Amazon builds new link to Twitter

Earlier this month we wrote about how Amazon.com quietly created its own URL shortener for products sold on its sites, positioning itself to take better advantage of popular microblogging service Twitter. Now Amazon is taking that a step further. The online retailer has included Twitter in its "Share with Friends" feature on product pages. If you share an item on Twitter, it automatically creates a tweet with the product name and short Amazon URL.

I just tried the feature with the Dean Koontz book "Relentless." When I clicked on "Share with Friends," it gave me the option of using Twitter (along with Facebook, Myspace, and del.icio.us). I chose Twitter, and it automatically created a tweet from me that reads, "Relentless: A Novel by Dean Koontz http://amzn.com/0553807145".

Amazon's short URLs are essentially amzn.com/ plus a product number (ISBN or ASIN, which are listed on the product page).

The new feature represents a deeper integration between Amazon and Twitter, and shows that Amazon is looking to tap the microblogging service to spread the word about merchandise and drive sales. Various Amazon business units are already using Twitter to build buzz around products and services.

Amazon and Twitter have a variety of connections. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is a personal investor in Twitter, and Twitter uses Amazon's S3 cloud service for storing profile and background pictures.

About Eric Engleman

ERIC ENGLEMAN is senior technology staff writer for TechFlash and the Puget Sound Business Journal, covering online retail giant Amazon.com. Engleman tracks Amazon's increasingly complex business, spanning ecommerce, Kindle, cloud computing, and more. He's been covering technology and other industries for the Business Journal since 2003.

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