Book publisher Hachette is no longer in a blood feud with Amazon, but it’s already experimenting with new, Bezos-free online selling options, just in case. The latest: An experiment where best-selling Hachette authors will be able to sell its books directly to fans on Twitter.
Hachette is partnering with Gumroad, a company that helps people sell stuff on Twitter. The first patch of authors includes crowdfunding enthusiast Amanda Palmer, gentle Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, and The Onion. There will be a “buy” button so people won’t have to leave their feed to spend money on books.
Twitter has experimented with a “Buy” button and is not shy about its intention to turn into a storefront. It acquired payment startup Cardspring for that exact purpose. This Hachette experiment underlines that companies are seriously looking at Twitter as a potential marketplace. Now it’s just a question of whether people want to buy things on Twitter at all. [New York Times]