An example of what's approaching for book publishing, is what's already transformed the newspaper and magazine industries. Many newspaper and magazines have going through a radical transformation. Some have even embraced the change. There are a number of new web based technologies that offer not only the ability to read articles through a web browser, but real interactive content with the ability to physically “turn the page” as if to thumb through a book. They don't just offer content to your PC but offer real portability across different operating systems and devices.
Here is some e-reading software to get to know and love:
- Zinio – I've been a long time user and fan of Zinio. They recently released a copy of their software for the iPad. They have a web interface that runs almost as slick as the desktop application.
- Izmoreader – An online reader from IzmoMedia that allows publishers to produce video and audio alongside their print providing a richer more interactive experience.
- Fastflip -A Google product currently in the labs that I think everyone should keep their eye on. At present it puts tons of popular magazines in a gallery layout that you can use contextual browsing (thumb through it) to find what you want to read then click on that to zoom in and see it. The reason I bring this into view is that Google has tirelessly been scanning books for the past few years.
- Instapaper – The makers of instapaper built a site that was specifically intended for the Kindle e-reader and have continuously expanded their offering for the
iphone and ipad as well. The premise is simple you can find what you want to read, mark it to read later and tell it what device you want to read it on. Very simple and user friendly.
- Aldiko e-reader – I have to add Aldiko because, I am not an
iphone user and loving it. This reader is currently only for smart phones running the Android operating system. I love this program! I've ready a few books now on it and it offers features much like the Kindle where you can adjust the contrast of the background that's easier on the eyes when you read. They have a massive catalog available and for us geeks, the entire O'Riely catalog of computer books.
- Scrollbox.org – An online library that is web based and will run in most all smart phones. You have access to the Project Gutenberg library which has thousands of ebooks available.
- Kobobooks - Tons of ebooks and they have a reader for almost every device.
- Barnes and Noble – In an effort to compete in the ebook space of Amazon's Kindle, B&N has created the Nook. However, to get you totally hooked on the ebook and the Nook, they have produced e-readers for most smartphones and PC/Mac as well. Their catalog of course is nothing less than outstanding with very current releases.
Michael D. Donahoe, PMP
TOPSweb, LLC
You ask, "The question is: what will the Big Six do to embrace and encourage the change?" It made me wonder..how are they not embracing it. They are using ebooks and they are making money from them. They really seem more uncertain over what to do with hard copy books – whether, for example to still print many – if any - books for new authors … especially at a moment where the returns-allowed policies of the publishing past are about to go away. Maybe what you mean is, "Will they (and how will they) make the most of the e-book revolution? Karen Albright Lin http://www.karenalbrightlin.com
ReplyDeleteSome examples:
ReplyDeleteAs Ken Auletta in his New Yorker Article: ...publishers have been slow to take up new technologies that might help authors. Andrew Savikas, O’Reilly Media’s vice-president for digital initiatives, is shocked that publishers have done so little to create digital applications for their books.
Then there is Jane Friedman (x-CEO of Harper Collins) “An author needs a publisher for nurturing, editing, distributing, and marketing. If the publishers are cutting back on marketing, which is the biggest complaint authors have, and Amazon stays at eighty per cent of the e-book market, why do you need the publisher?”