FAQ and Guide for the Book Reviews Feature

We're adding a Beta version of a Book Review feature we're really excited about. The FAQ is below - keep in mind that we will change this feature based on your feedback and what you'd like it to be (there are some restrictions because of the platform so we might not be able to do all the changes you ask for).

What is this Feature?

Its a Reviews Feature - To begin with we have 5 categories of items you can review -

1. Books
2. Kindle Store - Kindle edition books.
3. Movies - You can review any movie available at Amazon.
4. Music - if you like an artist you can add a review for any of their albums.
5. Electronics - Write about your ipod, your favourite camera, and so forth.

Books and Kindle edition books make obvious sense. We've added a few more categories so people can add reviews of their favorite items.

What are the Benefits?

Four main benefits -

1. Share your reviews with others.
2. Help decide whether to get a book .
3. Create a very personalized review with pictures, formatting, links, etc.
4. Every time a user likes your review, they have the option to use your amazon affiliate link. Please see the question below for more details on if/how/how much affiliate income this could mean.

Explain the profit sharing model - how many free books would it translate to?

Most book and movie social networks make money off of a variety of sources, one of which is referral/affiliate commissions for books/movies bought off the site. We want to try a new model i.e. let users get the affiliate commissions 50% to 100% of the time. Basically, booksummit will use its own affiliate ID some percentage of the time to support hosting costs. The rest of the time your affiliate ID (if you supply it, and we strongly recommend doing so) is used. Given that Kindle edition books are relatively inexpensive, this might not be a lot of money. Also, we're in beta with 425 members. As we grow there is a good chance that you could make a non zero amount from commissions. And adding reviews for other items like DVDs, electronics and gadgets that you are passionate about is highly recommended since these typically have higher commissions.

Does Amazon allow this?

I think it does. If they tell us to stop we'll have to stop.

Won't the first few reviewers have an advantage?

Yes, they will - eventually we'll add the ability to rate the reviews themselves and bubble up most trusted reviews. At the moment the first few people to review an item have a strong inherent advantage.

What are the quality guidelines?

Add value for people - since they decide whether or not to support you when they purchase a product. Please don't do self promotion or land grabs.