|
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
02-15-2012, 12:17 PM | #1 |
Addict
Posts: 231
Karma: 5588994
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Paris, France
Device: Cybook Gen3, Archos 80 G9, Sony PRS-650, Sony T1, Asus MemoPad.
|
Are books and the internet about to merge? A new way to look at books and knowledge
There is an interesting blog on The Guardian on books and the Internet by Damien Walter.
This is the concluding paragraph. "For centuries the book has been the highest symbol of knowledge. The object that has enshrined and preserved knowledge through history. The book is so inextricably linked with our concept of knowledge that for many people it is hard to separate one from the other. But for human knowledge to reach its full potential, we may have to let go of the book-as-object first, or open our thinking to a radically different definition of what a book is." The full text can be found here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012...internet-merge |
02-15-2012, 12:30 PM | #2 |
Philosopher
Posts: 2,034
Karma: 18736532
Join Date: Jan 2012
Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2 gen, Kindle Fire 1st Gen, Kindle Touch
|
I don't think the author understands either. The internet is nothing but a method of data distribution. People often confuse the internet with the world wide web, but they aren't the same thing. The web is still just a method of data distribution.
We already get e-books via the internet, that's nothing new. But using the web to read books, I'm skeptical of that. The web is better suited for things like newspaper articles. As it is, you can read the articles in paper newspaper or read them on the web, it's the same article. Newspaper articles tend to be read in a single sitting, where books are often read in many sittings over a number of days. People like to have access to their books whenever they wish, without needing to have internet access. It wasn't uncommon to serialize books, putting one chapter at a time in the newspaper, but books and newspapers didn't merge. People will read articles online for free, and not be bothered by the ads. But they only read the article for a few minutes. I can't see free ad-supported books being common, because articles might be written every single day, but writing a book takes considerably more time. |
Advert | |
|
02-15-2012, 12:36 PM | #3 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 8,478
Karma: 5171130
Join Date: Jan 2006
Device: none
|
A similar point was raised in another article not that long ago.
The only problem with the idea of "merging books and the Internet" is that it doesn't account for those who are paid "by the book," so to speak. The original intended users of the Internet, those who would be putting all those documents up for everyone to access, were scientists and engineers who were earning a salary for their work, not for their web-intended publications. It's easy to put your text online, if you're already offering it for free to collaborators. But for those who are paid for the book itself, a system of monitoring who accesses those books (and how) is needed, in order to compensate the authors for their work. Then, of course, you need a method of compensation. And oh, yes, it will have to be a universal system to work for all countries on the web that may share documents. So the issue is not nearly as cut-and-dry as this blog or the other article would suggest; which means the phrase "about to merge" is seriously understating the timeframe needed to accomplish this. The process--if everyone agreed to it in the first place--could take decades. |
02-15-2012, 12:47 PM | #4 |
Philosopher
Posts: 2,034
Karma: 18736532
Join Date: Jan 2012
Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2 gen, Kindle Fire 1st Gen, Kindle Touch
|
Not many people want to read a book in a web browser, even if being ad supported was viable for a book. Even for free books, few people want to read them in a browser.
|
02-15-2012, 02:17 PM | #5 |
Wizard
Posts: 4,896
Karma: 33602910
Join Date: Oct 2010
Device: PocketBook 903 & 360+
|
|
Advert | |
|
02-15-2012, 02:38 PM | #6 |
Chasing Butterflies
Posts: 3,132
Karma: 5074169
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: American Southwest
Device: Uses batteries.
|
I plan to do this with my debut novel, but I'll also be posting it on Amazon, B&N, etc. It'll be interesting to see how the ads pan out over time. I'm hoping to snag the "bored at work" crowd.
|
02-15-2012, 02:38 PM | #7 |
Philosopher
Posts: 2,034
Karma: 18736532
Join Date: Jan 2012
Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2 gen, Kindle Fire 1st Gen, Kindle Touch
|
Those are mediums. The internet is not a medium, it is a series of protocols for how data is transmitted. Telegraph, semaphore or smoke signals are better analogies to the internet than is the internet.
You could take any novel and put it on a scroll, or you could paint it on a wall. I don't know anyone who wants to read their books in scroll format or on cave painting format, but they are welcome to do so if they really wish. A book is still a book whether it is in codex format, scroll format, web page format or painted on the wall of a cave. People will read articles in their web browser, but few would want to read books in their browsers. E-books have been around for some time, but few wanted to read them until the advent of e-readers, people didn't want to read books on their computer screens. |
02-15-2012, 02:49 PM | #8 | |
Chasing Butterflies
Posts: 3,132
Karma: 5074169
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: American Southwest
Device: Uses batteries.
|
Quote:
Please keep in mind that everything you are saying right now, someone said would spell doom for eReaders. (People will read books on paper, but few would want to read books on a machine!) You may be right, you may not be, but it's WAY more complicated than just "few...want to read books in their browsers". |
|
02-15-2012, 03:14 PM | #9 |
Philosopher
Posts: 2,034
Karma: 18736532
Join Date: Jan 2012
Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2 gen, Kindle Fire 1st Gen, Kindle Touch
|
It really isn't that complicated. E-books have been around for decades, they are considerably older than the Web. If people wanted to read books in their browsers, e-books would have taken off much sooner than they did. People had ample opportunity to read e-books on their computers, and decided not to.
One of the objections to e-books was people saying that they didn't want to read on a screen, but many people drop this objection when they try an e-reader, and find that it isn't like reading on a screen. |
02-15-2012, 03:26 PM | #10 |
PHD in Horribleness
Posts: 2,320
Karma: 23599604
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: In the ironbound section, near avenue L
Device: Just a whole bunch. I guess I am a collector now.
|
|
02-15-2012, 03:50 PM | #11 | |
Chasing Butterflies
Posts: 3,132
Karma: 5074169
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: American Southwest
Device: Uses batteries.
|
Quote:
No, no, you're right, Internet reading is a dead end. If people were going to read books on the Internet, they would have done it in the 1960s. |
|
02-15-2012, 04:16 PM | #12 |
Philosopher
Posts: 2,034
Karma: 18736532
Join Date: Jan 2012
Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2 gen, Kindle Fire 1st Gen, Kindle Touch
|
When CDs and access to the internet became popular in the 1990's, people had ample access to e-books, but they mostly remained curiosities. The CD bundles that were so popular often came with CDs packed with e-books. People liked the idea of e-books, but not many people wanted to read them on their computer.
There has been more than enough room to store e-books on computers for a very long time, vast servers were not required. The big problem with cloud storage is that if you don't have access to the internet, you don't have access to your books. Local storage space is cheap. With a couple gigabytes, you have access to a vast library of books. It is getting hard to find a flash drive with a capacity of less than 2 gigabytes, at Best Buy, they don't show anything less than 4 GB.People tend to have their MP3s stored locally, and e-books are considerably smaller than MP3s. There are apps for reading books on computers, but for most people, that is a supplement. |
02-15-2012, 04:47 PM | #13 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 8,478
Karma: 5171130
Join Date: Jan 2006
Device: none
|
Actually, a lot of people read books from browsers. That was the PDF's essential use, and a lot of people read PDF books, even today.
|
02-15-2012, 05:37 PM | #14 | |
Chasing Butterflies
Posts: 3,132
Karma: 5074169
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: American Southwest
Device: Uses batteries.
|
Quote:
Most places still allow internet usage, however, and leaving open a browser with a book to glance at during breaks is VERY useful. But, meh, you know best. |
|
02-15-2012, 05:38 PM | #15 |
Chasing Butterflies
Posts: 3,132
Karma: 5074169
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: American Southwest
Device: Uses batteries.
|
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
What does Merge Books do? | Pinecone | Library Management | 2 | 01-23-2011 09:23 PM |
E-books in physical bookstores, even without internet | zelda_pinwheel | News | 54 | 12-27-2009 03:22 PM |
Images from Google Books, Internet Archive, etc. | vivaldirules | Upload Help | 18 | 09-17-2009 10:00 AM |
Spreading Books Through The Internet | Marlinark | Writers' Corner | 14 | 09-12-2009 12:57 PM |
Can I get the spiritual e-books in internet? | AlexaErin | Lounge | 20 | 01-28-2009 12:08 PM |