MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Transbook - Finally a Term For an Ereader that we can all pronounce

Steven Lyle Jordan · 10-17-2009, 10:43 PM

After being introduced to Dan Bloom's attempts to create a new word to denote "reading on a screen," ie, "screeding" or whatever word may be devised, I find myself wondering if everyone isn't over-thinking this whole naming thing.

Sure, maybe using "e-reader" for a device is tough because it gets confused with the "e-reader" format... maybe "device" or "e-book hardware" doesn't roll off the tongue the way "Kindle" or "liseuse" does. We haven't even come to a consensus over the spelling of "e-book" vs "ebook."

Maybe Stephen, a self-styled "pop-culture columnist," is too much of a poet, that he himself doesn't fully comprehend the utility of a reading device... hence, "transbook," a name that's actually more clumsy and ultimately inaccurate than "e-reader." E-book readers don't "transcend a book"; they collect and organize libraries. They are personal libraries. Name that.

But are the problems and issues that hover over this new industry going to be solved with a clever word or catch-phrase? If it were that simple, then between "Kindle" and "iPhone," I'd say we'd already be a multi-billion-dollar industry.

Give the naming exercises a rest, and concentrate on creating a healthy industry. The names will come on their own.

10-17-2009, 10:43 PM	#5
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	After being introduced to Dan Bloom's attempts to create a new word to denote "reading on a screen," ie, "screeding" or whatever word may be devised, I find myself wondering if everyone isn't over-thinking this whole naming thing. Sure, maybe using "e-reader" for a device is tough because it gets confused with the "e-reader" format... maybe "device" or "e-book hardware" doesn't roll off the tongue the way "Kindle" or "liseuse" does. We haven't even come to a consensus over the spelling of "e-book" vs "ebook." Maybe Stephen, a self-styled "pop-culture columnist," is too much of a poet, that he himself doesn't fully comprehend the utility of a reading device... hence, "transbook," a name that's actually more clumsy and ultimately inaccurate than "e-reader." E-book readers don't "transcend a book"; they collect and organize libraries. They are personal libraries. Name that. But are the problems and issues that hover over this new industry going to be solved with a clever word or catch-phrase? If it were that simple, then between "Kindle" and "iPhone," I'd say we'd already be a multi-billion-dollar industry. Give the naming exercises a rest, and concentrate on creating a healthy industry. The names will come on their own. Last edited by Steven Lyle Jordan; 10-17-2009 at 10:46 PM.