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Clouds mostly
Clouds mostly
From the perspective of publishers, I believe cloud (network)- based purchase/access models for books are compelling, and the existing blob-download model (as Kindle presently supports) will be a relatively fleeting one. Among other problems, the download scenario assumes that books will stay static and unconnected as a dominant characteristic, and I don't believe that will be the normative case.
While I don't think everything will present a multimedia "whiz-bang" gaming interface, I do think readers will ultimately come to assume that their stories are bound into broader network information spaces such as location and street mapping, online reference, social/ collaborative interactions, and so forth.
Put another way, I don't think any of these network pieces will be transformative of fiction (perhaps they will be more so of non-fiction), but they will be increasingly assumed by readers. And in their turn, more importantly, readers will be increasingly assuming they can write as well - maybe not directly into the published work, but in a way that enables a creative process and personal integration with art and science nonetheless.
This is a revolution afoot.
While I don't think everything will present a multimedia "whiz-bang" gaming interface, I do think readers will ultimately come to assume that their stories are bound into broader network information spaces such as location and street mapping, online reference, social/ collaborative interactions, and so forth.
Put another way, I don't think any of these network pieces will be transformative of fiction (perhaps they will be more so of non-fiction), but they will be increasingly assumed by readers. And in their turn, more importantly, readers will be increasingly assuming they can write as well - maybe not directly into the published work, but in a way that enables a creative process and personal integration with art and science nonetheless.
This is a revolution afoot.
1 comment
Publisher's would LOVE to be able to charge per-use (or a monthly licensing fee) for books. A traditional printed book you pay once for, you get to keep it forever, you get to loan it to as many people as you want, you even get to sell it to someone else if you want--and the copyright owner never gets a cut of any of those 'transactions'. They'd love to change that, sure, from the perspective of publisher's that's compelling, but how about from the perspective of readers/consumers or libraries? Note well that the traditional business of libraries (buying once and then sharing with a community of patrons without re-paying the copyright holder ever again) is exactly what publisher's would love to abolish.
07/18/08 @ 22:22
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This is the personal blog of Peter Brantley, and the opinions expressed here are his own and are not reflective of any of his employers in the continuum of history, or the University of California, which provides support for this blog.
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