Marketers Test Ads In E-Books

[JeremyR]

I've seen this in old paperbacks. In the middle a lot of times there would be an insert - often for some sort of book club, but in one case I remember an ad for cigarettes.

But I guess this might be the next big scam on Amazon (and other book sites, even Feedbooks now). People taking PD books and stuffing them full of ads and uploading them. I guess better than trying to sell PD books, but only slightly better.

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

So we'll need a couple of more lines in the DRM removal scripts. There are plenty of unemployed "Script Kiddies" out there.

Just FYI, "Script Kiddies" are the ones who download the scripts and use them without knowing anything about scripting. They were famous for downloading scripts for breaking into others' machines and claiming "1eet" status for it, but were in fact "wannabe poseurs". They seem to have faded away, as the best hacking scripts are now sold among big, criminal businesses.

Otherwise, you're right, there are plenty of people out there with the "skilz", time and incentive to tweak the existing DRM-removal scripts.

[wvcherrybomb]

I haven't clicked on the link yet, so I don't know any details.

But, my first thought is, "NO!" If I pay for an eBook I am not looking at any ads.


EDIT:

I've read the linked article. I would, for free, accept eBooks with an ad at the beginning or end.

However, you couldn't pay me to read a book with an ad like the example cited from A Tale of Two Cities. It reminded me of the movie - Idiocracy. If you have never seen the movie, at least take the time to watch the opening intro. IMO, it's the funniest part.

http://www.spike.com/video/first-10-minutes-of/2811209

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by wvcherrybomb

I haven't clicked on the link yet, so I don't know any details.

But, my first thought is, "NO!" If I pay for an eBook I am not looking at any ads.

How about free with ads?

[wvcherrybomb]

Originally Posted by khalleron

How about free with ads?

I addressed that with an edit. We must have been posting at the same time.

[dengar]

I suspect more ebook torrents in the future.

[rcuadro]

Originally Posted by TallMomof2

The first ebook that I buy that contains advertising will be immediately returned to Amazon.

Same here... unless the pay me to read the book...

[GA Russell]

Originally Posted by dengar

I suspect more ebook torrents in the future.

That was my first thought as well. The existence of pirate sites means that the publishers don't have exclusivity, and without exclusivity it's hard to sell what people don't like.

[Kali Yuga]

Y'know, this comes up every 6 months or so, and it never turns into anything real.

Last time it was that Amazon patented a process about inserting ads into ebooks, and MR posters got into a big tizzy.

And nothing happened.

I seriously doubt this will ever turn into anything real. Ad revenues are just too low for ads to work in long-form texts. The closest we'll get is inserting ads for other books at the end of the ebook.

[MV64]

"Your book will continue in 35 seconds after this commercial break."

[tubemonkey]

Not only will there be ads in ebooks, but the prices will remain the same.

[Dark123]

I wouldn't mind few ads in a book, as long as they reduce the price of the eBook itself. Better yet, give me a choice, whether to buy with or without ads.

[AlbertaCowboy]

Originally Posted by JeremyR

I've seen this in old paperbacks. In the middle a lot of times there would be an insert - often for some sort of book club, but in one case I remember an ad for cigarettes.

But I guess this might be the next big scam on Amazon (and other book sites, even Feedbooks now). People taking PD books and stuffing them full of ads and uploading them. I guess better than trying to sell PD books, but only slightly better.

I remember those old "buy this amazing leatherbound set of Louis L'Amour's complete westerns" tag right in the middle of the book I was trying to read. Oh good, here we are when the outlaws have tracked Kilkenny down at his house, everything's quiet...wait a sec, the next page is thicker than the previous ones. Dammit. Flow broken.
Guess there's not much difference between an insert and an e-nsert.

[EowynCarter]

Free e-books with adds, why not. But i'll go to the pay, add-free version, myself

[luqmaninbmore]

Originally Posted by queentess

Since ebooks are easily updated (unlike their pbook counterparts), I could see it taking the route that video game advertising has, where the ads are generally unobtrusive and can (reasonably) easily changed. For example, maybe the protagonist is drinking a Coke. But the next time you download the book, it has changed to a Pepsi. I would really date the books though... I've read some older Stephen King books where I have to look up what a product is because I've never heard of it. Some of the brands that were around in the 70s just aren't ubiquitous today.

From the article:

I'm ok with this. I can ignore it if I want to, just like I generally ignore the current pbook ads for additional books (unless I'm really looking for reading recommendations from a publisher...)


No. Just no. I read the free ebook version of a Doctorow book (I believe it was Little Brother) where each chapter started with an ad for a bookstore. It disrupted the flow of the book, jolting me out of the story every time. Now, as a free book, I'm forgiving of it. But if I pay for a book, there better not be ads interrupting the text.

That's "For the Win" and they are part of the text of the book. I think they are Doctorow's way of trying to support physical book stores in the Digital Age. From reading his essay "Content" he's a believer in the coexistence of E and P books, especially given the advent of cheap POD and the "Espresso" machines. I found the blurbs for the independent stores to be very interesting (gives me ideas for places to visit should I travel to the cities where the stores are located), but my wife was somewhat put off like you were.

Luqman