From The Kindel to The iPad and beyond

When I first found out I would be doing a course on publishing I was apprehensive, as I had never really thought about publishing and felt that it was too complicated for me to understand. However, after reading the materials for this week I soon began to see that it’s not such an obscure subject and that it was already part of my everyday life. When I read through the history of printing I was amazed at how far we’ve come and how publishing has developed from something that was virtually non-existent 300 years ago to something that is constantly adapting and changing in the digital age. 

One of the readings that really resonated with me this week was the NPR transcript as it brought to light the different ways e-books have transformed both the publishing world and society itself. I think the underlying argument that e-books like the iPad and Kindle have enhanced rather than replaced the printed book was quiet poignant (NPR, 2010). I think that people are still drawn to the printed book as it offers them a unique experience. Having said that I also believe that e-books can offer us a whole new way of experiencing reading particularly the iPad as you can access 3D images or embedded videos. As the transcript mentions perhaps were heading towards a future where we can read a printed book and then access it online or on an iPad therefore improving our overall reading experience (NPR, 2010).

Another article that I found interesting was by John Naughton from The Observer as he made me think about the other ways that e-books differ from the printed book. The concept that e-books such as the Amazon Kindle are controlling people by monitoring the interactions they make on the device and by restricting them from sharing the content or using it for illegal purposes (Naughton, 2009), really opened my eyes to the dangers posed by these new technologies. It really made me think about how much power these new content owners have over people compared to those who distribute printed books. Though the reading added something new to the discussion of e-books rather than just focusing on the aesthetic features of these new devices, I would have liked it if he had further discussed the reasons behind this control and what it would mean for publishing in the future.

References:  
1) Naughton, John (2009) ‘The original Big Brother is watching you on Amazon Kindle’ [online] The Guardian, July 26, Available at: <http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jul/26/amazon-kindle-book-deletions> [Accessed 5 March 2011].
2) National Public Radio (2010) ‘E-Book Boom Changes Book Selling And Publishing’, [online] December 21, Available at:<http://www.npr.org/2010/12/21/132235154/e-book-boom-changes-book-selling-and-publishing> [Accessed 5 March 2011].