Comments on: The Book is Dead! Long Live the Book

By: Book Publishers Need to Wake Up And Smell the Disruption: Tech News and Analysis «

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:33:34 +0000

[...] to disrupt the industry on a whole series of levels and reshape the future of the book, as Om has written about in the past. And evidence continues to accumulate that e-books are not just something established authors with [...]

By: Juan

Juan — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:17:06 +0000

I own a huge hard-copy library, however now I have close to 400 ebooks (free and paid-for), I was am avid reader, now I read even more, I read 2-3 books a week, with my IPAD Kindle reader, I can’t stop reading almost al the time (except when I am working). Companies that have not got the message with go caput, this is the new reality.

By: Why E-readers Are Good for Books: People Read More « WTI NewsBlog

Why E-readers Are Good for Books: People Read More « WTI NewsBlog — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:02:23 +0000

[...] the evolution of books from print to digital is just one of the ongoing transformations in media, including music, movies and other forms of content. Yesterday at our GigaOM Pro Bunker Session on the disintermediation of the publishing industry, [...]

By: Why E-readers Are Good for Books: People Read More

Why E-readers Are Good for Books: People Read More — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:31:07 +0000

By: Tamara Gruber

Tamara Gruber — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:38:23 +0000

The thought of bookstores closely makes me sad. I will admit, that since I purchased an iPad, I’ve bought more ebooks than physical books (although more from Kindle than iBooks due to the selection.) However, I have discovered some of these after browsing through bookstores. No one merchandises as well as Barnes & Noble to allow me to discover and try new authors. As physical media moves to digital media, we are faced with the same difficulty as finding good apps on the App Store and discovering new musical artists (at least we have the radio). I know I was manipulated in bookstores by the tables out front that publishers pay extra for and best seller lists, but at least I had the option to wander up and down aisles to see what catches my eye. Doing this online is not as easy or enjoyable. I guess where one door closes, another opens, and the opportunity for resources for book discovery increase. Whether it is recommendation engines from Amazon, Genius for iBooks, or simply podcasts like Books on the Nightstand, I’m curious to see what lies ahead. But I will still be sad to see bookstores close.

By: Reggie

Reggie — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 02:49:36 +0000

Bollocks! E-books, while being tabbed as the replacement for the so called obsolete physical book, are overhyped. Nothing will ever replace a physical book, which can be called upon with no need of data storage, or battery recharging. E-books are an evolved form of the written word but the physical book has been in use for centuries and will be in vogue whether the electronic medium even still exists. Drop your e-reader and see if it still works, drop your book and you simply pick it up and dust it off.

By: I’m Dead To Your Suggestion That X Is Dead

I’m Dead To Your Suggestion That X Is Dead — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 21:00:42 +0000

[...] “The Web is Dead.” Yeah, I read it. My reaction to it was “whatever.” Are books dead? Is email dead? Are memes [...]

By: Wai Yip Tung

Wai Yip Tung — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:31:20 +0000

Good point. I’m quite skeptical on all the hype about how a new media format is coming to revolutionize everything. Or that video is a natural next step of everything, like email to MMS, search to video search, etc.

Not that I deny a sea of change is coming. But I think the old basic format is seriously under appreciated. No doubt multimedia will greatly enrich the content for many things, but plain old written words is also good in other areas without the need of extra distraction. I’ll be interested to hear what you’ve found about the linguistic and cognitive connection. For me I will offer a counter perspective to the idea that video is more advance than plain text. I’d content that text is a triumph of human intelligence and civilization that allows us to express and communicate complex concept in abstract symbols. It is the ultimate information technology. Video is more a sensory experience that’s far less important in this regard.

By: Spike

Spike — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 04:01:37 +0000

You may have noticed Roger Ebert tweeting all week about his preference for atoms over bytes where books are concerned. I think your statement here, ” the message is more important than the medium,” very neatly encapsulates where I stand on this. History shows that anyone whose efforts consisted of attempting to block new technology to protect old technology is doomed to failure. Hello Rupert?

And just want to add that the Fotopedia Heritage iPad app is AMAZING – it has quickly become one of the apps that I use to show off the iPad to friends. The photos are gorgeous and the flow and interface are really well thought out.

By: Abdu

Abdu — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 23:52:10 +0000

it’s a sad day when a bookstore closed down. I use an iPad and an eink reader for reading but I STILL love going to a physical store and browse the magazines and books, get a hot chocolate and cake inside B&N and enjoy reading. Why is it a good thing for all this to go away? Do you think browsing a magazine is as iPad is as enjoyable as reading an actual magazine? Reading will become an individual activity where you do it only at home. No socializing. No meeting people. That’s NOT a good sign