Image: Steacie Library, licenced creative commonsThis is a re-post of What Amazon's ebook strategy means by Scottish sci-fi author, blogger and commentator Charlie Stross. All rights remain with the author. Do check out his blog, Charlies Diary.

It seems to me that a lot of folks in the previous discussion don't really understand quite what makes Amazon so interesting—and threatening, for that matter—to the publishing industry.

So I'm going to take a stab at explaining.

Amazon was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos. And today it's the world's largest on-line retailer.

I submit that, as with all other large corporations, you cannot judge Amazon by the public statements of its executives; they are at best uttered with an eye for strategic propaganda effects, and at worst they're deeply self-serving and deceptive. Rather, you need to examine their underlying ideology and then the steps they take—and the actions they consider legitimate—in order to achieve their goals. Read more of this post