I don’t mind the ads on the Kindle sleep screen. In fact, I like them so much that I would have opted for them even if the setting was not cheaper than the ad-free. It is the most unobtrusive advertising conceivable, and potentially very helpful. However, Amazon has uncharacteristically squandered this opportunity and a little goodwill.
- There is zero thought put into targeting this advertisement. I will swear on a stack of Hustlers there is nothing in my purchasing history that would lead them to recommend this book to me. This is a non-sequitur of Netflixian levels.
- So unobtrusive is this ad, that I can’t even claim that it wastes my time. At most, it simply prevents me from being exposed to a different book I might actually have a chance in hell of reading.
- The worst part is that it appears on my screen where people might get the wrong impression that I am reading this, or the one about the cowboy and MBA, or the single mother and incognito prince. To avoid this humiliation, I frequently keep the screen turned face down where it can get scratched or damaged. Hey, wait a minute! You don’t think . . . well played, Bezos! Well played!