The Amazon savvy

I really keep marvelling at the sheer savvy of Amazon. It's uncanny. Sure, they have their blind spots, for example it's ridiculous that the Kindle can't read iPub. But to put out apps on all major platforms, and to pay for free 3G for their customers, is awesome and long-sighted. As is another one: their intense support for self-publishers and small publishers. In the short run, I'm sure it seems unimportant to other platforms, because obviously what 99% of readers want is the already known authors and the bestsellers. But in the long run, years and decades, who writes those bestsellers changes, and the more new authors publish first on the Kindle platform, the more bestsellers will come from there, and it will contribute enormously to the growth of the platform. And that's not even considering "the long tail" (which means a big number of marginal and niche titles) which is growing in volume and importance year over year as digital takes over, since there is not limit to Shelf Space in digital.