Netflix for books
UPDATE: It looks like Amazon is making the first move in creating an eBook subscription service.
If you care about the way we publish and share books, do yourself a favor and read Craig Mod’s thought-provoking essay Post-Artifact Books and Publishing.
He asks the right question: How does digital change books?
In the article he links to Kevin Kelly’s blog post What Books Will Become. Here’s an excerpt that I think is too smart to ignore:
In the long run (next 10-20 years) we won’t pay for individual books any more than we’ll pay for individual songs or movies. All will be streamed in paid subscription services; you’ll just “borrow” what you want.
Who’s going to lead the charge and create the site that allows us to subscribe once and read everywhere? Who’s going to negotiate the licensing fees with publishers and independent artists?
Who’s going to find the right algorithm for recommending new books based on our reading habits? Is it based on our reviews? Is it based on the books liked and listed on our friend’s social media profiles? Is it based on the books ranked highly by people who highlighted the same sections of of an ebook that we did?
Will we subscribe to reading lists curated by our favorite authors, publishers, or culture shapers?
Will this be the library of the future or the bookstore of the future? Will they become the same thing once we stop buying individual books and start paying for a membership that allows us unlimited “streaming” of books and articles?
Book Cover Design
