New to the board!

[TroyRIC]

Hi all! I'm currently doing research on the digitization of media. Specifically I'm looking to see what this movement says about society, if anything.

[zelda_pinwheel]

hi TroyRIC, welcome to the forum ! that sounds like a very interesting topic to research, can you tell us more about your study ?

[MickeyC]

Hi TroyRIC and welcome to MobileRead

[GraceKrispy]

Originally Posted by TroyRIC

Hi all! I'm currently doing research on the digitization of media. Specifically I'm looking to see what this movement says about society, if anything.

Welcome to the forum! I think it says that it even bookworm technophones can get excited about technology. I should know.

[TroyRIC]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

hi TroyRIC, welcome to the forum ! that sounds like a very interesting topic to research, can you tell us more about your study ?

I'm looking at the intersect of culture and digital publication. What are the cultural implications of the digital publishing movement? Why do we need to be able to carry an entire library in our pockets? I've been reading about Google's efforts to digitize all known publications, as well as other projects which emphasize open source, which leads into issues of control. By control I mean things like DRM and the issues surrounding it. That's my train of thought right now. If anyone has any opinions of the topic, drop it here.

-Troy

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by TroyRIC

I'm looking at the intersect of culture and digital publication. What are the cultural implications of the digital publishing movement? Why do we need to be able to carry an entire library in our pockets? I've been reading about Google's efforts to digitize all known publications, as well as other projects which emphasize open source, which leads into issues of control. By control I mean things like DRM and the issues surrounding it. That's my train of thought right now. If anyone has any opinions of the topic, drop it here.

-Troy

hm, interesting premise. i think i see it less as an issue of control (particularly as google, for instance, does not use drm, nor does project gutenberg : another ressource you should take a look at. and check also feedbooks.com) and more as a question of preserving our cultural patrimony in a much more effective way than previously available. i mean for instance books which go out of print before they go out of copyright, often long before, and are no longer available, so they are forgotten and effectively "lost" to future generations. with the advent of digital technology, it's much easier to insure access to all works, indefinitely, which is a great treasure for us collectively.

however, of course you are right about control in some contexts like more recent books which are for the majority currently only available with drm, and in that case they are being viewed more as a commodity than as elements of our collective culture (by the publishers, i mean). however i am also quite sure that drm will be abandoned in the near future for books, just as it was finally abandoned for music.

as for why we need to carry an entire library in our pockets... well, the answer i think can be very different for each person. for me, it's partly a sentimental reaction (i love knowing that books i love are always with me, in case i want to read them at any time), and partly a rather decadent question of comfort ; it's reassuring to know that i'll never be short of something to read, and that i can choose whatever might suit my mood so easily. but i also really cherish books as an abstract repository and also factor of culture ; by which i mean, books reflect what we were, but they have also informed what we have become, and i think it's really important to remember that. having access to the books can give us access to a greater understanding of our cultural and individual identity. and access is so much easier thanks to digital media.

take a look also at the social aspect which is being added through sites like goodreads etc. or (on a smaller scale) the mobileread monthly book club discussions ; granted, that is not *only* linked to having the books in digital form, however with a good system of meta data and unique identifiers, really soon i think we'll be able to access a wealth of complementary information about a book possibly directly from our device (some sites are already working on that, see txtr for example and feedbooks (look in the blog) again), something like a wiki ; there could be historical notes, vocabulary, explanations, and also reviews and commentary from users you wouldn't otherwise have any contact with (due to geographical reasons for a start but also generational, etc.) to exchange ideas. this can be an amazing enrichment to reading a book and also makes a reader an actor in the reading experience on a different level than previously possible.

i'll be interested to hear about your thoughts.