Update 1/07/2007 - I've replaced the Amazon Omakase ad with auto-generated product ads for books in Amazon's Internet and Computing Category. Not sure what influences the product selections - best sellers, blog content, buyer history, or overstock :)
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I'm trying out the beta of Amazon's Omakase ("Leave it up to us") product advertising. See the lavender bordered ad box (below the google ads) on the right side bar.
Amazon describes the Omakase program as: "Omakase - leave it up to us! Omakase links will show an Associate's visitors what they're most likely to buy based on Amazon's unique understanding of the site, the user, and the page itself."
In quick - completely unscientific testing - I noticed that "the user" influence is strong. On my machine without Amazon cookies, I was offered books on service-oriented architecture, information architecture and enterprise architecture. On my machine with Amazon cookies, in addition to the geek tomes, I was offered fiction and an X41 docking station that I looked at recently.
Right now, the only configuration offered is the ad display. So, the products offered might be from any category (cheerios anyone?) or even from a competitor (Service Orient or Be Doomed!
While trying this won't expedite my retirement, the best way to understand something is to participate. I'm interested in hearing from readers - are the offers presented matches, complete misses, or just annoying.
Sooner or later folks will figure out how to spam it for their own benefit...
Posted by: James | August 06, 2006 at 09:35 PM
Brenda,
Very interesting offers from both google and amazon.
On the David Luckham CEP page, google offers up a solar powered radio, weather radio, security & survival gear, and a like for getting money from FEMA. Given that the quote references homeland security, global warming, and events--seems like a logical choice.
Amazon offered a few SanDisk cards, V for Vendetta DVD, and Nancy Drew--and finally the Java UML Modeling in Color book. (Does anyone read Coad anymore?...with SOA once could ask, does anyone write Code anymore?)..
--Steve
Posted by: Steve | August 07, 2006 at 01:50 PM
Hey Steve - I hadn't tried the Luckham page. Google is preparing me for a disaster (here in Maine, no less), and Amazon offers Thomas Erl's SOA book for candlelight reading, and given its heft, a hammer or weapon. I bet Kurzweil's Age of Spiritual Machines comes up when I write about your work. Of course, as James points out in his comment, I can probably influence that with my word choices. -brenda
Posted by: brenda michelson | August 07, 2006 at 05:49 PM