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THE BIZNOB – Global Business & Financial News – A Business Journal – Focus On Business Leaders, Technology – Enterpeneurship – Finance – Economy – Politics & LifestyleTHE BIZNOB – Global Business & Financial News – A Business Journal – Focus On Business Leaders, Technology – Enterpeneurship – Finance – Economy – Politics & Lifestyle

Technology

Technology

Amazon glitch gives customers big news

Amazon sent several customers e-mail alerts Tuesday notifying them that items on their baby registries had been purchased and were on the way, MarketWatch reports.

But, many who received the e-mails did not have registries and were not expecting babies. Some such customers assumed the messages were spam and did not click the link provided. Those who followed the link were directed to a broken page, according to MarketWatch.

An informal poll conducted in the Fortune office indicated that most people who received the e-mail did have registries via Amazon. MarketWatch says such customers clicked the link to find that nothing on their registries had in fact been purchased.

“A technical glitch caused us to inadvertently send a gift alert e-mail earlier today,” Amazon said in an e-mail to affected customers. “We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.”

Customers who received the e-mail in error took to social media. All were baffled. Some were amused. Others were offended.

Several hoped their non-existent babies had received alcoholic beverages.

“It better be wine cause I’m definitely not pregnant,” one woman tweeted.

A man who received the email expressed a similar wish. “Amazon notified me that someone bought a gift from my baby registry. Shocked to learn I’m a father; hope his wishlist was mostly bourbon,” he wrote.

Washington Post reporter Karen Tumulty, who also received the e-mail in error, tweeted: “My baby is 21, and hopes it’s a keg.”

Some took sheer delight in Amazon’s miscue. In a tweet directed at the company, one woman wrote: “Please don’t fire the person who accidentally sent all those baby registry emails, it was really funny and made my day.”

Of course, Amazon’s statement implies the culprit was not a person but a misguided piece of software.

Some have joked that Amazon’s software, which collects extensive data on customers, perhaps knew users were pregnant before users themselves did.

One woman tweeted: “Me: *opens email* Amazon baby registry gift? But I’m not pregnant. Amazon’s new AI program: that’s what you think.”

Some women who are infertile or have miscarried took offense at the blunder.

“Pro tip @amazon & @amazonregistry,” one woman wrote. “Don’t send infertile women who’ve miscarried notices for gifts for a baby registry they don’t have.” The woman asked for an apology and an explanation from Amazon.

Glitches are rare for Amazon but do happen. In mid-July, on Prime Day, a 30-hour sales event during which Amazon offers promotions to members of its benefits program, the company’s website fell victim to slowdowns and other quirks.

Some customers saw error messages when they tried to add items to their digital “carts.” Others reported getting multiple “Prime Savings” discounts on a single item.

Amazon’s system unintentionally discounted several video games. Some PlayStation 4 games were listed for as little as $12.

The sale is among Amazon’s busiest events of the year. Mehdi Daoudi, CEO of Catchpoint, a firm that collects traffic and speed data for websites, said that, overall, Amazon, which is renowned for its ability to accommodate spikes in site traffic, managed the frenzy well.

“As usual, Amazon is handling the extra load very well, despite the fact that their web pages got heavier than usual with all the Prime Day product images,” he said per Digital Commerce 360.

While Tuesday’s Amazon glitch concerned the gift of new life, a blunder by Facebook last November involved the other end of the life cycle. The social media giant erroneously flagged some profiles with messages saying their owners were dead.

The bug even killed off Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Engadget notes. A banner on his profile read: “We hope people who love Mark will find comfort in the things others share to remember and celebrate his life.”

Here in the 21st century, of course, we live and die by technology.

Featured image via Pixabay


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