Open Questions
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Andrew Savikas
November 2, 2009
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Mobile as New Medium
Andrew Savikas
September 7, 2009
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While prepping for my talk tomorrow on mobile publishing at the Digital Publishing Group in New York, I was also popping in and out of a related ongoing email conversation about textbooks and iPhones, and couldn't help but weigh in on the question of how to handle some the issues like cross referencing and annotations on the iPhone compared with in a textbook. Several people suggested the comments were worth sharing with a larger audience:
These are relatively minor technical problems that generally already have solutions. The bigger issue I see is that thinking of the problem as "how do we get a textbook onto an iPhone" is framing it wrong. The challenge is "how do we use a medium that already shares 3 of our 5 senses -- eyes, ears, and a mouth -- along with geolocation, color video, and a nearly-always-on Web connection to accomplish the 'job' of educating a student." That's a much more interesting problem to me than "how do we port 2-page book layouts to a small screen."
Mobile is big on the agenda at TOC Frankfurt, TOC New York, and I'm sure will come up during the upcoming TOC online event.
Is Print a Preference or a Habit?
Andrew Savikas
March 16, 2009
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Over on the O'Reilly Radar blog, Dale Dougherty posted on students increasingly prefering the sound of MP3 over higher quality music:
[Jonathan Berger] has them listen to a variety of recordings which use different formats from MP3 to ones of much higher quality. He described the results with some disappointment and frustration, as a music lover might, that each year the preference for music in MP3 format rises. In other words, students prefer the quality of that kind of sound over the sound of music of much higher quality. He said that they seemed to prefer "sizzle sounds" that MP3s bring to music. It is a sound they are familiar with.
I remember wondering what audiophiles were up to, buying extremely expensive home audio systems to play old vinyl records. They put turntables in sand-filled enclosures with elaborate cabling schemes. I wondered what they heard in that music that I didn't. Someone explained to me that audiophiles liked the sound artifacts of vinyl records -- the crackles of that format. It was familiar and comfortable to them, and maybe those affects became a fetish. Is it now becoming the same with iPod lovers?
It sounds a lot like the complaints leveled against digital books, which often turn into litanies of the sensate qualities of print: touch, feel, smell, sound. I hear those comments all the time, unsurprisingly from people for whom printed books have been their primary means of reading for most of their lives. But in about 30 years, no one who's not eligible for AARP membership will remember a world without the Web. Print will always have a place, but by then I doubt it will be a primary format for many, many readers.
What do you think?
Open Question: Standalone iPhone Ebooks vs. E-Readers
Mac Slocum
December 1, 2008
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Ebooks as iPhone applications started as a novelty/workaround, but the technique is now being used by Houghton Mifflin for a full-fledged digital rollout. From Wired's Epicenter blog:
The publisher recently partnered with a design and development company called ScrollMotion to launch a series of bestselling in-copyright e-books for the iPhone where each title is its own app and a reader is bundled with each download. Thus the iPhone itself, despite the small screen and lack of E Ink technology, becomes the reader.
On the other side, the recently released Classics app uses the iPhone's software update to load new ebooks, and a number of publishers (including O'Reilly) deliver ebooks to the iPhone and iPod Touch through the Stanza e-reader.
Both methods have their pros and cons (e.g. storage limitations, selection, interface), but I'd like to know what TOC readers think: Which format holds the most promise? Which do you use?
Open Question: How Can Publishers Capitalize on Hot Topics?
Mac Slocum
October 15, 2008
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You can't fault Newsweek and Amazon for cashing in on pre-election interest with a series of Kindle-only candidate biographies. There's certainly nothing wrong with profitable aggregation of content, either. But the efficiencies gained from ebooks, e-readers and print on demand raise secondary questions I'd like to explore with the TOC Community:
- Can long-form content (print or digital) effectively capitalize on trendy subjects?
- Is there still a market for quickie books? Can they compete with Web content?
- Should publishers use Web/digital as a testbed for hot topics, then provide long-form content down the road? Or, will this technique spread them too thin?
Please share your thoughts in the comments area.
Open Question: Digital Ownership vs. Digital Subscriptions
Mac Slocum
October 1, 2008
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Two tips in Dear Author's recent post "10 Things Epublishers Should Do for Readers" caught my attention:
1. Eternal Bookshelf. An eternal bookshelf means that every purchase you have bought can be downloaded at any time. Most of the larger etailers have this feature but not all.
2. Mass Downloads. Along with the eternal bookshelf should be the ability to re-download all of your books. This is necessary in the case of a computer crash or some other computer related malfunction.
The focus on ownership is interesting, particularly since the concept of "owning" a digital file is inherently quirky. You can purchase and download books, music, TV shows, movies and software, but the tangible qualities of ownership don't apply in the digital realm. You don't categorize your digital movie collection on a DVD shelf and you don't thumb through a just-purchased ebook.
There's a weird dichotomy at play here. Many people (myself included) have come to terms with the ambiguous aspects of digital purchases, but a significant portion (again, myself included) gravitate toward digital ownership over digital subscriptions (e.g. the iTunes model vs. the Rhapsody model). The only clear difference between these models is access: purchased files are accessed from your local storage, subscriptions are accessed from a company's servers. But if your chosen material is available through your chosen device at your chosen time, does ownership really matter?
I'm interested in hearing how members of the TOC Community view the differences between ownership and subscriptions. Here's a few questions toward that end:
- Do you purchase digital content and store it on your own devices?
- Do you expect retailers to allow you to download additional copies of your purchased content?
- Do you subscribe to digital content?
- What would it take for you to switch from ownership to subscription?
Please share your thoughts in the comments area.
[TOC Community] How Does Digital Affect Territorial Rights?
Mac Slocum
September 22, 2008
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Over on the TOC Community, David Henley poses interesting questions about rights and territories:
With the looming ebook and international POD availability, won't the traditional territorial rights market start to become shaky? Especially for publishers in countries like Australia whose main income comes from distributing US and UK owned content?
Open Question: How Do You Use Web Video?
Mac Slocum
September 22, 2008
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Joost, a much-publicized video service, is overhauling its technology and adding social networking services in a bid to boost its user base. From MediaWeek:
At the center of the new social-centric Joost.com is JoostFeed, which much like Facebook's signature News Feed alerts users about what shows their friends are watching or have recently watched - hopefully stimulating more group viewing among Joost's users and more "I didn't know they had that show" moments.
Joost was originally released as a standalone application that required cumbersome download and installation, so the new Web-based version certainly offers a better user experience. But core technology has never been Joost's problem. The old software app and the new Web interface sport sleek interfaces and strong platforms, but the functionality doesn't overcome Joost's lack of interesting content.
Joost isn't alone. Every Web-based delivery platform is trying to find the right mix of content and technology. Since audience development is the ultimate measure of success in all of these video projects, I'm interested in hearing how the TOC Community interacts with online video:
Please share your thoughts in the comments area.
Open Question: All-in-One Devices or Single Use E-Readers?
Mac Slocum
September 15, 2008
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Comparisons between the Kindle and the iPhone often touch on functional differences: the Kindle is a dedicated reading device with a few extra features; the iPhone is a bundled gadget that can serve as an e-reader.
The gap between single- and multi-use devices raises key questions about the future of e-readers and ebooks:
- When it comes to reading digital books, do consumers prefer a dedicated device or an all-in-one gadget?
- Is the market big enough to support both types of devices?
On the Print is Dead blog, Jeff Gomez says dedicated e-readers work well for book reading:
One thing that I don't mind about the Kindle is that it's an extra device. I used to think that I wanted an integrated device -- one thing that did everything -- and that I wouldn't want to carry around yet another device or gadget. But I actually like the fact that the Kindle is (more or less) just a device for the reading of content. Maybe this harkens back to the fact that every book is a destination; you get into bed and pick up a book because you want to read. You don't pick up a book to take pictures, record video or get your voicemail. So the fact that I don't use the Kindle to play solitaire is fine with me. True, that means I can't read something if I leave the house and have just my cell phone in my back pocket. But then again, a cell phone screen is too small, and most books are too big, so carrying a Kindle seems the right compromise.
Alison Flood from The Guardian casts a vote for bundled devices:
I'm waiting for an e-reader that bundles many uses into one: music player, phone, BlackBerry, internet, ebooks. That's what will really make the market take off. Of course they won't ever replace books, but then they're not meant to. It'll be something new and different and very exciting. Just don't drop it in the bath.
Which type of device do you prefer? Please share your thoughts in the comments area.
Open Question: Do You Re-Read Books?
Mac Slocum
September 8, 2008
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Proponents on both sides of the ebook debate point to the archival/re-read nature of their chosen format, but I'm curious to see if re-reading is a common activity or one of those things we'd all like to do but can't find the time. Here's a few questions toward that end:
- Do you re-read books?
- If yes, how often? (i.e. You re-read 1-2 titles per year.)
- Which titles or genres do you re-read?
- Does a book's format -- print or digital -- make you more or less inclined to re-read a title?
Please share your thoughts in the comments area.
Open Question: Do You Read Books on a Cell Phone?
Mac Slocum
August 27, 2008
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Mobile book reading is already popular in Japan and anecdotal evidence suggests it could be catching on elsewhere. I'm curious to see how prevalent phone-based book reading is within the TOC community.
- Have you ever read an ebook on a cell phone? (This doesn't include Kindles, Sony Readers and other standalone e-reader devices).
- Have you read more than one ebook on a cell phone? If yes, how many do you typically read in a year?
- What inspired you to first read books on your phone?
- In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of reading books on phones?
Please share your thoughts in the comments area.
Open Question: Have You Seen a Kindle in Public?
Mac Slocum
August 19, 2008
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A flurry of new Kindle guesstimates and analyst predictions has reignited the Kindle number debate (something I'm not fond of). One of the oft-cited arguments is: "How can the Kindle be so popular if I've never seen one in public?"
There are big holes in this line of inquiry, but since it gets raised so often I figured a few device-spotting questions were worth posing to the TOC community:
- Have you seen a Kindle in public? If so, where did you see it?
- Have you seen a Sony Reader or other standalone e-reading device?
- Have you seen more than one e-reader?
- When did you first see an iPod in public? How about a cell phone?
- When did iPods and cell phones transition from public novelties to commonplace items?
Please share your thoughts in the comments area.
Open Question: Should Publishers Develop Software Apps?
Mac Slocum
July 21, 2008
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Book publishing's response (or lack thereof) to the iPhone 3G and the App Store has stirred up an interesting question around publishing and software development: namely, should publishers create their own software applications?
Sara Lloyd from thedigitalist says a focus on content, not software, is key:
Interestingly the price of apps [in Apple's store] is already plummeting as free apps get more highly and more frequently rated and the paid-for apps drop down the ratings. Perhaps this suggests even more strongly that the App is not The Thing; it is merely a container or a channel for the content, which will still be The Thing.
On the other side, James Bridle from booktwo.org says publishers are the natural source for e-reader apps:
Most ereader technologies are built by techies who put the technology before the reading experience: the combined skills of typesetters, print designers, editors and technologists that only publishers possess could, with the right direction, produce a far superior ereader app than any we've seen so far.
What's your take? Should book publishers move into the software domain? Please post your thoughts in the comments area.
Open Question: Will Genre Fiction Die Off With Traditional Readers?
Mac Slocum
July 8, 2008
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In a recent Washington Post column, Jonathan Karp outlines a theoretical scenario where the convergence of technology, self-publishing and consumer taste will force traditional book publishers out of the "disposable book" market. Karp writes:
Many categories of books will be subsumed by digital media. Reference publishing has already migrated online. Practical nonfiction will be next, winding up on Web sites that can easily update and disseminate visual and textual information. Readers of old-fashioned genre fiction will die off, and the next generation will have so many different entertainment options that it's hard to envision the same level of loyalty to brand-name formula fiction coming off the conveyor belt every year. The novelists who are truly novel will thrive; the rest will struggle. [Emphasis added.]
On first blush this "generational" point makes sense: multitasking and abundant entertainment options don't mesh with the languid pace and time investment required to enjoy genre fiction. But -- playing devil's advocate here -- are hyperactive tastes a defining characteristic throughout a person's lifetime? Isn't it possible that today's texting teen will, at some point in his/her life, gravitate toward the long-form storytelling found in genre fiction?
Please share your thoughts in the comments area.
Open Question: Do You Use Twitter?
Mac Slocum
July 1, 2008
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Mediabistro recently conducted an informal round-up of publishers and authors who use Twitter to publicize titles and interact with readers. Within TOC, we use Twitter (plug: follow us here) to exchange quick bursts of information and story ideas, and we've also found it to be a surprisingly effective beat coverage tool -- breaking stories and new memes often appear on Twitter before they hit the blogosphere and mainstream media outlets.
This anecdotal evidence suggests Twitter is gaining steam in the publishing world, but is that really the case? Are you using Twitter? Have you even heard of Twitter? Please share your thoughts in the comment area.
Open Question: How Can Ebooks Improve the Reading Experience?
Mac Slocum
June 24, 2008
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In "Random thoughts about the Kindle," Seth Godin suggests three ways the Kindle could improve the "act of reading a book":
* Let me see the best parts of the book as highlighted by thousands of other readers.
* Let me see notes in the margin as voted up, Digg-style, by thousands of other readers.
* Let me interact with hyperlinks and smart connections not just within the book but across books.
What suggestions do you have? How can digital books -- or, more broadly, digital content -- improve the reading experience? Please share your thoughts in the comments area.
Open Question: What is the Best Use for Print on Demand?
Mac Slocum
June 11, 2008
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PublicAffairs Books recently used POD services from Lightning Source to manage demand for Scott McClellan's What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception.
From a Lightning Source press release (pdf):
PublicAffairs' experience with this title demonstrates how POD can be used to supplement offset printings in specific cases in which demand exceeds supply for a short term. In this instance, the POD copies of the book will supplement large scale conventional offset reprints, which are underway.
PublicAffairs used POD as an insurance policy, and panelists in a Digital Custom Publishing session at BEA also noted POD's use in short runs, niche titles and its importance as a Long Tail tool.
But do insurance policies, niche books and Long Tail plays represent the extent of POD's opportunities? What options do you see for POD? How have you used it in your own organization? How will POD evolve? Please share your thoughts in the comments area.
Open Question: When Will Digital Books Overtake Print Books?
Mac Slocum
May 27, 2008
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We often discuss publishing's digital transition as though it's manifest destiny, but rarely do we see firm forecasts as to when (or if) this transition will occur.
Mike Shatzkin touched on this topic during a recent discussion on the Read 20 list:
We are going to have a bifurcated market for a while. The heavy users of 2.0 tools, including social networks, will tend to skew to "younger" and "techier." They will both go for the modern products and be marketed to by the modern means. The legacy market, of people reading plain old books in paper and then the same plain old books on Kindles and other screens, will remain where the money is for published content for some years, certainly at least one decade, to come. (Posted here with Mike's permission)
I'm interested in hearing what TOC readers think of the following:
- Do you believe digital books will supplant printed books?
- If no, why? If yes, when will it happen?
Please share your answers and thoughts in the comments area.
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