Digital Books, Kindle and the Death of Bookstores

Do you have an eBook reader yet, like the Kindle, Nook, and other such variations? If not, then I suggest you get one soon. Most smartphones now have apps that allow you to read ebooks, those are great ebook readers too. Let me tell why you should get an ebook reader.

Ever since Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com launched his Kindle in 2007, ushering the era of ebooks and ebook publishing, the ebook phenomenon has skyrocketed. The Kindle has proved to be Amazon's now best-selling product, such that other companies had launched their own ebook readers - like the Nook for example by Barnes&Noble, and Kobo by Borders.

Jeff Bezos: Amazon and his Kindle

If you will recall, Amazon.com made its money initially and mostly from selling books online and delivering them to customers in a fast and efficient process. Amazon was one of the most successful web company that was able to get people comfortable with buying stuff online; selling books - made of good ol' fashioned paper - was its cash cow. Why would it invest in developing a pioneering product like an ebook reader - a product that would directly compete with its own book sales? Seems counter-intuitive right? In January 2011, Amazon reported that for the first time, digital books or ebooks were outselling their paper-and-print counterparts. In May 2011, they also revealed that in 2010, they sold more ebooks than print books.

“Our vision is every book, ever printed, in any language, all available in less than 60 seconds.”

THAT is Jeff Bezos' Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) for coming up with the Kindle. By any measure, it is truly a huge goal. To come up with such a goal, and esp. a product like the Kindle, one has to be a true visionary. And no doubt, Jeff Bezos is one: He saw a future where all books could be easily accessible. To get there, he needed a device like the Kindle.

Carbon Footprints and Going Green
And it all makes sense. Apart from the increasing penchant for doing everything digitally, there is also the global trend of making products that have lesser environmental impacts. Switching to paperless books is the inevitable direction to take if we are to truly adapt green practices. Trees are saved. Energy that would have been used in the printing and delivery of paper-based books are conserved. Carbon footprint - the new buzzword of the green revolution is minimized.

Self-Publishing and Indie Authors
Consequently, there has been a steady rise of ebook authors as well, or veteran authors who now launch ebook versions of their books. And it's no longer just big names who can have their book published. Self-publishing is now very possible, as ebooks can be made easily from word documents to pdf files and converted to all the other ebook formats to make it suit the different ebook readers. And even Amazon now allows anybody to have their ebooks listed via Amazon. Publishing is now democratized, the same way iTunes of Apple has allowed music publishing democratic by allowing any composer, singer or band to sell their music (in mp3 or aac formats) via iTunes. No more need for big publishing houses or record companies before you can put your material out there. And the results for self-publishers have been very encouraging (read: lucrative), to the point that a number of them are now being signed up by traditional publishers too. (Google: Amanda Hocking)

Amazon: Death of Bookstores Foretold
I would guess that when Bezos saw how well books were selling via his Amazon.com, he already saw the potential of web stores in competing and obliterating his brick-and-mortar counterparts. And with the Kindle, he went a step further as he also will go against book publishers in effect. The result: Bookstore sales have been on a steady decline as more and more people are not only buying their books online but also buying books in digital format. Barnes&Noble tried to fight this off, even getting into developing their own ebook reader (the Nook) to stave off falling profits from sale of regular books. Because of this, they have survived; Borders - another U.S. bookstore - was not as lucky. It filed for bankruptcy in February 2011 and is slated to close down 200 stores.

Other benefits of eBooks
Books are great friends, wonderful companions, and are very very important to our intellectual growth (or even for simple brainless entertainment). BUT - they also take up so much space, gather dust, and get quite heavy in time (that is, if you have at least 5 boxes of them).

They also represent plenty of dead trees.

Much as the smell and texture of paper has become part of our reading experience, switching to ebooks is not only a step forward, but also answers a lot of problems.

As such, it is the way to go.



Book Recommendations:
The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon
One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com
Invent and Wander: The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need

The Idiot Box gets an IQ: The Birth of SMART TVs

The Idiot Box. That's what it was called, apart from, of course, being the Boob Tube. The names, if you notice, aren't very flattering for such an appliance where we have both learned much and been dumbed down much. But that is changing.

Last April 1-2, 2011, I attended the iBlog7: The Blogging Summit at the UP Diliman's Malcolm Hall. One of the sponsors was Samsung SMART TV, and the blogging community was introduced to the features of the said TV.

In a nutshell, the Samsung SMART TV is like regular TV, but with the computer's ability to also access the internet. With the Samsung SMART TV, one can watch regular programs on TV, watch more than one program simultaneously, while also being able to surf the internet. Imagine a TV screen having a window for each of your favorite TV channels, another window for Facebook, another for Youtube, or maybe Twitter. It's basically a TV with internet capabilities. Or TV on steroids! :)

Imagine Life with a Samsung SMART TV

One of its unique features is the access to Samsung's TV App Store where you can purchase applications for your SMART TV, the same way Apple has an Itunes store for music, and Amazon has a Amazon Kindle bookstore for ebooks. This is something that promises to revolutionize and totally redefine the 'TV experience' as we know it.

From the looks of it, it is hardly an innovation, just an integration of 2 different products - TV and computers. It seems simple enough, but I think its implications are huge. Seeing Sony and LG also launching a similar SMART TV, this just might be where TV is really headed. TV is getting a IQ upgrade with these SMART TVs. We're all able to watch TV shows on computers anyway, so this integration makes great sense.

Maybe regular TV will soon get phased out (or die!), and all TVs will have become smarter. Maybe this will also have an impact on TV broadcasting, if more and more people get their 'TV fix' on the internet - perhaps SMART TVs will pave the way for eventual 100% 'broadcasting' over the internet. It is not far-fetched, esp. with TV networks' transition into digital broadcasting; and Youtube, which has practically allowed anyone to 'broadcast' themselves via their own Youtube channels. Apple also came out with the Apple TV (which hasn't taken off as much as we'd like), and Google has Google TV too (which deserves a real good look, and maybe a separate post).

Google's Eric Schmidt talks about the Google TV

Still, more and more TV brands are venturing into SMART TVs. I realize this may be TVs attempt to not be made totally irrelevant by the computers, and the other communication products fighting for people's attention - like the Ipad for example. (Or Samsung's own Galaxy Tab).

The Samsung SMART TV is a first of what will probably be several evolutions of the SMART TV - be it from Samsung or other TV manufacturers. Check out the Samsung website to see what it promises to deliver.


P.S. Recently, I entered into a contest to win a Samsung SMART TV. My entry is about the '7 Ways to Loving a Samsung SMART TV'. Apart of listing the 7 Ways, I also posted a video that is a tribute to what the Samsung SMART TV can do for us. Check it out! :) And wish me luck. :)

My Samsung Love: Counting the Ways to Loving a Samsung SMART TV

My Blog Looks Good on an Ipad (Is that reason enough to get it?)

I have never desired an Ipad until I discovered how handsome my blog looks when you view it from an Ipad. Damn, hehe.

w00t! Looking good!

First time I got hold of an Ipad, I knew I should not dare desire it because:

1. It is easy to like it: it just really looks cool. (It's just way more stylish than the Samsung Galaxy Tab, in my opinion, which looks much like Barnes&Noble's Nook ebook reader. Though I know, with the Android, the Samsung Galaxy Tab is more poised to win in the apps category.)

Samsung Galaxy Tab

2. There are so many things to do with it, lots of interesting stuff, esp. the very simple fun games and other apps. (which is scary, because they seem addicting to play with, being so simple and amusing.)

Great Distractions

3. Because there are so many things to do with it, it will take time away from other more productive things I need to do - like travel, business, blogging. (And showing off an Ipad can be a full time job too.)
4. My Amazon Kindle still needs my undivided attention, which I have not been able to give it lately; another gadget would make it too jealous. (I am a one-gadget man.)
5. I still have my mac - 30Mac - as well my classic Ipod photo, which should be enough to make Steve Jobs happy. (Right, Steve?)

But... the 5 reasons notwithstanding, seeing how gorgeous my blog looks via an Ipad, I am tempted. We'll see. :)

P.S. Here's a look at the newly released Ipad 2. Maybe this shall whet your appetites for it too. :)

Steve Jobs: Give in to the temptation.