"AMAZON HOSTING AUTHOR BLOGS"

This is a great move by Amazon. This is something I posted about before. All authors should have blogs to continue the conversation and discussions around their writing and thoughts to engage their readers and extended the life of a book.

Adding to its user-generated content, Amazon.com has launched a program to allow authors to blog on the Amazon.com site.

The Amazon Connect program, in beta for the past month, aims to increase the engagement between readers and authors, and between readers and Amazon.com. It provides authors with a channel to market new products to consumers who bought their books in the past, and gives them a reason to visit Amazon.com.

"This is a very smart move by Amazon. By asking authors to blog, Amazon is encouraging a dialogue with customers without having to invest any extra effort themselves. It's the online equivalent of an author book signing," Andy Beal, president and CEO of search and blog marketing firm Fortune Interactive, told ClickZ News. (full article)