sure the guy who runs/ran DPReview would've stipulated that the site remained independent in its approach to reviews.

I remain as the director of the business and retain full editorial control Amazon will have no affect on the reviews we write or the products we choose to review.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1000&thread=23219353&page=2

[chrisns]

Phil has my sympathy - absolutely any modification or upgrade he'll make to dpreview will now be scrutinised by his brand-fanatic forum users for any sign of Amazon's corporate hand.

[Andrew70]

Thing is, if he's totally unaffected by this takeover, it begs the question: what is Amazon getting out of it?

[Matholwch]

Thing is, if he's totally unaffected by this takeover, it begs the question: what is Amazon getting out of it?

Perhaps they were paying a fortune for his affiliated links, they also get a higher profile for their photography section - could have links directly from a product page to the review or forum discussing that camera.

Phil benefits, because he's no longer a lone figure, but has the backing of Amazon.

edit - yeah, very much doubt that affiliated links would be the reason.

[Pheonix]

I'm all for it if someone will sort the bloody site template out so its not 800x600 anymore!

[RobDickinson]

Thing is, if he's totally unaffected by this takeover, it begs the question: what is Amazon getting out of it?

Same as IMDB.

Direct links from dpreview to amazon products = sales. Easy.

[HaloMan]

Hmm. I hadn't realised IMDB was also an Amazon site. That at least appears to be largely the same as ever.
You're kidding right? IMDB has changed beyond recognition since Amazon's takeover in 1998, gaining a complete redesign because of it, losing features such as being able to download the database and gaining others like message-boards and commercialisation etc.

[DeadKenny]

I remember the days when IMDB came on a 3.5" floppy disc and anyone could make edits and submit them by email :D

Yeah, it's quite commercial now though and not sure how easy it is for users to make contributions compared to the good old days when it was totally user owned.


As for dpreview, are Amazon going to keep on the forums, especially given the heated and inflammatory comments they can make which could be damaging to Amazon? I can just see the melt down going on right now over this :D

And yeah, a face lift to bring the site at least into the late 90s design-wise would be nice ;)

[pkr]

You're kidding right? IMDB has changed beyond recognition since Amazon's takeover in 1998, gaining a complete redesign because of it, losing features such as being able to download the database and gaining others like message-boards and commercialisation etc.

I hadn't realised it was that long ago. I guessed it was much more recent and all the changes had happened before acquisition.

[Boink!]

Another one sold:

Steve's Digicams Sold

Steve Sanders, founder and principal reviewer of Steves-Digicams.com, one of the original big digital camera review sites, announced on Tuesday that the website has been sold to Internet Brands, an internet media company. Internet Brands, which owns a portfolio of more than 100 web properties and e-commerce sites, had revenues of $104 million in 2008, up from $89 million the year before. Steve's Digicams publishes more than 100 digital camera reviews a year. The site was founded 12 years ago, and is known for excellent review summaries and for pioneering the first "Digital Photo of the Day" contest.

The sale price has not been disclosed, but Internet Brands did reveal that it purchased CVTips.com, GrooveJob.com, Steves-Digicams.com, and SellMyCar.com in Q4 2008 for an aggregate price of $2.8 million.

from here (http://www.steves-digicams.com/diginews.html#steves_acquisition)

[Andrew70]

One thing I've noticed about DPReview since the takeover - news has slowed to a trickle.
Whereas we used to get a couple of stories each day, now we're lucky to get two or three a week.
I tend to only go there now when I want to find out what manufacturers are releasing.