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Originally Posted by tirsales
In the long run all books will be available. Lower quality is a problem, but a problem that will solve itself in the long run.
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I agree but we are discussing what should be done right now which is important in determining how long the long run will take.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tirsales
And just like profits motivates them to e.g. restrict access to some products, to do whatever they please with your data, etc
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Which products do Google restrict in particular? Most public libraries restrict their services to people who live within their geographical area. How profitable will Google be if they start ignoring customers privacy concerns? Look at how quickly websites like facebook change their policies when their is concern over these issues.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tirsales
I dont doubt their quality - I doubt that (in the long run) we will get the same service, accesibility, etc from Google then we would from libraries. If book-scanning is not feasible any more Google will simply drop it. If some books dont make profit, there is no guarantee that they will continue to host them. There is not even a guarantee that they will continue to provide any book-related service.
Now imagine them getting a monopole ...
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I find it extremely unlikely that Google will abandon their book scanning project but even if they did it would be foolish to just erase all their books. It is far more likely they would give or sell the data to another site. The
long tail effect will ensure Google keep less popular books.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tirsales
Simply being better should be motivation enough  (Apart from that they need to show a reason for their continuing existence. And they dont need to be better then Google - just good enough). |
Do you really think that a national library would be closed because they provided a substandard digital library? I think your last sentence sums up why I think Google will deliver a better service. If Google doesn't remain at the top of its game then someone else will jump in and steal Google's customers. If a national library doesn't deliver on its services, it's very difficult for individuals to take funding away from them.