Comments on: How can you track an ebook? http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/how-can-you-track-an-ebook/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:09:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Logan Kennelly http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/how-can-you-track-an-ebook/comment-page-1/#comment-1145226 Logan Kennelly Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:23:02 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/?p=28843#comment-1145226 You can certainly track shared copies! Through a very simple, non-arcane, non-DRM scheme you can get a reasonable estimate of the number of copies being read: include a link in the book to a web site and track visits to the web site by unique IP. (I have never implemented such a system, but there is a lot of research into this, especially with respect to application tracking.) The system isn't going to be perfect. Some book reading applications may not follow external links. Further, people who convert the book into a non-HTML/ePub format and distribute the converted content will avoid your tracking. However, it will work reasonably well and give you useful numbers. Since many readers are now natively ePub and don't have Internet connectivity, you may wish to put the tracking link on the title page. Then, with any luck, the library software utilized by the user will contact your link instead of the reading device. You can certainly track shared copies! Through a very simple, non-arcane, non-DRM scheme you can get a reasonable estimate of the number of copies being read: include a link in the book to a web site and track visits to the web site by unique IP. (I have never implemented such a system, but there is a lot of research into this, especially with respect to application tracking.)

The system isn’t going to be perfect. Some book reading applications may not follow external links. Further, people who convert the book into a non-HTML/ePub format and distribute the converted content will avoid your tracking. However, it will work reasonably well and give you useful numbers.

Since many readers are now natively ePub and don’t have Internet connectivity, you may wish to put the tracking link on the title page. Then, with any luck, the library software utilized by the user will contact your link instead of the reading device.

]]> By: Steve Epstein http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/how-can-you-track-an-ebook/comment-page-1/#comment-1145211 Steve Epstein Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:03:56 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/?p=28843#comment-1145211 I think the use of 2D-barcodes or QRcodes as coupons will have some use for free e-book follow on tracking. At least it will bring the follow on readers to a url, for additional content. So some measure of use, and sharing will be evident. I think the use of 2D-barcodes or QRcodes as coupons will have some use for free e-book follow on tracking.

At least it will bring the follow on readers to a url, for additional content.

So some measure of use, and sharing will be evident.

]]> By: Luke Bergeron http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/how-can-you-track-an-ebook/comment-page-1/#comment-1145198 Luke Bergeron Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:45:01 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/?p=28843#comment-1145198 You can't, really. You can track the number of downloads from your site and not "allow" any other sites to publish it, but you'll never be able to track whether Chuck passes his e-book file over to his friend Susie (instead of directing Susie to your page), without some arcane,DRM bloatware "dial-home" feature built into the e-book itself. All you can do it look at the numbers downloaded and estimate. It's not an elegant system. But really, if the book is free, does tracking it and being exact as possible really matter that much? You can’t, really. You can track the number of downloads from your site and not “allow” any other sites to publish it, but you’ll never be able to track whether Chuck passes his e-book file over to his friend Susie (instead of directing Susie to your page), without some arcane,DRM bloatware “dial-home” feature built into the e-book itself. All you can do it look at the numbers downloaded and estimate. It’s not an elegant system. But really, if the book is free, does tracking it and being exact as possible really matter that much?

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