September 28th, 2010 | By Ovi Demetrian Jr | Posted in Reading
Photo by Neil Gaiman at the Literary Lights for Children event at the Boston Public Library
Since the beginning of the internet, studies have shown that people are reading more than ever. It’s not very surprising really. We’ve always loved reading, technology and the Internet have just made it easier for us. The recent surge in eBook reading is further proof of this as eReading devices become as common as mobile phones with the internet. And with reading becoming such a big part of our everyday life, our environment for reading becomes an important aspect of how we read.
Niche bookstores[1] are a great example of enhancing people’s reading experience. They cater towards people who are interested in certain kinds of subjects instead of just having a bunch of books like every other bookstore. They also have in-store events that keeps people coming back. The way Starbucks and local coffee shops have figured out that drinking coffee is about the overall leisure experience, specialty bookstores are doing the same thing for books.
1. Niche Bookstores Provide More Than Books by Reyhan Harmanci, September 9, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/10/us/10bcomnivore.html?_r=2
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July 14th, 2010 | By Ovi Demetrian Jr | Posted in ProjectReading
So what will Indie Aisle be all about and what will make it unique from other online marketplaces? Well, for a start, it will only have narratives. No textbooks or guides or anything not based on a sequence of events. Non fiction is fine, but should be in the form of a story.
The main reason for this is because one of the goals of Indie Aisle is to show the power of storytelling and how important it is to each of us. How personal a story can be, or how interactive and social. How a story impacts the way we see ourselves and the world.
And with the focus on the story itself, I hope to allow for exploring stories across all formats, from the written word, to illustration-based, to comics and beyond. Each format is its own artform, creating a different kind of experience for its audience.
This also allows for organizing stories in new ways based on specific interests and tastes, making it easier to find the kind of story you’re looking for, or to provide the right context for others to find your own story.
And that’s just the beginning. The core design for Indie Aisle is complete and as the under-the-hood development work takes place, I will go over other aspects of what Indie Aisle has to offer. Stay tuned!
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June 25th, 2010 | By Ovi Demetrian Jr | Posted in Reading
I’ve covered eBook formats in a previous post, so I thought taking a look at eReaders would be a good follow up to that. Like the eBook format, readers for eBooks are also at their beginning stages so there are still certain kinks that need to be worked out to make them easier to use. Here are some things to keep in mind when considering one:
- eReaders usually come in two forms: as eInk devices (Amazon Kindle, B&N Nook, etc) and as applications for your computer (Adobe Digital Editions, Calibre, etc), mobile device (Stanza, Kobo, Aldiko, etc), or iPad
- Because of the varying eBook formats you’re likely to download, look for an eReader that allows for reading multiple formats
- As with digital music, DRM can be an issue for moving your eBooks from device/app to device/app, so when downloading eBooks make sure their DRM allows for this, or just try to avoid any eBooks with DRM all-together
- As people start using multiple devices for reading, a good universal solution is to go with a web-based app like Ibis Reader
And like with eBook formats, betting on the web is the way to go. One of the reasons the web browser was invented was for electronic reading and is now being built in to practically every device. And to not have to deal with moving files around, storing your files online seems to be the way things are heading and in a few years will become the norm. The ultimate goal being to just log in to an online eBook app of your choice and access your library of books from any device, anywhere, anytime.
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