E-Book Buyer’s Guide to Privacy
cc image courtesy of practicalowl on flickr
Thinking about an ebook reader? Concerned about ebooks and privacy? Just curious? The EFF’s E-Book Buyer’s Guide to Privacy v1.1 has answers to questions like
- Can they monitor what you’re reading?
- Is the device ONLY compatible with books purchased from an associated eBook store?
- Can they keep track of book searches?
- Can they keep track of book purchases?
- With whom can they share the information collected in non-aggregated form?
- Can they share information outside the company without the customer’s consent?
- Do they lack mechanisms for customers to access, correct, or delete the information?
Simon & Schuster and Hachette Book Group to Implement Embargo on eBooks
Sony Reader, Nook, Kindle
What a disappointment for those who wake up Christmas morning to find that Santa left an eReader in their stockings! Publisher Simon & Schuster has announced it will delay the ebook publishing of 35 titles* coming up next year. Publisher Hachette plans to implement a similar embargo for new titles.
I have to agree with the Eric Garland quote in the WSJ
“In the Internet age you don’t enjoy the same degree of control,” said Eric Garland, CEO of BigChampagne, LLC, an online media measurement company in Beverly Hills, Calif. “You can’t create artificial scarcity by withholding content in one form and making it available later.”
This is a step in the wrong direction. I understand the book publishing industry’s desire to control ebooks is based on fear of piracy and lost money. This attempt to tighten control wont help, in fact it may drive piracy to develop sooner and spread faster. They need to take a closer look at what happened to the music industry and acknowledge they will not be able to control ebooks the way they hope. The sooner they do that the sooner they can start working with ebooks in a successful way.
On a personal note, while I do look longingly at the Nook, I’m still waiting to buy a device. I believe I should be able to load an ebook I purchase onto the device of my choosing, I don’t care where I buy it or if I check it out from the library.
By the way PC World put together their list of Why E-book Readers Make Bad Holiday Gifts before this embargo announcement.
*I couldn’t find the names of all 35 titles, but it does include “Point Omega” by Don DeLillo, “Courage and Consequence” by Karl Rove and “House Rules” by Jodi Picoult
Recommended reading:
- Major Publishers’ e-Reader Embargo Strategy Straight From Tired, Old Play Book
- Two Major Publishers To Hold Back E-Books
- Some Publishers to Delay eBook Releases
- Are we due a wave of book piracy?
- Local Bookstores, Social Hubs, and Mutualization
- Some half-formed thoughts on one future for bookselling
- My ebooks and DRM talk from O’Reilly’s Tools of Change for Publishing from Cory Doctorow
- DRM Holding Back Ebook Growth
Vooks = Books + Online Video = Tranliteracy
A vook blends the text of a book with video into one story. I’m fascinated by this new this new multimedia approach to books. I have no idea if it will be successful, I can’t really see the appeal for fiction, but for something like a fitness or other how-to books I can see having a video as an advantage for demonstration. Think of all the how-to videos on YouTube. You get the advantages of text and video in one.
Part of my fascination is due to the great example of transliteracy this provides. It is providing information through multiple media formats. We often see text in videos or on images. We are used to seeing videos embedded on websites and blogs. This does seem like the next logical step. But I wonder if it will really take off, maybe for a small market
I’d like to see this affect ereaders, they can display text and images, and we are all waiting for color, why not video too?
- Curling Up With Hybrid Books, Videos Included
- What is a Vook and will it change how you read?
- Books + Online Video = Vooks: Watchable, Readable, & Very Cool
- Apple Tablet Books Need to Be Better than Vooks
Will Libraries be Able to Loan the Nook and eBooks from Barnes & Noble?
Will Nook and Barnes & Noble play ball with libraries? Librarians have been trying to figure out a way to lend Kindle titles and Kindles since they were first available. But its complicated and Amazon hasn’t given any indication they want to work with libraries. Yes there are libraries doing it but they do not have Amazon’s official blessing.
But the Nook and Barnes & Noble might be different. They might be willing to officially give libraries permission to loan Nooks & their ebooks. Why?
- They have already built in 2 week loaning and borrowing
- Loaning can be made to a variety of devices – Mac, PC, iPhone, iPod Touch, PC, Mac, BlackBerry, or Windows Mobile (soon).
- You can load ebooks from your public library onto The Nook*
- Barnes & Noble has a history of work with libraries.
- Barnes & Noble/Bookmobile Book Fair
- Barnes & Noble Lends A Hand To Library System
- Barnes and Noble Day for the Library
- Barnes & Noble Bookfair
- Barnes & Noble Booksellers aids Kalamazoo Public Library’s Reading Together program
- Jefferson Parish Library Is Recipient of Barnes and Noble Donation
- Jessamine County Public Library Benefit Book Fair at Barnnes & Noble/Lexington, KY
- Barnes & Noble and New Jersey libraries work together to sponsor “Love Your Library” Month
*All signs point to yes as Barnes & Noble has adopted Adobe® Content Server but none of the players have specifically addressed this issue.
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