Friday, September 25, 2015

Oyster, "Netflix For Books", Is Shutting Down

I read an article on Wired titled ‘Netflix for Books’ Startup Oyster Is Shutting Down by Davey Alba. In the article, Davey Alba writes the following:
The two-year-old company says it will take steps to “sunset” the Oyster service over the next few months and will honor customers’ requests for refunds over the next few weeks. It’s not immediately clear exactly why the company is shuttering its operations, but as Re/code initially reported, most of its team, including CEO Eric Stromberg and co-founders Andrew Brown and Willem Van Lancker, are joining Google to work on the company’s Google Play bookstore. (Google confirmed the move in an email to WIRED.)
“We believe more than ever that the phone will be the primary reading device globally over the next decade—enabling access to knowledge and stories for billions of people worldwide,” the co-founders wrote in a blog post. “Looking forward, we feel this is best seized by taking on new opportunities to fully realize our vision for ebooks.”
Click on top link to read the full story. 

 I haven't personally used Oyster's services myself. Yet, I found myself surprised by the announcement that they were shutting down. I'd think being able to read an unlimited amount of ebooks would be a huge draw for avid readers.

 Have any of you used Oyster? Are you sad to see that they'll be shutting down?
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7 comments:

  1. FancyHorseSeptember 25, 2015 at 7:35 PM

    No, I don't think I'd heard of Oyster. Sounds like it would have been a good idea though.

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    Replies
    1. Captivated ReaderSeptember 25, 2015 at 8:48 PM

      Oyster came and went so quickly!! Sad to hear it will we shutting down soon.

      Delete
  2. VonnieSeptember 26, 2015 at 6:26 PM

    Huh...I've never heard of it. That's too bad though.

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    Replies
    1. Captivated ReaderSeptember 26, 2015 at 10:08 PM

      Many people I've spoken with haven't about Oyster!! Maybe that's why Oyster is shutting down??

      Delete
    2. VonnieSeptember 28, 2015 at 12:30 AM

      That's what I figure too. Advertisement is key in getting the word out.

      Delete
  3. BagginsSeptember 26, 2015 at 10:39 PM

    That's too bad. I'd wish I'd heard of it. A Netflix for books is something I would appreciate! Sounds like they're all heading to a good job with Google's initiative though, so that's not too sad for them, at least.

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