Quote:
Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash
I think the issue, for some of us, has more to do with the items that fall under "social reading". Sharing highlights and margin notes is something that would never occur to me. It's compounded by being attached to a specific, proprietary system. As I stated previously, I participate in forms of social reading, but I cut out the middleman (or one of them, anyway) by not involving the ebook / ereader features.
I guess I'm just baffled at how many social reading platforms tout the highlighting / notes as the marquee feature of their offerings. The way I use Goodreads and MR seems more "social" even within the definition of what passes as social these days.
I don't have a problem with today's definition of social. I use Facebook, I have a blog that I occasionally post to, and we all know how much time I spend on MR, and these things are actually great for me, because it takes the pressure off - I can participate as I choose. I love interacting with people, but in-person socializing quickly drains my energy, and I prefer to be alone much of the time. The internet is this introvert's dream come true. Best of both worlds.
In summary - "Social Reading" is often distilled down to center around these highlighting / notes features. That's the part I don't get, because it doesn't seem very social compared to the things I'm currently doing, even by the current definition of "social".
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I'm surprised at your impression that the core of social reading is shared highlights and notes. My feeling is the opposite; that it's almost entirely out of sight and mind. I wonder if your impression is more acute among Kindle users than other readers.
In any case, I agree that it's a poorly implemented system whose logic has not been thought out. When a reader highlights or annotates a passage, it is always for personal reasons: to remember it later, to note its importance, to mark it as a personal favourite. There is, generally speaking, no intention of publicizing these. On the other hand, while some readers may be very interested in reading a text annotated by someone whom they respect or find interesting (such as a famous author), Kindle does not allow you to read annotations by individuals. Instead, you get a generic set of all highlights and annotations by the faceless masses, cobbled together using an algorithm that equates popularity with pertinence.