Who’s Idea is it Anyway: Announcing Kindle Unlimited

This digital world we live in is an interesting place, huh? We can whole-heartedly encourage innovation, small business, and startups and then turn around and pilfer those brilliant ideas. I find myself torn between being someone who works in the creative industry, and a consumer. I value a great idea, but I also (maybe selfishly) love a good consumer experience.

Today, Amazon announced the launch of their new program called Kindle Unlimited. It’s exactly as it sounds, for $9.99 you get unlimited books, much like Hulu or Netflix! Sounds amazing, right? Well, that’s because it is. So amazing actually that two smaller companies called Oyster and Scribd launched this same concept not even a year ago. The concept is the same, and yet I found myself immediately canceling my Oyster subscription to hop on board with Kindle Unlimited, even though I have been an Oyster user for the past 6 months. Why? Because Amazon just does it better. Their user experience is exceptional (in my opinion). I already have the kindle app on my phone, an Amazon Prime account, and a long lasting relationship with the company.

Although I am an Amazon loyalist through and through, it does hurt to think about how Oyster and Scribd will fair in the aftermath of Kindle Unlimited. They had a brilliant idea, and Amazon capitalized on the success. Only time will tell how their brand will hold up.