Two days ago the bad news came. Digital Photography Review, known to all as DPReview, will close forever. This was announced by the site itself with a decidedly concise press release that refers to the words of Andy Jassy (CEO of Amazon) who wanted to talk about the staff cuts and which involve various activities of the US giant. It was no news that Amazon intended to downsize its staff considering that already in November last year there was talk (with a subsequent official confirmation) of a cut of 10,000 employees. With the new year, things have not improved and in January there was talk of as many as 18,000 employees while two days ago another 9,000 people were added. Closes DPReview definitively The downsizing has not only affected the part dedicated to online sales. Other businesses, such as Twitch, have been hit “by the ax” of layoffs, and among these DPReview, as written above. The situation for the well-known reference site for the world of photography is also quite serious as it is not simply a downsizing but a real closure with the deletion of the contents. Barring changes, the words in the statement are quite clear. The official release (signed by Scott Everett, General Manager) reads that “Dear readers, after nearly 25 years of operation, DPReview will close in the near future. This difficult decision is part of the annual review of the operating plan that our parent company [ndr. Amazon] he shared earlier this year. The site will be live until April 10th and the editorial team is still working on revisions and are looking forward to providing some of our best content yet. All of our staff members were DPReview readers and fans prior to working here, and we are grateful for the communities that have formed around the site. Thank you for your support over the years and we hope you will join us in the coming weeks as we celebrate this journey”. In a short FAQ it can also be read that “the site will be closed, with no further updates after April 10, 2023. Thereafter the site will be available in read-only mode for a limited period”. It is then added that “you can request the download of all the photos and text you have uploaded to the site. This will be available until April 6, after which we will not be able to complete the request”. Two well-known faces of DPReview, Chris Niccolls and Jordan Drake, have found a new home on the PetaPixel site (well known, but not at the level of the previous one). In general, this is a great loss for the world of the Web and for all photography enthusiasts.To understand Amazon’s move, it would be necessary to have further information that goes beyond the general data of the realities involved and which perhaps will never be officially disclosed. the entire site with special programs or sites is almost impossible due to the enormous amount of data accumulated in 25 years of online activity.Some attempts are underway thanks to Archive Time which could copy a large part of the site while other users would be saving further sections (such as the comparison photographs of the reviews).Obviously one hopes for a partial change of course and at least leave the site in read-only (but it would be more to the benefit of users than of society, so this is unlikely to happen).
