Quote:
Originally Posted by TenaciousBadger
I'd say look at us, Harry. Look at all the newbies coming here to look for information on eReaders. Just in the Kindle section, there are at least new users asking questions since yesterday, I believe.
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Yes, but though the "newbies" might be new to ebooks they're not necessarily new to reading.
The mainstreaming of ebooks isn't about people switching from TV or Video games to books for their entertainment (though some undoubtedly are) but about people who were already readers changing their buying habits because of the proliferation of the tech.
This change in buying habits, piled atop other changes, has Borders in bankruptcy, B&N hanging on by the grace of NookColor, the Amazon top-100 ebook list with a quarter of its titles self-published, and the high-overhead publishing consortia we refer as the BPHs ice skating at the edge of a precipice.
Which isn't to say that the total population of entertainment readers isn't going to grow steadily over the next few years because of the proliferation of reader devices and apps; just that the real financial opportunities in the near term are in drawing in existing print readers.
That is low-hanging fruit.
Converting gamers or TV viewers is going to take a bit more effort.
There's only one Richard Castle, after all.
