Otis Chandler, CEO, Goodreads: a way to discover books online. 9 million users and found that the data they collected is a major business all by itself.
315 million books shelved the site and growing at 17 million a month. Gives huge insight into reading behavior. 6 million books discovered (put on the “to read” shelf) per month. Statistics show that these books have a very long tail.
People discover books mostly be search and friend updates – 28% 13% by recommendation engine. Search drives the long tail of discovery. Recommendation engine uses a Netflix level recommendation algorithm. 20 billion data points about books. Launched in September, 20122 and resulted in a 60% increased in books discovered in months following launch. A taste-based algorithm. Designed to hit a mid-list sweet spot.
Lists and genre browsing account for 16% of discovery and focused on popular and mid-list titles. 20,000 book clubs on Goodreads.
Business model is based around selling book launch packages to publishers. With all their data they can do deep-targeted ads.
