Amazon

Hey guys, welcome to my blog. Todays subject is:

AMAZON.COM

Back about twenty years ago, before many of you were even born, there was a website called Cadabra.com?  Ever hear of it?  No? Hey, that's ok, because most others haven't either?  How about Amazon.com, ever hear of that one? Of course, right? So now the question becomes, what do the two dot coms have to do with each other?  Let's start back at the beginning.   



Image 1.  The man, Jeff Bezos

Introducing Jeff Bezos (Image 1). In 1994, after leaving his job on Wall Street, Bezos moved to Seattle. He hoped to capitalize on, what was left of, the booming dot com industry.  After considering what kind of business he wanted to start, he narrowed his choices and decided to start an online bookstore.  Once incorporated, the company went online and began doing business; Douglas Hofstadter's book Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought (image 3) was the first book ever sold on Amazon("Amazon.com", n.d.) 



Image 2.  Beyoncé and Kesha

For years, what we know as Amazon was commonly referred to as Amazon.com. However, before that even, the original plan was to call it Cadabra.com.  Today, the name Amazon is associated with value and convenience; it has become so familiar and recognizable that few people bother to include the dot com anymore.  This is a fairly common practice these days.  How so? Many of today’s brands, icons, and even celebrities were once known by other names.  Kesha, formerly known as Ke$ha, was born Kesha Rose Sebert and, for quite some time, Beyonce used her full name after leaving her successful girl group, Destiny’s Child, to pursue a solo career (Image 2).  Sometimes these name changes are a result of personal or professional choices. Then again, sometimes there is no official change, but instead an implied change is adopted by the masses. Both of these examples apply Amazon.com; the company formally changed its original name and then the public ( like you and me) shortened it, dropping the dot com, for everyday use.  The original name, Cadabra.com, was abandoned because it sounded too much like the word cadaver (a dead body).  Additionally, the new name made sense, because the word amazon appears near the top of any alphabetized list, giving it an advantage in search engine lists ("Amazon.com", n.d.). Like its name, Amazon.com has adapted and evolved from an online bookstore to the multifaceted e-commerce juggernaut you see today.







Thanks for stopping in. I really hope you've enjoyed your visit, because I sure enjoyed having you. If you did and you'd you like to know a little more, stick around minute. Check out the timeline below, it highlights some of the events that helped make Amazon what it is:



Image 3.  This book, really?

1994

• Cadabra.com is incorporated by founder Jeff Bezos, who quickly chooses the name Amazon.com instead

1995

• Amazon.com officially goes online
• The company’s first book is sold (Image 3).

1997

• The company goes public and begins trading on the stock market.

1998

• International sites begin doing business in the United Kingdom and Germany
• The site begins offering DVD and VHS videos

1999

• 

  Image 4.  Not too shabby

  Time Magazine names Jeff Bezos its Person of the Year (Image 4)

2000

• Amazon's introduces its new logo. With a smile shaped arrow pointing from the A to the Z in Amazon, the logo implies that the company offers any and all products from A to Z (Image 5)
• Amazon/Toys R Us alliance is formed
  
  

  
  
• Kitchen department goes online

Image 5.  A to Z logo

2001

• Amazon/Borders and Amazon/Target alliances are formed
• In-store pick up is introduced

 2005



• Amazon Wedding is introduced





Image 6.  Katrina damage

• Company partners with celebrities to raise money for hurricane victims (Image 6)
• Amazon Prime is introduced (a flat annual fee for unlimited express shipping

2006

• Grocery department goes online
• DVD quality video downloads are available with Amazon Unbox service

2007

• 

  

  Image 7.  Amazon gets techy.

  Amazon Unbox is made available to all TiVo (DVR) subscribers
• Amazon MP3 is launched
• The first Kindle is introduced (Image 7)
• Amazon purchases The Tales of Beetle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

2008

• Announces the acquisition of Audible.com for $300 million
• Announces the acquisition of BoxOfficeMojo.com
• Motorcycle and ATV department goes online

2009 

Image 8.  Cell phone anyone?

• Kindle 2 is introduced
• Kindle apps for iPhone and iPod are introduced 
• Amazon store for Xbox live is launched 
• Outdoor Recreation department goes online 
• AmazonWireless is launched (Image 8) 
• Free shopping app for android is launched

2010

• Kindle app for major platforms are introduced (BlackBerry, Mac, iPad)
• Next generation Kindle is announced
• Amazon WebStore is launched

2011

• 

  Image 9.  Cool comic partnership

  Forms a partnership with DC Comics (Image 9)
• Prime Instant Video is made available to all Prime members
• Appstore for android is made available
• Amazon launches Kindle Fire, Kindle Touch, and Kindle Touch 3G
• US children’s book titles by Marshall Cavendish are acquired by Amazon publishing

2012

• Amazon studios develop original shows for instant video
• Avalon Books are acquired by Amazon Publishing

Image 10.  Amazon delivers

2013

• Amazon introduces a plan to partner with the U.S. Postal Service to deliver packages on Sundays
• The TV show 60 Minutes reveals Amazon Prime Air; a plan to use unmanned drone based delivery system (Image 10)

2014

• Amazon announces plans to open an actual brick and mortar store in New York
• Fire TV box is announced to compete with Apple TV and Google’s Chromecast
• Fire Phone is released in July
• Fire TV Stick is launched (like the Fire TV box but much smaller)
  

Amazon.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from December 2, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon.com
(6) After Hurricane Katrina [Online image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://bashapedia.pbworks.com/w/page/22888219/ the%20damage%20of%20hurricane%20katrina
(3) Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies [Online image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_Concepts_and_Creative_Analogies
(2) HBO; MTV [Online image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/ archive/2013/04/ what-beyonc-could-learn-from-ke-ha-how-to-actually-humanize-a-pop-star/275266/
(1) Unknown [Online image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.lapatilla.com/site/2014/05/22/ presidente-de-amazon-se-lleva-el-premio-al-peor-jefe-del-mundo/
(4) Unknown [Online image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://blog.econsultant.com/who-was-time-person-of-the-year-for-1999-jeff-bezos
(5) Unknown [Online image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hd-tecnologia.com/amazon-entra-en-el-mundo-de-la-moda/
(7) Unknown [Online image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://nvate.com/3814/gear-review-the-kindle-touch/kindle4/
(8) Unknown [Online image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://th-th.facebook.com/AmazonWireless
(9) Unknown [Online image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://pieceofcape.blogspot.com/2012/08/ continuity-most-powerful-word-in-comics.html
(10) Unknown [Online image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/WRrxOfgwFyw/ maxresdefault.jpg