The debate around
the future of the book continues!
The New York
Times article that probably started this round: Digital Publishing
Is Scrambling the Industry's Rules
Richard Charkin’s
post Are
books dead?
Jeff Jarvis’
post, Book.net
Publishing 2.0
post: Books
as Continually Updated Idea Platforms, by Scott Karp
I continue
to believe that books are only one medium through which to deliver
content. For certain types of content
they are no longer the best medium. It
depends on the job the "end user" is trying to accomplish.
When you consider
the emotional connection that many people have to books, it becomes apparent
that they aren't going anywhere just yet.
Some of the links
above cover interesting ideas about the potential evolution of the book.
That will be fun
to watch, enlightening to consume, and even more exciting to help shape!
Ann: I thought that Times article was interesting. In part it talks about the pleasure of a good book "sniff" (for lack of a better word): "...there's no substitute for the look and feel and smell of a real book — the magic of the paper and thread and glue."
I totally agree. But at the same time, isn't it inevitable that the digital age will start to evolve what we've always thought of as a "book"? So books aren't dead, but I think they are poised for a bit of a shake-up.
Posted by: Ann Handley | June 07, 2006 at 06:59 PM
I completely agree with you - and the shake-up has already started - which is probably why so many people are starting to consider the book's future!
Posted by: Ann Michael | June 07, 2006 at 07:30 PM
Nice pair of posts there.
I think that Books are certainly changing. I am not sure that print will die though, so long as a profit can be made from it at least.
One question which I think remains unanswered is what happens to fiction which in many ways will not need to be hyperlinked to be valuable?
I think the reason why the debate has started is that people have realized that the changes online and to print news and magazines will not be long in reaching books.
Posted by: Eoin Purcell | June 14, 2006 at 05:59 AM