Kobo Books: Customer Service

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Customer ServiceI’ve tracked www.Kobobooks.com for several weeks now, keeping my eye on the following things:

My intent has been to deduce whether Kobo seems to understand what it will take to become a serious player in the eBook retail universe currently dominated almost exclusively by Amazon and their Kindle store. My perspective is unabashedly that of an indie author. Today’s post will discuss Kobo’s customer service. (Follow the linked bullet points for the other posts.)

Results: Customer Service

I’ve by no means tested every aspect of Kobo’s interaction with users of its new Writing Life platform, but I’ve published a handful of titles, changed prices, sent some inquiries, suggestions and complaints.

Here’s what I’ve learned.

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Downtown Nampa: Bowl of Phở

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phoAt 83,000 residents Nampa, Idaho is the second largest city in the state. Both the redneck and spiritual center of the state, Nampa is the rural, God-fearing workingman’s urban hub. But, after suffering a series of brutal economic blows and setbacks, downtown Nampa now teeters at the brink. Or maybe it’s a turning point.

Step aside BoDo. It’s time for another installment of DNT. (Official revival name yet to be determined, but work with me on this.)

Downtown should always be synonymous with diversity (in my opinion), so this week I’m proud to boast about Nampa’s best and only Vietnamese restaurant, smack dab in the middle of downtown.

The Little Saigon

I realize I am a whitey, like most of those here in Nampa (either hispanic or whitey). But I do own a Vietnamese kid and spent a couple weeks in country while acquiring him. My wife and I have eaten Pho in five states and two countries (including the one it originated in). So I have a little authority when I say Little Saigon makes a mean bowl of Pho. (Maybe a little more cracked pepper than traditional, but I find the twist a nice touch). My only criticism is they don’t have a large bowl option. The only size they serve is plenty satisfying for normal or healthy appetites. But there is occasion for a whopping bowl.

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Kobo Books: Search Capabilities

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Kobo free filtered searchI’ve tracked www.Kobobooks.com for several weeks now, keeping my eye on the following things:

My intent has been to deduce whether Kobo seems to understand what it will take to become a serious player in the eBook retail universe currently dominated almost exclusively by Amazon and their Kindle store. My perspective is unabashedly that of an indie author. Today’s post will discuss Kobo’s search and sort capabilities. (Follow the linked bullet points for the other posts.)

Results: Searching and Sorting

Shelf space has been heralded as the game changing factor of the eBook age. No longer are books, readers or authors restricted to the physical space of brick and mortar stores. As a result smaller genres and niche and/or genre bending stories have more likelihood of gaining readership (theoretically).

But these eBooks still have to grab the attention of readers in order to be read. SEO has become the new shelf space. Search capabilities and clever algorithms (killbots as I like to call them) rule the day. So, for Kobo to be a real player in the emerging eBook retail sector it would stand to reason they must address this critical need. How have they done?

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