eBooks, Digital Publications and Publishers

If you wonder why bookstores keep going out of business and why publishers are losing money, here is a clue:

I don't think I've ever heard a reader say: "I want more fancy digital stuff in my eBooks! I want videos and audio and animations!" . . . The publishing business ought to concentrate first on their core value: getting books people love to readers who love them. --- Anonymous "Publishing Professional"

First let me give the guy (I assume it is a guy) credit for the statement that he hasn't heard a reader say they want more "digital stuff" in their books.  This is a depressingly accurate statement.  Readers, the dying breed that still exist probably don't say that.

 

The problem is that there are several generations (GenX,Gen Y, the Millennials and whatever comes next) that have been raised to EXPECT digital stuff (videos and audio and animations and links) as a part of any media they consume.  What would FaceBook, MySpace or even Twitter be without digital stuff?

Sure, they read.  Text will always be with us.  But it is mostly a big stretch to call them readers.  They are in fact consumers and creators of digital stuff. 

They are not patronizing Borders or Barnes and Nobles.  They are increasing relying on information they download from the Internet.  Much of it free.  Who needs bookstores?

When it comes to publishing the problem is slightly different.  The Internet has enabled almost anyone with something to show, say or sing to publish their work.  This is incredibly artistically liberating.  It is, however, rarely lucrative.  Most of the owners of the intellectual property do not make any money at all. 

As people come to expect more interactive publications there is an unfortunate downside.  Many works of genius may never be commercially viable because the author lacks the skills or the ability to assemble a team. 

This is where Publishers become incredibly important.  Their role in this new world is to find those geniuses, help assemble teams and promote the finished publications.  If  the current batch of publishers want to remain in business they will have to substantially change their outlook and attitude.  I'm rooting for them!

del.icio.us Tags: books,ebooks,e-books,publishing industry,digital media,digital reading

eBooks, Blogs,Twitter and the Future of Digital Reading

My  favorite April Fool's joke this year was the announcement that The Guardian Newspaper was closing down their presses and set to start transmitting all news via Twitter.  The press release carefully noted that "experts" agree that you can tell any story in 140 characters. . .

I was still laughing about the Guardian faux press release when I stumbled upon an article by Gord Hotchkiss entitled The Wiring of the Digital Native. 

Mr. Hotchkiss argues young people are learning the language of digital technology from birth, the rest of us are trying to catch up as adults.  We may become quite proficient but will never have the fluency of the younger generation. In effect they are digital natives while the rest of us are immigrants. 

I know that my daughter and I have very different ways of finding and processing information.  She consumes her information in small rapid bursts. Google, blogs, tweets and wikis are her "go to" sources. She intuitively knows that all information is linked.  She also expects that she can easily find a community who knows something about anything she wants to know.  All she has to do is tweet.

I instinctively immerse myself in a topic and spend hours digging out the important bits. I know, intellectually, that information is linked but struggle to find out how.  Twittering doesn't occur to me because the idea that 140 characters is the key to communication is an anathema to me.

We look for, read and process information in very different ways. She has an ability to quickly grab information that I will never have. Her's was built in a connected world.  My abilities were honed in libraries with card catalogs, index cards and bibliographies. The pathways in our brains are incredibly different.

The implications for the future of education, publishing and reading are enormous.  In a world where readers believe that all information and people are linked, you can't help but wonder how long, one dimensional and analytical books will survive. 

del.icio.us Tags: ebook,e-book,digital reading,twitter

The Book as a Form of Presentation Art

I have received a batch of emails related to the paper book as an artifact of past glory in paper publishing over the holiday weekend. One of the rather more prominent members of the group contributing to the thread involved called books in paper form a fetish. I was, in fact, quite amused by much of the content of that thread. The future is seldom what we expect it to be.

Paper publishing is obviously being altered and even threatened by digital publishing. Of course every form of information will be altered or replaced by newer, more complex digital forms over time. The key qualifier here is, “Over time,”; and the key question in the thread is how long will this replacement process take in the case of the written word presented in book form?

The continued use of paper is clearly more expensive in many cases than the simple act of moving a digital file from one place to another. It is also clear that many more forms of digital information can be included in publications that enjoy the flexibility of digital publishing over paper. Still and all old habits die hard. I still have several newspapers delivered to my driveway even as I use the Internet to read several more each day.

How fast will all of the replacement of paper take place and how soon will I be forced to do without my many pages of birdcage liners that grace my weekly recycling contribution? I am reading about the future as I have done most of my adult life. In the future virtual reality will eventually take over the process of transferring complete information about any life experience.

Technology in terms of the presentation of information is clearly expanding our options. I wonder if any of the people contributing to that thread really understand exponential growth in technology and what it means to all of us. The capacity of single computers will exceed the capacity of the human brain somewhere in the next two decades if Ray Kurzweil is to be believed.

From that point to the point in time where exponential growth in data transfer technology and computing capacity lead to human minds with millions of times the capacity for data transfer and data manipulation of the current human mind is short indeed. I suspect that most of the people contributing to that thread can no more comprehend a world where living thousands of virtual lives in one short period of time will be a common experience than can I.

The time devoted to reading one book might instead be devoted to experiencing the lives of all of the characters in a lifeline presentation series in that world. Of course this idea presupposes that someone could be bothered to produce such a presentation in a world where the computers are the majority of the conscious minds around.

Exponential growth in computing power and data transfer capabilities dictates that such a world will be upon us before the next generation grapples with its somewhat diminished mortality. If, as Ray suspects, we are mere decades from downloading human consciousness into those immensely expanded computers mortality itself will be drastically altered if not eliminated.

So I find myself amused by the parochial nature of the discussion in that thread. It is not only the art of the book or the written word that is under duress here. It is more appropriate to consider what will happen to the art of experiencing life itself and how that will be transferred in such a world as will exist before this century is half over.

We do live in interesting times don’t we?

del.icio.us Tags: ebooks,books,publishing,digital reading,book technology,Kurzweil

Books, eBooks and the Reading Public

Ever wonder who buys books and why? 

Well, if you have, there is a nifty service out there that tracks that kind of info.  The service, PubTrack, does online surveys of the book buying public.  And the results for 2007 were reported last week by Publishers Weekly.

Much to Henri's amusement, I am a person who is fascinated with statistics like these.  And yes, I know about "Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics."  I guess it is the accountant buried in my soul that loves to quantify things.

I love the fact that fourteen billion dollars was spent on books!  It is interesting that only 3.2 billion (23%) was spent online. And I (for one) am less than thrilled to find out that only 3% of book purchases were non print (eBook and Audio Book) versions. 

PubTrack breaks the reading public into five groups:  Teens (13-17), Gen Y (18-28), Gen X (29-40), Boomers (41-59) and Matures (60 and up).  The statistics are then broken up to reflect buying habits and attitudes.  Each group has some noteworthy feature:

• Only 9% of Teens actually buy books and when they do they primarily read fiction.
• Gen Y consumers buy only 14% of the books sold but they buy about 1/3 of all those books online and are the biggest group (4%) of non print book buyers.
• Gen X is interesting in the fact that there is nothing unusual or particularly interesting about them and that they closely mimic the statistics of the matures.
• Boomers are the largest segment of the population (33%) and spend the most money on books. 
• Matures read the most fiction of any group -- 56% and purchase very little online. 

Mildly interesting stuff. But as I looked over the stats I begin to wonder about trends, since these age groups are a moving target.  So just for fun I took a look at what happened when you combined the stats for Teens and Gen Y or what happens when you combine Boomers and Matures.  Probably only interesting to me. . .

Except that the trends when you combine Teens and Gen Y are probably a  peak into the future.  Like everyone in publishing, I have a great curiosity about what is going to happen.

When you reduce all the statistics to some simple percentages the picture becomes pretty clear. 

	Teens +GenY	GenX	Boomers	Mature
Population	25%	21%	33%	21%
# of books buyers	29%	24%	23%	24%
# of books purchased	18%	22%	32%	28%
$$ spent	24%	24%	30%	22%
% purchased online	49%	26%	22%	14%
% non-print	6%	3%	3%	2%

 

I'll save your eyes and point out the really clear points about the combination of Teens and Gen Y:

• They purchase only 18% of books
• 49% of those books are purchased online
• 6% of books bought are non-print version

Obviously, the future of printed books and they way they are bought is changing and will continue to change as the matures die out and are replaced with teens.  This is a pretty grim picture if you are a traditional publisher or one of the big three book retailers.  But if you are Jeff Bezos or an Amazon shareholder you probably feel pretty good about yourself.

 

Just one more piece in the growing evidence that publishers are going to have to change or perish.

del.icio.us Tags: books,ebooks,digial reading,publishing industry,the future

Is the Digital Era creating New Life for P-Books?

After a very long weekend of too much food, too many relatives and too little sleep, I woke up yesterday, poured a cup of coffee and started reading the New York Times.  The first article to catch my attention was How to Publish Without Perishing.

In this piece James Gleick opines that there is a bright future for printed, bound books:

I think, on the contrary, we’ve reached a shining moment for this ancient technology. Publishers may or may not figure out how to make money again (it was never a good way to get rich), but their product has a chance for new life: as a physical object, and as an idea, and as a set of literary forms. . . .

Go back to an old-fashioned idea: that a book, printed in ink on durable paper, acid-free for longevity, is a thing of beauty. Make it as well as you can. People want to cherish it.

Really?!

While I find this an interesting view, I wonder if Mr. Gleick has been out and about in the real world lately.  Has he been to his local bookstore?  Does he have any contact at all with "the younger generation"?

Later in the day I found myself inside the local Barnes and Noble.  In our town, they have the best selection of CDs and it is Christmas time. 

The store was moderately busy.  A few people in the coffee shop, a few people sitting in the oversize chairs (mostly they looked like they were waiting for someone), a bustling staff and a handful of customers. 

I took a seat and did some intense people watching over the next half hour.  Anything was better than facing the chaos in my house!

I found the demographics very telling.  I saw children (approximately 5-13) accompanied by parents; I saw middle aged women, and I saw old men and women.  Aside from the staff, I did not see one person between the age of about 13 and 30.  None!

I was willing to chalk it up to a very unscientific survey and leave it at that.  I decided I better quite procrastinating.  So I started gathering my stuff and getting ready to go clean up my house.  And then I saw her.  A real life teenage girl.  She just appeared before my eyes. I was so intrigued by the sight I just stared.

She looked around for a moment, and then she threw herself into a chair with a big sigh.  She routed around in her jean's pocket and pulled out a cell phone.  Within seconds she was texting away.  Totally ignoring all the beautifully bound books along with everyone in the store.

I for one, am unwilling to bet that she will someday wake up and find a book a thing of beauty; something to cherish.  I doubt that she will see a book as an idea or a set of literary forms.

She may see it as furniture (a great way to warm up a room and give it a little class).  Kind of like the antique rolltop desk I inherited from my grandmother.  Beautiful but with very limited usability.   

del.icio.us Tags: ebook,e-books,digital reading,publsihing,books,p-books

Digital Reading and the Human Brain

There are times when I think that technology and living in the 21st century is just too cool for words.  Last week, I had once of those times. 

UCLA just completed a study about Internet usage and the human brain.  Specifically it was a study designed to see "if regular Internet usage was more effective than other intellectually stimulating tasks in keep the brain limber in aging test subjects."

Because they are a medical educational institution they have access  to the most amazing technology around --  fMRI (Functional Magnetic Imaging Resonance).  I won't pretend to understand why this is so cool.  All I know is that it gives researchers and amazing window into the human brain.  The fMRI actually lets us see activity in the human brain.   Very pretty pictures!

In terms I understand, this study tracked brain activity while adults did various online tasks including reading and "googling."  They wanted to find out if regular internet usage effectively keeps an aging brain more limber, more able to flex and and bend freely.

Evidently digital reading does keep the brain limber for those who do it often.  Interestingly, internet neophytes (people without previous Internet experience) showed little change on brain activity when reading vs when using the internet.

But real changes were seen in those who habitually use the Internet. Those subjects were evidently exercising their brains in a big way.  They showed a significant increase in activity in the frontal, temporal and cingulated areas of the brain.  These are the areas associated with complex reasoning.

The digital readers weren't just passively taking in information, they were actively engaged.  Online activity evidently engages multiple parts of the brain.

This is significant for the aging, but it has real, everyday value growing children and adults.  Consider this study as a piece of evidence that using the internet keeps us learning new things which in turn help us build new skill sets.This intellectual exercise keeps our brains flexible and able to adapt to our increasingly complex world. 

I have watched my world get larger and more complex with every passing year.  The flood of information can be almost overwhelming.  I used to read one or two newspapers each day and a half dozen trade journals in a month.  Now I read three or four newspapers a day, have several RSS feeds bringing me hourly news and information and read hundreds of blog pieces a week plus I have access to literally hundreds of journals.  Sometimes I wonder if my brain is up to the challenge.  AND I wonder what all this means for my children and their children.  It is conceivable that we will all just implode from too much info.

Evidently this is a rather foolish notion on my part.  Seems that the human brain is infinitely adaptable and the more we use it the more it expands.  I don't know about you, but I find this an enormously reassuring world view.  

del.icio.us Tags: digital reading,digital books,book technology

e-Reading - the changing landscape

I stumbled on a white paper publisher by Springer.  It is a very interesting synopsis of two studies about eBook adoption and benefits.  Springer asked librarians and users about their views on eBooks.  The original study was done in 2007 and focused on librarians. The followup study was done in 2008 and addressed users. 

The executive summary concludes:

The survey uncovered some encouraging results regarding eBook adoption. Most users were aware of eBooks and had accessed them at least once. Respondents also overwhelmingly said that eBooks are useful and that they would like to incorporate eBooks into their information experience more frequently.

Some of the other points of interest include: 

• The main use for eBooks is for research and study
• eBook usage is still less concentrated than online journal usage
• Users find eBooks through using Google or accessing their library
• The primary benefits of eBooks as sited by readers are convenience, accessibility, and enhanced functionality
• Current users expect to prefer eBooks to other reading formats over the next five years

The study summary is as follows:

Users are not reading eBooks cover-to-cover in the traditional sense but instead approach them as a resource for finding answers to research questions.

I have been thinking about this for the last few days.  Thinking about how I read and how my reading habits have changed as I have adopted eBooks.

What I realize is that how I read for pleasure has not really changed much.  But the way I read for information has undergone a profound change. 

If I wanted a specific piece of information in the past I would go to the library and use the card index or microfiche, spend hours of time and more often than not end up frustrated. 

Now, if I want a specific piece of information I Google it.  Usually I can find it very quickly.  And then a funny thing happens -- I start browsing related links.  Before long I have spent hours of time, but I have enriched my knowledge base in a significant way.

If I want a specific piece of information from a book, I search on key words or phrases and it generally pops up pretty quickly.

Nice to know that I have become a typical reader <g>.

del.icio.us Tags: ebook,e-books,ebooks in education,reading

Book Technology: the movie

Either some virus got me or I had too much 4th of July (not sure which) so today's post is short and simple.

A friend sent me this marvelous video about book technology that is very worth watching.  Enjoy!

 

The more things change, the more they stay the same!

Reading the Future -- It looks like eBooks to me

Reading the Future, a report but together by the Bookseller and the Next big thing is a fascinating snap shot of the British attitudes about reading and books in the future.   The study surveyed over 1000 adults across Britain and included questions about their present reading and browsing habits and their "best guess" about the future of bookstores.

Not surprisingly there is a huge difference in attitudes about electronic reading between "Millennials" (18 to 25 year olds) and seniors (65+).  For example:

• 28% of those 18-24 were favorable towards the idea of e-readers, compared to 9% of 65+ year olds
• 40% liked the idea of downloadable chapters of books, compared to 7% of 65+ year olds.

The thing I find the most amazing about the study is the finding that 9% of seniors find the idea of e-reading even an alternative!  Think about it -- the first modern computer was invented 65 years ago and the idea that people would actually read books on a computer was essentially incomprehensible.  But I digress. . .

The real focus of the study is on "Millennials" who will most certainly be the drivers of book publishing and buying habits over the next decade.  Interestingly only  half of them think that bookstores as we know them will survive over the next 20 years.  They are less clear on what will replace them. 

They are, however, clear on what is important: content. They seem less interested in how they read or how they find books to read than they are in having content available.  

This makes me think of Arthur C. Clarke's first law of prediction --

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

One thing is certain, we have not yet achieved an advance technology for reading.  There is no "magic" in current eReading!  Not in the devices or the eBook formats!

And yet, devices and formats are not really the issue.  Neither is how you purchase or acquire content.  In the end the really compelling stories are what you remember, not how you access them. 

I can't help wonder what the next generation -- the so called “Bebo generation” -- would have to say about reading and the future.  They were not questioned for this study. 

These are the electronic kids; they are the future.  Many  preteens and most teens have cell phones right now.  They seem to rarely use them to actually talk. . . they are too busy texting. Devices, digital reading and online networking are just a part of the fabric of their lives.Are bookstores even part of their conscious experience? And why would they even care?

del.icio.us Tags: ebooks,e-books,millennials,reading,publishing

Kids Read for Fun -- The Scholastic Report

Last week Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education and media company, released a study on Kids and reading.  The report is a classic good news/bad news story.

 

The good news:

• 68% of children think reading for pleasure is extremely important.
• *2% of kids 5-8 "love to read.
• 90% say that reading is important if you want to get into a good college.
• 66% of tweens and teens (9-17) have extended their reading experience via the internet.
• 79% of kids age 5-17 are going online; 33% go on line each day
• Fully two in three children believe that within the next 10 years, most books which are read for fun will be read digitally – either on a computer or on another kind of electronic device.

The bad news:

• Reading frequency declines after age 8.
• Parents under-estimate the degree to which kids have trouble finding books they like and enjoy.
• By age 17 only 21% of kids think that reading is fun or important.
• Only 40% of parent with older teens think it is important for their kids to read "for fun".
• 62% of parents say they have a hard time finding information about books their kids would enjoy reading.

The thing I find the most interesting about the study is the portion about kids, reading and technology.   As they look to the future most kids see technology as inevitable.  Two-thirds say that they think that most of the books they will read in ten years will be electronic.  And they are enthusiastic about being able to tag and share favorite parts of books with others. 

And yet two-thirds of the kids surveyed say that no matter what they can do online they will always was to read books printed on paper.

This seems to be a contradictory statement -- they know they will be reading and sharing books electronically but they will always want to read on paper. 

Somehow this doesn't stack up.  Makes me wonder where the disconnect is happening.  Is it a case of kids repeating what they hear from parents and teachers?  Is it a case of a woefully backward education system?  Is this finding a result of skewed survey results -- the report was written by the biggest children's publisher in the world?

I suspect there is no way to answer these questions.  I suppose that in the end, these results are a reflection of our entire society's attitudes about technology and reading.  It will be fascinating to watch how attitudes and ideas evolve over the coming years. 

del.icio.us Tags: electronic reading,literacy,kids and reading,ebooks about kids

Publishers don't get it -- An eBook should be more. . .

My 9 year old neighbor is a wired kid.  She loves computers and gadgets.  I got to wondering if she would have been more interested in The Daring Book for Girls if I had showed her the eBook edition on my Cybook.

Before suggesting it, however, I thought I would like to see what the eBook version was really like. I actually went to the store and bought it. 

After about five minutes, I came to the conclusion that it wouldn't have made one iota of difference.  Since the eBook version is no more compelling than the print version. 

All I could think was "What a waste!"

The Daring Book is basically an instruction manual. Unfortunately, the eBook version is a faithful rendition of the print version. 

The Mobipocket reader, which I was using, is a fairly sophisticated piece of eReader software.  When utilized fully it enhances the digital reading experience.  And yet, the publishers choose to create a flat, one dimensional product.  The eBook version has all the drawbacks of the paper edition and not one of the advantages of the digital experience.

Remember, this is a book specifically aimed at kids.  You know, those alien creatures around the house plugged into their phones, iPods, Gameboys and xBoxes. The ones that have been raised with computers, gadgets and multimedia. They know that life is a multimedia experience. 

And then there are books.  Books are a unimedia (print) or possibly a duamedia experience (print and graphic).  How can they possibly compete?

Guys, this is important:  An eBook is digital. 

The beauty of a digital book is that it has the capacity to be a multimedia experience that can compete.

Instead of line drawings of how to create a cootie catcher you can insert at the very least a link to a video.  Better yet, just insert a video clip.  It took me less than 5 seconds to find this YouTube piece. And you can't tell me that the creator of this video would not be happy to licence his creation to Harper Collins. 

Instead of just showing Spanish or French Terms of Endearment. Expressions and Other Items of Note you could easily attach a audio file that actually pronounces the words.  Who's to know that nuit is pronounced "knee we"?

Instead of listing thirty four living princesses, why not link to a picture of them?  And for those of you wondering where the hell Lesotho is -- add a map or a link to Google earth.

When you look at it dispassionately, you have to come to the conclusion that a unimedia experience is pretty bland.  Which makes me think that it is no wonder kids don't read.

Plain ole print is boring!

Technorati Tags: ebooks,e-books,Mobipocket,multimedia,kids books,The Daring Book for Giirls,Harper Collins,cybooks

eBook Odds and Ends

eBooks are a dynamic and ever evolving market.  Everyday I find new and interesting items, ideas and information.  These are my favorite for this week.

Publisher's Weekly 2008 Trends

Mike Shatzkin has been around the publishing industry for a long time. There are even those who refer to him as a guru.  Guru or not, he is a savvy guy and knows publishing.  When Mike makes predictions about industry trends, I pay attention. 

This week he wrote up his 2008 predictions for Publisher's weekly piece: 15 Trends to Watch.  Some of them are really only interesting to "industry insiders" but not all.  This year he had a lot to say about the Internet and digital publishing.  In fact, one third (five for the math adverse) of his predictions have something to do with eBooks:

• The popularity of e-books will increase
• Sales of books in electronic form to public libraries will continue to grow
• Christmas 2008 will be the first year in which there will be sales of customized books as eBooks and POD titles
• Apple will move to turn the iPhone and iPod into e-book readers
• “Read and listen” bundles of e-books will become available as digital downloads

eBook Reader Comparisons

Seems like every month there is a new eBook reader on the market.  My friends keep asking me to recommend one.  Always a dicey proposition. 

I have now found a way to dodge that particular bullet.  I simply refer them to this excellent synopsis:  Book Readers At a Glance from the Wired Blog.  Unfortunately, I may have to change tactics soon since this piece is only three months old and there are new readers to consider.

Geek Toys

And finally, one I just can't resist.

This is for those of you worried about reading eBooks anywhere.  The Myvu goggles may be just the ticket.  They are sold as "a personal media viewer."  Put them on, kick back and prepare for total immersion.

 

Technorati Tags: ebooks,e-books,myvu,ebook comparisions,Shatzkin

Books, DVDs and eBooks

Declining Sales and Pricing

And no, I'm not talking about books for a change. Seems that analyst predict a historic decline in sales for DVDs. Sales are down by about half to 10 million copies a year. And perhaps more startling is the fact that the unit price is down 15%.

I say startling, because I come out of the book world where publishers meet a decline in unit sales with an increase in price. . .

No one knows exactly why DVD sales are down -- digital downloads, pay per view and the economy certainly play a part. I suspect, however, that the real reason is because most of the movies produced in the last three years have been crap!

And Speaking of DVDs

There is a new kid on the block -- Paperspine which is the brain child of ex-Microsoftie Dustan Hubbard. He has created a Netflix for book. The service has 150,000 paperback (no hardbacks yet) titles available for checkout.

Subscribers can check out up to five books at a time. Like Netflix there are no late fees, and members return books in a prepaid envelope. They also can browse by category. There are the four subscription plans that cost between $9.95 and $24.95 a month.

Huh?

Wait a minute! Last time I checked there was this thing called a library where you can check out a book, return it when you were finished, and get another—all for free.

The Best Entertainment of the Week

This is one of the things that is basically to good to pass up; a word game that is the ultimate time waster. The great thing is that you can rationalize this one by saying that you/re contributing to a good cause.

Technorati Tags: DVD,Paperspine,electronic reading,free rice

The Expresso Machine

There is a new contraption on display in Washington DC, Alexandria, Egypt and Mid-town Manhattan. A Rube Goldberg device that hums, sputters, spits, moans and ultimately belches out a warm new book -- gives a new meaning to “hot of the press”. The contraption is the Espresso Book Machine.

It’s not pretty, but it works. Select a title and twenty minutes later you have a bound hard-copy book (complete with cover) to take with you. Click here to see a demonstration of the machine work

On Demand Books, the maker of these machines was co-founded by a former Random House Editor, Jason Epstein. He sees this machine as a solution for a single problem: the unavailable backlist. I see it as yet one more attempt to make books more accessible.

I remember sitting at Kodak headquarters in Rochester, New York about fifteen years ago and listening to one of the engineers describe a kiosk with CDs, a printer and a binding machine. The engineering drawings didn’t look a whole lot different than the current espresso machine.

The technology has changed, but the idea remains intact. Fifteen years ago CDs were an exciting step forward in redefining the book. Makes me wonder where technology will take us next.

I also find in curious that we are still stuck on the idea that a book has to be printed and have a 4 color cover. Any blogger can create more interesting and sophisticated literature in a few minutes complete with live links and interactive video. But I digress.

When you see this machine you have to wonder what this all means on a cultural and societal level. Will bookstores become ‘Kinkoish’ storefronts patronized by the very old and the most stubborn of Luddites who still require something as quaint as paper (after all, there are still those who actually still use an IBM selectric).

I am not convinced that this machine will be any more successful than the Kodak idea, but I am always intrigued by machines. . .

After the fascination with the machinery fades, however, I go back to wondering about how we will read in the future. I for one do not believe that reading will go away but that what we read and how we read it is bound to change. And more significantly, the whole idea of what a book is will change dramatically in my life time.

So, what will the book of the future look like? Will it be a dedicated electronic device like the Sony e-ink reader? Will we go back to scrolls using a version of the new OLED technology? Will the young and hip carry electronic documents on their phones and never touch paper again? Will libraries be able to replace their paper book selections in 25 years as the old ones fall apart from overuse?

I have lots of questions and no real answers. What I do know is that technology is moving faster than our understanding of how it will affect our culture. I find this both energizing and frightening – endless possibilities always are!