Tag Archives: ebook

Back to DRM

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The fight against piracy is far from over, and it’s far from stagnate. Internet pirates are normal people; they could be you or me, or a neighbor. But they are far from harmless. Far from stupid. And it seems as though “they” are no longer underestimating them. Whoever is responsible for anti-piracy laws and technology are constantly updating their methods. A new anti-piracy tactic is outlined in this Sexy DRM article I will be using for my portfolio. Much to my joy, there’s a Digital Rights Management technique that does not involve encryption. For e-books, what “they” want to do is to digitally watermark books purchased. When you buy an e-book, your name and other purchasing information will be printed (typed) into the e-book pdf. Should the e-book be illegally copied and distributed, we can identify the original owner. However, this does not guarantee we will be able to identify the culprit; after all, someone might have hacked the poor girl’s kindle and copied her e-book. Despite this drawback, I find myself in favor of the digital watermark for its user-friendly quality.

Today’s Class

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In today’s class, an interesting discussion occurred surrounding the role of local bookstores in an evolving economy, where ebooks and online shopping are becoming increasingly present. Many people were inclined to side with these local stores, and felt that the new developments were threatening an enjoyable tradition. This makes perfect sense, because the act of shopping in a bookstore is in of itself an experience. The act of sifting through shelves and flipping through pages before making a final purchase has become one of the major appealing aspects of visiting a bookstore. It is what makes shopping for books a more enjoyable experience than grocery shopping for example, because the shopping experience is an adventure rather than a mundane task. Despite the fact that Barnes and Noble may have killed some local competition, people should be thankful for this company, as it is the institution that is most likely to preserve the experience we have come to know and love.

The Slow Death of the American Author

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On Monday, an op-ed article in the New York Times sported this ominous title. Written by a self-acclaimed “best-selling author” Scott Turow, the article made a case that now, more than ever, authors are under attack… from everywhere. Search engines, libraries, and even scholars are on the list of threats to the American author, but none more vicious than publishing houses themselves. Their weapon of choice? E-books. The six major publishing houses insist on limiting e-book royalties to 25% of net receipts. While more renowned authors actually have some leeway with this, new and “midlist” writers have no bargaining power. Authors are finding it harder and harder to sell their books, much less publish them. The worst threat e-books (possibly) pose is stagnating the writers’ profession. Without new authors, a generation of writers will be gone.

Blogging Prompt – Ebooks and funny twitter accounts

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It seems that ebooks keep popping up in one way or another in this course. One question I’ve had, that many other people probably have as well, is whether or not this form of technology will ever end up fully overtaking physical books. It certainly seems that the ebook industry is rapidly growing, especially with the exponential growth in tablet device sales that we have seen in the past few years. However, one could also argue that the book has become such an ingrained part of society that rather than supplanting them, ebooks will instead coexist with their predecessors. This is a question that at the present time, cannot be fully answered. We must wait and see how the market develops before we will know for sure. It is likely that we will not be able to make informed predictions for many more years.

Also, I’ve posted the link for the twitter account Horse Ebooks. This is a spam account with a random letter generator, whose purpose is to promote low-quality ebooks. However, it has gained popularity over the internet for the ridiculous messages its random generator comes out with. Check it out and tell me what you think.

https://twitter.com/Horse_ebooks

ebooks v print

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As I was looking for something to say about ebooks, I stumbled across this article.  What immediately stuck out to me was its title “Don’t Burn Your Books–Print Is Here to Stay”. These days, it seems like ebooks are continuing to increase in popularity, however, I can’t help but hope that traditional books will always be around. As I was reading the article, this statement surprised me: “By 2015, one media maven predicted a few years back, traditional books would be gone.”  While ebooks do make reading much more convenient and accessible, I would never have gone so far to say that by the time I would be graduating college, traditional books would be a thing of the past.  I think that while ebooks have there benefits, traditional books will always have a certain appeal to them as well. Abby mentioned in her comment to this post, “Can we look to our past to predict our future? Do people consider books technology?” which led me to the question:

with technology rapidly developing and ever-changing, do people expect the same from books?

are people getting bored by traditional books?

In my opinion, although the content is what truly matters, traditional books are what make reading such a peaceful experience.  Other mediums of reading add too many distractions. I find myself occasionally using reading as a distraction. I don’t want to be distracted from it. (If that makes sense).

ebooks

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I personally have never used an ebook before.  When I go to read, I prefer to do so in a more isolated environment where I am as far away as possible from any distractions because for me, reading is about losing myself in the words and the stories I am reading.  I also love being able to physically flip the pages–it just adds to the experience.That being said, I do see how ebooks are convenient in todays constantly and rapidly changing world.  According to this CBS News article, “Ten years ago there were about 4,000 independent bookstores in the U.S. Today, there’s less than HALF that.”  The article also states that for ebooks, “Sales will go from about $150 million last year . . . to an estimated billion-dollar business by 2012, as new products from tech companies like Apple flood the market.”  I just hope that with the increasing number of new products, they continue to promote reading and don’t all become too tablet-like.

Ebooks that change the way we write

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This article made me really think about all of the different ways that ebooks can impact writing. Ebooks gather so much data from users each time they pick up a book. Ebooks provide the exact data of how a reader interacts with a text like where they stop, where they read quicker or slower, and what they reread. What if readers statistically lost momentum in a book around page 150? Then the publisher could take this exact data into consideration and add a plot twist. Or what about personalized ebooks? Much like the advertisements on the sidebar of Facebook, ebooks could be individually targeted at consumers.

Ebooks: Just Another Book

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I know an awful lot of people who think strongly one way or the other on the debate of e-books vs. print books: which is better to read? Most of my friends are conservatives on this issue: they prefer the printed book citing arguments of sentimental nostalgia. They like to curl up with a book, draw in their margins, and smell them. On the other hand, my friends who like e-books favor the new technology for its convenience and low cost. My novelist friend enjoys the ability to quickly send and receive drafts to peer edit, creating an effective virtual community.

Though you may see yourself on one side or the other, I believe that both sides find common ground in what they look for in the reading experience. Those who covet ebooks are not looking for an experience wholly different from reading print books. One study finds that most people favor an interface that mimics the print book design.  We tend to enjoy ebooks that relive the familiarity of print books, which at this time, about everyone living considers the default. However, the added bells and whistles of ebooks are attractive. The ability to search and reach any point in the text immediately is invaluable to a researcher. Possibilities to quickly open apps like dictionaries are also valuable. Though ebooks offer these new applications, I believe the presentation will resemble its print father for a long time.

E-books and the rise of self- publishing

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I have been thinking lately about the ways in which ebooks have changed the book market. There was a recent article in the New York Times about Apple’s iBookstore and their recent launch of a “Breakout Books” tab. This banner will showcase books from popular self- published authors. My first experience with a self- published book was when I was nine at a yard sale. I remember picking up an odd sci- fi novel about aliens and the end of the world. My dad inspected it and then told me that the author himself had paid to publish it and jokingly told me that it was definitely a “rare” find. However, thanks to ebooks, self – published books have more of a chance of receiving notice and much less of a chance of ending up at a garage sale.

The medium of ebooks allows writers to bypass the cost of hiring a publisher in a revolutionarily profitable manner. Most importantly, on an ebook there is unlimited shelf space. Bookstores can only hold so many books. In the past, writers would depend on the status of their publisher and marketing campaign to reach the shelf. Additionally, ebooks are immortal. In the old world of publishing, if a book sold poorly at first, the retailers would have to return them to the publisher. From an economic standpoint, if the quality of these “indie” books is up to par, then the ability to bypass the cost of the publisher leads to lower prices. According to the article publishers pay authors 25 percent for retail sails while self- published authors earn 60- 70 percent of the list price. I have noticed more and more self- published books appearing on my kindle and there is a recent surge in self- published ebooks becoming best sellers.