MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - What is your single most common method of book discovery?

BillSmithBooks · 09-23-2011, 03:34 PM

I know "All of the above" is a less than helpful response in regard to this poll, even if it is truthful (in my case).

I do find that recommendations, message boards, etc. are a GREAT way to find out about books I otherwise would have never noticed. (It's easy to go find the stuff you know you already like.)

Discoverability is the huge issue for ebooks: There is still is no replacement for the serendipity of in-store physical book browsing.

I see a huge opportunity for a "Smashboards" community that serves a similar function to Kindleboards, Library Thing and all of the other social book communities -- message boards, tagging, recommendations etc., directly tied to Smashwords, to make the site and community more sticky. Now, Smashwords is pretty dependent on other boards, blogs, etc. to drive traffic to the site -- adding a community effect really enhances the experience.

Mark: I know one of Smashwords's big bonuses is not being format specific and DRM-free -- what would you recommend as a generic, "best-cheapest" ebook reader? (Best value in terms of price, durability, usability, etc. -- and ignoring the issue of DRM since you can read all of Smashwords, Baen, Gutenburg, etc. without DRM).

I see Smashwords as having an opportunity to heavily promote DRM-free ebook reading by partnering with one or more "generic reader" manufacturers, actively lobbying more and more established authors to get their backlists up, and using that combination to leverage more awareness of Smashwords for potential ebook converts -- I'd love to see the day when Smashwords is discussed as frequently as Amazon and B&N -- great company, great service, really fair business dealings all the way around.

09-23-2011, 03:34 PM	#65
BillSmithBooks Padawan Learner Posts: 243 Karma: 1085815 Join Date: May 2009 Location: www.OutlawGalaxy.com, Foothills of NY's Adirondack mountains Device: My PC...using Puppy Linux (FBReader, Calibre, Kindle Cloud Reader,	I know "All of the above" is a less than helpful response in regard to this poll, even if it is truthful (in my case). I do find that recommendations, message boards, etc. are a GREAT way to find out about books I otherwise would have never noticed. (It's easy to go find the stuff you know you already like.) Discoverability is the huge issue for ebooks: There is still is no replacement for the serendipity of in-store physical book browsing. I see a huge opportunity for a "Smashboards" community that serves a similar function to Kindleboards, Library Thing and all of the other social book communities -- message boards, tagging, recommendations etc., directly tied to Smashwords, to make the site and community more sticky. Now, Smashwords is pretty dependent on other boards, blogs, etc. to drive traffic to the site -- adding a community effect really enhances the experience. Mark: I know one of Smashwords's big bonuses is not being format specific and DRM-free -- what would you recommend as a generic, "best-cheapest" ebook reader? (Best value in terms of price, durability, usability, etc. -- and ignoring the issue of DRM since you can read all of Smashwords, Baen, Gutenburg, etc. without DRM). I see Smashwords as having an opportunity to heavily promote DRM-free ebook reading by partnering with one or more "generic reader" manufacturers, actively lobbying more and more established authors to get their backlists up, and using that combination to leverage more awareness of Smashwords for potential ebook converts -- I'd love to see the day when Smashwords is discussed as frequently as Amazon and B&N -- great company, great service, really fair business dealings all the way around.