Quote:
Originally Posted by nekokami
See, the difference between tracking downloads and having a ping-back system is that with the downloads, the publishers are still tempted to lock the books into DRM format, and limit access to "authorized" downloaders (Wowio is only available to US residents), whereas with a ping-back system, the publisher would be happy to let anyone forward content to anyone -- use peer-to-peer, newsgroups, IRC, post it on your website, email it to all your friends-- whatever, because the more widely the file is distributed, the more likely it would be to be viewed and hence generate advertising revenue.
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Well, yes, if they wanted to be that anal about it, they could use a ping-back system and keep track of every time an e-book moved from place to place... but that would be tempting many more privacy issues. It might also be subject to being made inaccurate through hacking to remove the ping-back.
However, if they simply allow the downloads, they can base prices off of a simple-to-calculate download figure, and consider any additional distribution to be free icing on the cake. And if the advertising makes the e-book free, they are guaranteed the maximum likely downloads and additional distribution. The publisher doesn't have to concern themselves about where the book ended up (much harder to keep track of), because they've already been paid by the advertisers.