Amazon.com Intros “Search Suggestions” Feature
Written by Evan SchumanIn a bid to help improve its search accuracy and relevancy, Amazon.com on Thursday rolled out a feature it’s calling “Search Suggestions,” which allows site visitors to suggest non-intuitive word associations. Jupiter Research analyst Patti Freeman Evans applauded the effort, describing it as “a great experiment. This is kind of an interesting way to tap into the really involved customers.”
One example that Amazon cited: “The Shakespeare play ‘Macbeth’ now appears when customers search for ‘The Scottish Play.’ The customer’s explanation is shown next to a link to the book: ‘theater superstition dictates that “Macbeth” is referred to as “the Scottish play.”"
“Amazon’s announcement added in the generous line that “there is no charge” for the service, whereby tons of consumers spend their own time improving Amazon’s for-profit-service. The most frightening part is that the line’s inclusion brings up the possibility that someone at Amazon actually considered charging for it.
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I have strong reservations about the 'individual' certification and posting of that information for merchants. Can you imagine the potential employee poaching that might occur? The implications when competitors can look up how many are certified with each of their competitors? 
-Christine
