TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

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Suppose buggy-whip makers had owned the early plants that made automobiles. They might have overpriced the horseless carriages to protect sales of the horse-driven variety.

And that’s just about the case with e-books. Despite the rise of some fine independent publishers of e-books only, the traditional houses still do figure. And often they’re not so keen on seeing e-books appear at the same time as paper editions and undercut prices. What’s more, even some e-book independents may charge hardback prices. I wish that publishers of all kinds would read NetWorker’s recent post to the eBook Community list:

…just because book junkies are willing to pay whatever it takes to get their fix, doesn’t mean that they are totally insensitive to price differences. If e-books were cheaper than p-books, and if e-books were perceived as being as effective as p-books, and if e-books were understood to be as widely available as p-books, then e-books ought to sell better than p-books, and if their cost is lower then the profit will be greater.

There are a lot of “ifs” in the foregoing statement, but that just gives us some idea as where we need to work.

1) E-books need to be priced so that the public perception is that they are cheaper than paperbacks, and the difference needs to be more than just de minimis.

2) Everyone interested in the success of e-books needs to be actively engaged in promoting the idea of e-books, and not just as the equivalent of p-books, but as something which is different and better. I think the size of an e-book device needs to be small enough to fit inside a Ziploc sandwich bag, because thats how I read them in the tub.

3) The public needs to be made aware of how simple it is to acquire an e-book, and to the extent that p-books are more available than e-books we need to think up new ways of distribution so that they become as available. I’m still looking for investors for my e-book kiosk idea.

Thinking that higher prices will sell more e-books is sort of like thinking that setting off cannons will make it rain, because rainstorms are accompanied by bright flashes, loud sounds and heavy clouds. It sort of works, just not for the reasons they thought…

NetWorker adds that better marketing, improved hardware and rejection of DRM could also boost sales. True!

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Grace Lee over at the spiffy-looking Handheld Librarian has put together a nifty little podcast primer.

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“E-Ink announced on Tuesday that Intel has invested an undisclosed amount into the display company.” – ZDNet via eBookAd.

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A grumpy writer for the Phoenix New Times has complained about video-blogging and podcasts from people without The Face or The Voice. Hey, that’s probably most of us–which is the whole point of the V&P scene: many to many.

But let’s see what Mr. New Times can write about Rochelle, aka the Raccoon of Tin + Raccoon fame, who promises me that her podcast will be on the way in the next three months.

She has both The Voice and The Prose for a do-it-yourself NPR essay act–and a video-ready face. Even before I made a not-so-suble suggestion about podcasting, Rochelle was conferring with a techie friend of hers. There! The promise is public. I’ll put this in my Remind program and check up her.

Vanity Department: Perhaps I’ve overlooked someone else’s article, but I apparently was the first to do an LISNews item suggesting podcasts for libraries. Tried several search strings. Did I overlook anyone else’s article? Meanwhile here’s a reminder that librarian Greg Schwartz is already experimenting with the technology. In fact, he was doing so before the TeleBlog first podded up.

(New Times piece found via Steve “Seinfield” Garfield. Yep. The New Times guy apparently likes his Carol and Steve routine and the rest. I do, too.)

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“Every digital rights management scheme we’ve encountered does little to quell actual piracy and succeeds only in eliminating legally protected uses. DRM systems are expensive to put in place and that cost is passed on to the consumer.” – About DRMBlog.com, in the new DRMBlog.

The TeleRead take: I loved a comment in the blog’s entry Rent, Lease, or Buy–Which Model Is Best for You?

If I buy a CD player, every CD will work in it. If I buy a television, it will work with all cable companies in my country. If I buy an FM radio it works with every FM station. However, if I buy a new audio player I have to buy one that works with a particular service?

This is a problem and this is where the idea is flawed. Is it not enough that the average consumer needs to know the difference between all the different formats?

AAC, MP3, MP4, MP3-Pro, VBR, OGG, WMA, APE, WAV, RA, FLAC, SHN, VQF

This alphabet soup of acronyms is enough to confuse anyone but on top of this now we are asking the consumer to choose between DRM schemes and service providers also. I pity the poor parent trying to buy their 14 year old a birthday gift.

All right! I haven’t the slightest doubt that the DRMBlog would feel the same about the industry-weakening Tower of eBabel within e-bookdom. I’m not certain which of the DRMBloggers wrote the post–Ginger Cox or Jimmy Palmer–but I certainly agree with whoever did. I intend to get to know those folks. The DRMBlog, which I found via BoingBoing, is a valuable addition to the blogosphere.

A reminder of OpenReader‘s policy on DRM: It’s not our favorite technology. But we will work in good faith with publishers who want it and help them come up with the most consumer-friendly alternative, just so other publishers are free not to use DRM. In the end the marketplace will sort things out.

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If you doubt the need for the cost-savings of e-books, take a look at stats from ALA.

In the past two years library budgets have been cut in the U.S. by at least $109 million–even though library use is dramatically up over the last ten years. That’s something to ponder during National Library Week (April 10-16).

Best to fund libraries better, of course, but e-books, however, also can help. Too bad ALA-prez-elect Michael Gorman is an anti-e-book Luddite.

Also useful would be avoidance of wasteful Hollywood-bought requirements such as the broadcast flag, which the ALA, to its credit, is fighting. (Found via LISNews.)

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Details via eReader for Symbian at eReader.com. (Thanks to PDA eBooks List.)

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“Personally, I take the view that if a song, movie, book, etc. is DRM’d then it isn’t truly mine.” – Slashdot reader in When Would You Accept DRM?

The TeleRead take: I’ll rent DRMed books in proprietary formats. I myself try not to be buy them. This is just me–on a limited budget. I’m eagerly looking forward to the OpenReader era when I can own e-books for real even if they’re DRMed. Today’s proprietary DRM helps makes permanent ownership impossible.

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Rochelle, who on a more clueful planet would be a regular NPR audio essayist, should check out a story in the Raleigh News & Observer on podcasting.

The lead example? An audio essayist in Durham, North Carolina, who bought a $17 microphone and now has 400 subscribed listeners. In listenership Mur Lafferty is no competition for All Things Considered, but still an example of the possibilities of the media–even if she probably overpaid for the mike. Heard a sample essay from Mur. Watch out, NPR! As in Rochelle’s case, I hope Mur keeps plugging away.

My favorite podcaster: Brian Russell

My favorite podcaster of the moment, however, is Brian Russell of Chapel Hill who does AudioActivism. For me he’s the ultimate narrowcaster–not a slick radio professional but someone who addresses my interests. I loaded up my MuVo TX/FM with some of Brian’s MP3s. Then I enjoyed several long walks in the aural company of Brian and other Tar Heel bloggers such as Ed Cone and Roch Smith as well as Paul Jones of iBiblio (Roch is to to the left in the photo, though I’m not sure how that works in political ideology). Brian’s tutorials on topics such as net.audio and citizens journalism were also gems.

Brian’s newest fellow podder: John Edwards

Next I left a comment in Brian’s blog about UNC Prof. John Edwards’ cowardly refusal to speak out against the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act and the DMCA. Brian understood instantly. Perhaps the good professor can use his new podcast to break out of his apparently Hollywood-bought silence.

If not, let’s hope that local podcasters such as Brian can get the UNC community talking about Edwards’ hypocrisy. Imagine the spectacle of a “populist” poverty-warrior who refuses to speak out against anti-school, anti-library legislation–which is making literature a less and less important part of wired children’s lives. I don’t care if Prof. Edwards is the first pol to use the Net for 3D holograms. Let’s not ever confuse political hipness with the tech kind put together by hired hands. Brian is doing true grassroots podcasting. Prof. Edwards is kicking off his ’08 campaign with audio press releases.

Not Murrow–but learning from him

Fittingly, the Ourmedia linked to AudioActivism from the home page. Lest fame get to him, though, Brian has kept in mind the related wisdom of Ed Murrow.

Now–if only Brian can get over a nasty case of the flu that’s making it hard to talk. It’s the podcast equivalent of a writer with two broken hands.

L Street and the Blog People

So why the mention of the Post in the headline above this post, small-p? And isn’t it interesting how I live in Alexandria, VA, but keep writing so much about Carolina?

Part of the explanation is that I went to school down there, and that there are notable blog-related experiments such as Greensboro101. But there is another reason. The Post sucks, massively, as a way for me to keep up with the local blogging scene and Alexandria civic affairs in general.

Instead of writing about the local Brian Russells, it has trouble looking past the sexy Wonkette (not that bloggers should necessarily trust the Post to get the stories about them right anyway). What a contrast to the Greensboro News-Record (where Editor John Robinson and bunch of staffers blog and unbashedly link to local bloggers fond of civic affairs) or the N&O (which I hear is eager to catch up with the N-R).

Memo to self

I really should keep reducing time devoted even to the RSSed Post and grok around more for local bloggers and podcasters. The Post is like a big noisy freeway dividing neighborhoods. It steals time and attention from hometown-level debates that it ought to cover in more depth.

No, I won’t buy the excuse that the Post is a national, international and metro paper. With improved RSS and email, L Street could do one hellava job of serving Alexandria, VA, and other individual suburbs if it wanted. I even believe it’s malarkey to think blogs will definitely replace the Post and the New York Times. The giants have far more resources for endeavors such as investigative reporting at all levels, the micro one included, if editors will be inclined.

Post- vs. Wonkette-style affairs

But, even discounting the above potential, I badly need to start reading the Wonkette more and the Post less. No, the Wonkette isn’t a vehicle for discussion of civic affair–more likely, the dirty-laundry kind–but get you the general drift.

Granted, MSM journalists question the Wonkette’s accuracy. But no perfection at the Post either. Otherwise the Post wouldn’t let the typical reader think that “public domain content can be encumbered. I’m still waiting for a clarification despite a clueful explanation from a Post lawyer. And of course, Col. Michael Getler, the ombudsman-PRman at the Post, never responded to email and a phone call. This is bizarre. I’m actually wishing that the lawyer could be the ombudsman instead. Even in the VIP column, gasp, the setting where the Post made the public-domain gaffe, L Street should be more serious than the Wonkette.

Demotion for Getler: I can just envision Getler coming up with some endearingly self-effacing remark and saying, “Hey, I’m not a general, just an ombudsman sitting off to the side. Isn’t Leonard Downie, the executive editor, more of a general?” General, er, Colonel, I think you’re right. That’s why, on the basis of this imaginary objection, I’ve demoted you. A nuance, of course. You’re both top-downers in the old Pentagon tradition–as shown by Downie’s arrogant bluster on behalf of bloated newspapers in an era when more and more readers hate the format, especially the Net-reared young.

Prediction: The Post will eventually do podcasting or the equivalent in a big way–and end up treating the grassroots variety about as tenderly as L Street has treated e-books.

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“A Japanese site entitled All You Can Read Paperbacks and launched in 2003 already suggests 150 e-books. The success of the new cell capability seems guaranteed, considering the over 50.000 subscribers to this website only.” – E-book enabled mobile phones? in Softpedia, via eBookAd.

The TeleRead take: The story goes on to say: “Surprisingly enough, several surveys indicate that most users take advantage of this offer in order to read classical novels, previously abandoned during school, and that they find that the small displays not only induce less fatigue, but they also enable them to read in darker conditions, for instance when reading bedtime stories to their children at home.” Possibilities for spreading e-books in the Third World? Books on tiny displays, as e-book advocates would point out, are better than no books.

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The Anne Arundel County Library in Maryland reports growing interest in e-books and audio books. (Via HometownAnnapolis.com)

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Ourmedia.org is down right now–after having been swamped. Clearly some nonVIPs, non-”newsmakers,” want to exchange content.

Why, then, are Michael Gartenberg and certain other members of the media elite so eager to cling to their notion of consumers as mere couch potatoes? Didn’t the failure of the original Prodigy teach something? Prodigy was oriented toward shopping, not true interactivity, despite all the corporate misuses of that word.

“We write, you consume”

Oh, well. It all goes along with the we-write/you-consume tabloid from the Washington Post, where in-depth local news actually seems to be frowned upon. Was this dreck allowed when Kay Graham was publisher of the Post? When is Donny Graham going to live up to his famous appreciation of local news and shut the Express down or, better, change it?

Meanwhile, in a rather different way, the same elitist ‘tude permeates Gen. Michael Getler’s apparent belief that it’s our patriotic duty to try to enjoy a five-pound newspaper, regardless of our wishes.

The Net as a force for localized news–and dialogue

No, General. It is our patriotic duty to participate in civic affairs, and truly interactive media can help. With the Net, our news can be more localized, not less, and citizens can speak back to policymakers without editors constantly in the way. That’s the kind of participation I like.

A few nuances: To his credit, Gartenberg is at least aware of the prejudice that the MSM will show at times against perceived competitors. Hey, newspapers did the same thing when radio and TV came along. In fact, they still are.

(Thanks to Steve Garfield for spotting the clueless quote about couch potatoes.)

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“A study of 100,000 pupils in 31 countries around the world has concluded that using computers makes kids dumb. Avoiding PCs in the classroom and at home improved the literacy and numeracy of the children studied. The UK’s Royal Economic Society finds no ground for the correlation that politicans make between IT use and education.” – The Register.

The TeleRead take: First off, who’s to say the study is on target? But let’s assume it is. As many critics of edtech point out, there is a major difference between fact-gathering and knowledge. One response to the skeptical would be a mix of e-books and well-supervised blogging. Schools could train students to aborb e-books and write about them in a coherent, analytical way.

More time for the essentials

A glory of this approach is that students can devote more time to the actual research, thinking and writing than if they had to create their own Web pages from scatch. E-Books, moreover, would streamline research.

At the same time students could learn to links to books to document their arguments well. OpenReader would faciliate this process by allowing links even at the sentence level.

Links no substitute for intelligent paraphrases

Still, I don’t believe that schools should let students get away with links alone. They should also show they can intelligently paraphrase material.

As for the math aspect of controversy, I’ll leave that for others to address.

Detail: If you’re a teacher and are using the e-book/blog combination already, I’d love to hear from you and tell others about your good work.

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So which is more important–posting to this blog or finding time for a long-overdue switch from Blogger to something better? The present Blogger slowdown is by far the worst yet. Thoughts welcome. I’m tired of waiting for the server upgrade to be done. Any WordPress experts out there who might help with the transition or at least be ready to rush in if something goes wrong? My present thought is to leave this blog intact and start over again within a /teleblog subdirectory or maybe a /wp one.

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Sad. Even in a well-off community with a median family income of $117,574, library advocates must fend off branch-closing proposals. Oh, and sure enough, the Palto Alto controversy involved talk of using some “saved” money for a main branch. When will ‘crats finally understand the importance of neighborhood libraries–and well-stocked ones at that? (San Jose Mercury News, via Alev.)

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OK, CIL slipped past us–with so much else to write about. But you can get wrapups via links at LISNews and even an OpenStacks summary podcast from Greg Schwartz.

Related: Two librarians on podcasting, an OpenStacks item. Also see Podcasting for libraries: Great outreach tool in time, from LISNews.