Shipping Online
on Jan 14th, 2010
@ 7:31 pm: 

I believe one of the main reasons that publishers don’t want there content test to speech enabled, is due to the fact that more then likely they will end up online as torrents. Freely downloadable by everyone on the net. Its a shame piracy stops dis advantaged people from using certen types of technology!

[Reply]

Dual Screen eInk, LCD netbook based on Android? | Netbook Reviews - Netbook Review Blog
on May 21st, 2009
@ 2:58 am: 

[...] browsing through the web, we came across this article describing the iPhone vs. Kindle battle in the universities. The Apple iPhone/iPod and Amazon’s Kindle are not exactly neck to neck in the ebook reader [...]

Gary Arms
on May 11th, 2009
@ 5:43 am: 

As someone who teaches the Online Generation, I think it will happen the way it did with music and the way it is now happening with movies and TV shows. People with no ownership stake will put content on line so that others can “share” it. And so the dike will be breached. I agree completely with Evan’s analysis of the Online Generation and his prediction that they will increasingly ignore anything not in the cloud. Anyone who teaches knows it is increasingly difficult to get students to read books. There is a small but significant young audience for books, but a distressingly large portion of the younger generation will not read entire books unless required to do so by professors. When the online generation does research, they do it almost entirely online. Publishers and authors will continue to squabble. Again, I agree with Evan’s analysis; they will never come to general agreement. Meanwhile, the cloud will expand, gobbling up everything that exists in digital form. In music, it appears that artists will continue to make money but most of their revenue will come from live performance, the sale of tee shirts etc. To a considerable degree, the music industry has lost control of its product. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” The success of Hulu suggests that TV and movies can make money selling ads on their own site, a site that is easy to use, reliable and free of viruses. A huge amount of print (especially periodicals) is already on line; the magazines sell ad space too. This is the single most important problem facing all content providers. The future will belong to those able to adapt to the new environment.

[Reply]

Another copyright reshuffle that’s in the cards - The Shatzkin Files
on May 12th, 2009
@ 5:11 am: 

[...] Schnittman at Black Plastic Glasses posted the final chunk of a 3-parter yesterday that contained a real shocker (to me) at the end. The 3-part post shows through [...]

Jeroen
on May 6th, 2009
@ 3:04 pm: 

You’re asking two things here:
1) The question is whether we can deliver immersive reading in a manner that is relevant to Generation On-Demand.
2) What will we need to do as an industry to make that happen?

You already gave the answer: put it in the “clouds”. This will automatically lead to a “usage fee” instead of a “buying fee”. For the consumer than it is important to know what they’re paying for. Is it a product I’m paying for or is it the usage of the content? And is the content mine? Can I resell it or lend it to a friend? No, why not? Next to changing the contract structures I think the transition to e-reading involves a lot of communication to the consumer about what is possible and what is not.

[Reply]

Jeff
on May 6th, 2009
@ 8:50 pm: 

Good analysis, though I think issues of reading need separating from issues of access.

Immersive reading might be slippery to define. Those of us who value long-form prose have always been in the minority throughout history. We just hate to confront that reality for fears of being called elitist. As far as “immersive reading” in digital media goes, everyone should look more towards documentary films than print as a content model though there’s obviously not much of a revenue model there. Intellectual property constraints will do more to limit creativity or new forms of “writing” in digital media than on reading and distribution.

I think you’re absolutely right in that the future is about on demand access to material. And that can be in the format of one’s preference (be it digital or print via print-on-demand or even traditional bookstores).

[Reply]

MikeShatzkin
on May 5th, 2009
@ 6:48 am: 

Evan, I think just about everybody buys less music as they get older. Two reasons.

1. You get introduced to music much more readily and frequently when you’re young and single and music is inextricably bound to the discovery of social opportunities with those of whatever sex interests you.

2. As you get older, your stash of stuff you KNOW you like gets bigger, and you never stop listening to it. So your NEED for new new music diminishes.

I bet if you checked you’d find that the pace of adding new ARTISTS has slowed even more than the pace of adding new music.

None of this applies to the other forms of content because they don’t tend to be reused the way music is.

[Reply]

Evan Reply:
May 5th, 2009 at 8:07 am

Mike:

One could make the argument that as you get older you wind up reading more books, watching more TV, and seeing more movies… which isn’t reflected in my experience.

Its not just about music… it’s about everything.

[Reply]

Generation On-Demand « Black Plastic Glasses
on May 6th, 2009
@ 2:52 am: 

[...] On-Demand is the second of a 3-part series.  The first installment,  Disruption, explored my personal content consumption over the years and ended with the observation that [...]

There Will Be Disintermediation « Black Plastic Glasses
on May 11th, 2009
@ 3:28 am: 

[...] first two parts of this series, Disruption and Generation On-Demand, explored my own personal content consumption disruption and traced it [...]