Media bias? Sony CONNECT choices...

chuck94022 · 01-26-2007, 01:47 AM

OK, so maybe I'm the only conservative ebook consumer in the world. But I'd think that Sony CONNECT might want to show a little balance.

I was so excited to check out CONNECT when I bought my reader. But I was sorely disappointed at the amount of RSS content, and really dismayed when I saw a rich selection of progressive feeds, but as far as I could tell, no conservative feeds.

I guess it didn't help that the first time I connected was a day in which the main splash page was featuring a selection of Bush bashing books!

Well, to each his own. I'm not rabid about it, and the reader doesn't do RSS very well anyway, so to me it was a curiosity, and minor irritant. If I want RSS content I'm likely to go to my PC (or iPod for video/audio blogs) anyway. The reader is the place I want to spend long quality time.

However, with these observations already in place, I decided my reader would be a good place for religious references. I have been curious about the middle east, and decided to buy some books about Islam. I also decided to buy a Koran. Cool that I could do that from CONNECT. Then I thought, why not get a Buddhist text, and a Hindu text, and a Bible? I'd be set for my own research.

So fine. I found the Bhagavad-gita - check off the Hindu. I found The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. Good start for Buddhism. I already had the Koran. Now, finally, the Bible. Um.... um.... Browsed under category "Bible and other Holy Texts"... um... um....

Seems CONNECT covers everything BUT the actual Bible.

What gives?

Maybe these are totally unrelated data points. Heck, I'm sure they are. But c'mon, if you name a category "Bible and Other Holy Texts", don't you think there ought to actually be a Bible to be found? I think the category should be renamed "Other Holy Texts".

So Sony (at least the reader's connect division editorial staff) doesn't like Bush. Fine, lots of people don't like him. They don't like conservatism. Fine, lots of people don't like them. They don't like the Bible?

Regardless of their personal preferences, one would think they would build a store for the whole market, not just the market that thinks like them.

I did find a free Bible elsewhere, but it is without any table of content, no structure, just verse after verse. I'd pay for one that is structured for navigating on the reader. I hope CONNECT is listening.

-chuck

Hadrien · 01-26-2007, 02:33 AM

Do you have a good input for this ? If there's a good example of an e-book bible, I could add it to Feedbooks, this way you'd get table of contents, and a Bible that looks the way you want (custom font & font size).

Madam Broshkina · 01-26-2007, 03:08 AM

Chuck, check out the post 34 at the thread "Bible for Sony Reader" User Elf uploaded a lrf version of the Bible.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ighlight=bible

geekraver · 01-26-2007, 03:36 AM

Hi Chuck

You can use rss2book to get rss feeds on your reader (Connect software is hopeless for this). Admittedly you may have to set them up yourself as right now the ones that have been published tend towards mainstream or progressive, but there's nothing stopping you from adding just the ones you like.

gr8drd · 01-26-2007, 12:18 PM

I believe that Sony has a particular demographic in mind with this device and the books they choose in Connect.

I'm astounded by the number sex manuals and romance books in the selections, the the paucity of science fiction. I believe that they ran a focus group and found that urban affluent women in their mid-30s would the the heart of their demographic. I think that this is bore out by the emphasis on providing accessories like expensive leather covers.

Whereas I think that its fine to cater to focus groups, I think that need to also service the geek early adopter crowd too. In fact I applaud the effort to focus on non-early adopters. Think its the key to widespread success.

Just don't forget us geeks

da_jane · 01-26-2007, 01:00 PM

For what it's worth, I think that the publishers want to get as many books in the Connect store as possible. I did three interviews with the digital media directors at Harper Collins, S&S and Random House. Each one of them said that they provide their ebooks in all formats that the reader wants (DRM formats, of course). They also said that for the books that are not in ebook format, the reader should contact the author or the author's agent to encourage the release of the paperbook in e-format as well.

ACE/ROC are divisions of Penguin Publishing and their committment to epublishing is weak, at best. That could be one reason why there aren't as many sci fi/ fantasy books available in e-format.

Finally, as part of the aforementioned demographic, I can affirmatively state that the Dooney & Bourke cover does nothing for me. I think its fugly and if they really wanted to appeal to the crowd, they would have had some colored one and not some hideous faux alligator leather cover. Prints are in, people. PRINTS. and Bright colors.

I actually think the cover speaks more toward the businessman than the urban woman in their mid 30s.

Vaporware · 01-26-2007, 01:17 PM

Well, they also need people to contribute when they see a problem. I've already submitted my books and desired features. Head over to the help section and write them with specific feeds you'd like added.

scotty1024 · 01-26-2007, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gr8drd

I believe that Sony has a particular demographic in mind with this device and the books they choose in Connect.
...
Just don't forget us geeks

Well I'm a, as Mel Brooks would put it: confident male heterosexual computer geek whom is comfortable around leather and reading romance novels/sex manuals/sci fi.

So I must be smack in the middle of the Sony Demographic Sweet Spot.

In my opinion most of the good SciFi is over a http://www.baen.com which perhaps accounts for the lack of SciFi coverage on the CONNECT store.

And for the conservative Action Adventure reader I recommend A Deeper Blue by John Ringo, available from Baen.

DougFNJ · 01-26-2007, 03:32 PM

Although surprisingly they may not have the Bible, I have purchased John Stossel's Give me a Break, and Culture Warriors by Bill O'Reilly. They also have a decent, not yet good but decent library of conservative books.....look around, I'm sure you'll see more pop in there.

chuck94022 · 01-27-2007, 02:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DougFNJ

Although surprisingly they may not have the Bible, I have purchased John Stossel's Give me a Break, and Culture Warriors by Bill O'Reilly. They also have a decent, not yet good but decent library of conservative books.....look around, I'm sure you'll see more pop in there.

Yes, you are correct. I bought one of Ann Coulter's books. That's why I do admit that it was probably a random collection of fact which prove nothing.

But I remain surprised that a category whose name starts with "Bible" doesn't have one!

Thanks to the poster who said there is a feedback mechanism. I'll definitely use it!

-chuck

01-26-2007, 01:47 AM	#1
chuck94022 avid reader Posts: 18 Karma: 19 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: california Device: sony prs-500 and prs-505	Media bias? Sony CONNECT choices... OK, so maybe I'm the only conservative ebook consumer in the world. But I'd think that Sony CONNECT might want to show a little balance. I was so excited to check out CONNECT when I bought my reader. But I was sorely disappointed at the amount of RSS content, and really dismayed when I saw a rich selection of progressive feeds, but as far as I could tell, no conservative feeds. I guess it didn't help that the first time I connected was a day in which the main splash page was featuring a selection of Bush bashing books! Well, to each his own. I'm not rabid about it, and the reader doesn't do RSS very well anyway, so to me it was a curiosity, and minor irritant. If I want RSS content I'm likely to go to my PC (or iPod for video/audio blogs) anyway. The reader is the place I want to spend long quality time. However, with these observations already in place, I decided my reader would be a good place for religious references. I have been curious about the middle east, and decided to buy some books about Islam. I also decided to buy a Koran. Cool that I could do that from CONNECT. Then I thought, why not get a Buddhist text, and a Hindu text, and a Bible? I'd be set for my own research. So fine. I found the Bhagavad-gita - check off the Hindu. I found The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. Good start for Buddhism. I already had the Koran. Now, finally, the Bible. Um.... um.... Browsed under category "Bible and other Holy Texts"... um... um.... Seems CONNECT covers everything BUT the actual Bible. What gives? Maybe these are totally unrelated data points. Heck, I'm sure they are. But c'mon, if you name a category "Bible and Other Holy Texts", don't you think there ought to actually be a Bible to be found? I think the category should be renamed "Other Holy Texts". So Sony (at least the reader's connect division editorial staff) doesn't like Bush. Fine, lots of people don't like him. They don't like conservatism. Fine, lots of people don't like them. They don't like the Bible? Regardless of their personal preferences, one would think they would build a store for the whole market, not just the market that thinks like them. I did find a free Bible elsewhere, but it is without any table of content, no structure, just verse after verse. I'd pay for one that is structured for navigating on the reader. I hope CONNECT is listening. -chuck

01-26-2007, 12:18 PM	#5
gr8drd Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2007 Device: Sony PRS-500	I think its demographics, not bias I believe that Sony has a particular demographic in mind with this device and the books they choose in Connect. I'm astounded by the number sex manuals and romance books in the selections, the the paucity of science fiction. I believe that they ran a focus group and found that urban affluent women in their mid-30s would the the heart of their demographic. I think that this is bore out by the emphasis on providing accessories like expensive leather covers. Whereas I think that its fine to cater to focus groups, I think that need to also service the geek early adopter crowd too. In fact I applaud the effort to focus on non-early adopters. Think its the key to widespread success. Just don't forget us geeks

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01-26-2007, 02:33 AM	#2
Hadrien Feedbooks.com Co-Founder Posts: 2,263 Karma: 145123 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Paris, France Device: Sony PRS-t-1/350/300/500/505/600/700, Nexus S, iPad	Do you have a good input for this ? If there's a good example of an e-book bible, I could add it to Feedbooks, this way you'd get table of contents, and a Bible that looks the way you want (custom font & font size).

01-26-2007, 03:08 AM	#3
Madam Broshkina Manic Do Fuse Posts: 2,312 Karma: 3325462 Join Date: Oct 2006 Device: Sony 500, 505, 350, Kindle 3, DXG, nook, Irex DR800SG, iPad	Chuck, check out the post 34 at the thread "Bible for Sony Reader" User Elf uploaded a lrf version of the Bible. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ighlight=bible

01-26-2007, 03:36 AM	#4
geekraver Addict Posts: 364 Karma: 1035291 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Redmond, WA Device: iPad Mini,Kindle Paperwhite	Hi Chuck You can use rss2book to get rss feeds on your reader (Connect software is hopeless for this). Admittedly you may have to set them up yourself as right now the ones that have been published tend towards mainstream or progressive, but there's nothing stopping you from adding just the ones you like.

01-26-2007, 01:00 PM	#6
da_jane Evangelist Posts: 405 Karma: 692 Join Date: Sep 2006 Device: Samsung Galaxy Note 3 \| Kindle Paperwhite \| iPad Mini	For what it's worth, I think that the publishers want to get as many books in the Connect store as possible. I did three interviews with the digital media directors at Harper Collins, S&S and Random House. Each one of them said that they provide their ebooks in all formats that the reader wants (DRM formats, of course). They also said that for the books that are not in ebook format, the reader should contact the author or the author's agent to encourage the release of the paperbook in e-format as well. ACE/ROC are divisions of Penguin Publishing and their committment to epublishing is weak, at best. That could be one reason why there aren't as many sci fi/ fantasy books available in e-format. Finally, as part of the aforementioned demographic, I can affirmatively state that the Dooney & Bourke cover does nothing for me. I think its fugly and if they really wanted to appeal to the crowd, they would have had some colored one and not some hideous faux alligator leather cover. Prints are in, people. PRINTS. and Bright colors. I actually think the cover speaks more toward the businessman than the urban woman in their mid 30s.

01-26-2007, 01:17 PM	#7
Vaporware Not here yet. Posts: 49 Karma: 11 Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: ETI-2 Ebook Reader	Well, they also need people to contribute when they see a problem. I've already submitted my books and desired features. Head over to the help section and write them with specific feeds you'd like added.

01-26-2007, 03:32 PM	#9
DougFNJ Avid Reader Posts: 273 Karma: 1332 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: New Jersey Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature, 2TB iPad Pro 11”	Although surprisingly they may not have the Bible, I have purchased John Stossel's Give me a Break, and Culture Warriors by Bill O'Reilly. They also have a decent, not yet good but decent library of conservative books.....look around, I'm sure you'll see more pop in there.

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