It's clear to fans of e-books that there are obstacles to mainstream adoption. But the issues are not really show stoppers, so they don't seem to get a lot of attention from sellers. Nor from the publishers, who seem to hold all the cards, and who are moving relatively slowly because they want to retain as much power and revenues in the new e-book world as possible. They want to be careful in setting a new paradigm, because it will determine their future, and they are starting to realize that. However, like Palm, they seem to think that they also have all the time they need or want before they move forward with abandon.
So if all the complaints are "little ones", like the annoyances of DRM, then how is a publisher to get the point? Well, one forward thinking publisher has already got the point, he just hasn't applied it to e-books yet.
Michal Hyatt, President and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers,
has written in his blog about reducing "friction" as one way for bookstores to increase their sales. Specifically, he compares the pleasant and friction free retail experience of buying at an Apple store, with the friction experienced in a couple of bookstores he visited. He faced, long waits in line at two different stores, and in both cases he dropped the books after deciding that 1-click shopping on Amazon would be much easier. That's the effect of friction.
Now, compare it to e-books. There is a lot of friction...
1) DRM controls and platform dependence
2) Format confusion and incompatibility
3) Confusion about what reading devices are out there and how to compare them
4) Dependency on using a computer to order or load books
5) Format and feature support on the devices is unclear and confusing
6) The devices are as hard to use as a VCR - you know - the ones that often had blinking clocks that the user never figured out how to set.
I'm sure there is more, but you get the idea. No wonder everyone doesn't read e-books. It's not simply that people prefer paper, it's that paper is relatively "frictionless". All you have to put up with is the occasional long line at a bookstore. Just imagine if that was the only hassle for e-books.
Friction is a great term to describe a lot of situations and bring focus to customer adoption obstacles. It applies to smart phones and UMPCs very well also. UMPCs are underpowered and the tablet style is not really supported well enough to make it seamless and easy for the average computer user. Who knows, but maybe that will take a great on screen keyboard and voice control before the average user can be efficient with one.
Smart phones are difficult to use. You really have to want their functionality. They crash too often, they are slow, web sites load slowly or not at all, streaming video is a pain in the neck, even playing MP3s is not trivial. Don't get me wrong, they are getting better and I gladly use them warts and all. But they have a lot of friction.
But the case of e-books is a perfect example of high friction. Maintaining DRM seems a lot like choosing friction over sales. There may be a place for it, and there may be a style of DRM that's not so friction imposing, but right now it's almost a show stopper. You can paint DRM up with make up, but it's still going to look like a pig. A big fat friction pig!