Call me a Luddite, but I'm underwhelmed by shelfari.com. So the news that some big online bookseller with a riverine name has invested in the site has me puzzled. Shelfari works like this: you sign up and then list the books you own or have read. This list is available for the whole wide world to see. You can post reviews of your books and meet likeminded readers with similar tastes. Then you can stalk your new virtual friends, peeking at what they have read and what they thought. See their virtual bookshelves at any time. And show them yours.
Or maybe it's like a terrible cocktail party where you can't get away from the book bore who's staked out the drinks table. Except that now he can follow you home and look in your windows.
My feeling is that if you want to see what's on my shelves you have to be charming enough to get an invitation to my house. If you can't do that, you'll just have to live in ignorance of my wonderful and diverse tastes and possessions.--David E
If you feel otherwise, feel free to post a comment.
1 comment:
It is indeed a puzzling investment since #1 LibraryThing is better and #2 Amazon already has Your Media Library. But then again, aside from reviews, amazon has always failed to engender an interesting community and shelfari seems to be doing okay in that respect.
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