Bezos Hopes for Longer Attention Spans

Mac Slocum
April 21, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Listen

In his annual letter (PDF) to Amazon shareholders, Jeff Bezos discusses the Kindle's place in an "info-snacking" world:

... networked tools such as desktop computers, laptops, cell phones and PDAs have changed us too. They've shifted us more toward information snacking, and I would argue toward shorter attention spans ... If our tools make information snacking easier, we'll shift more toward information snacking and away from long-form reading. Kindle is purpose-built for long-form reading. We hope Kindle and its successors may gradually and incrementally move us over years into a world with longer spans of attention, providing a counterbalance to the recent proliferation of info-snacking tools.

(Via Peter Brantley's read20 listserv.)