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more on the future of the book
22 Jan 07
In a recent post, I mused about the notion of book as artifact and what the implications of that notion might be on the nature of my personal collection (long story short: most of what I own is crap and could, in theory, be discarded). Today, there’s a post on the very interesting if:book blog claiming that the sea change is coming which will lead to the long awaited demise of the print book:
And that brings me around to the real reason the touchscreen zooming interface is the key to the next generation of “books.” It allows users to move into 3D networked space easily and fluently and it gets us beyond the linearity that is the hallmark and the limitation of the paper book. To come into its own, the networked book is going to require three-dimensional visualizations for both content and navigation.
In other words, the networked book isn’t really a book at all. Years ago, when I was first exposed to the notion of the “graphic novel”, I tended to pooh-pooh it as being a pretentious label intended to obfuscate the elevation of what was really low-culture to a faux sort of high-culture. I learned to see the attraction in graphic novels only much later when I realized that they aren’t really novels at all. They’re different. By the same token, the networked book anticipated by the if:book author needs to be called something other than book.
The type of electronic artifact envisioned in this article is exciting, and very cool. I love the two projects mentioned (Gam3r Th30ryand the Iraq Quagmire Project) and even find myself talking to my kids about them (they’re very kind). But I can’t help but think there’s no reason this new medium will necessarily lead to the death of the old. The printing press didn’t result in the end of handwriting. Neither has (or will) the typewriter or the keyboard. But handwriting has a very different place in our society as a result of technological developments. As will printing.
Posted by pzed on January 22, 2007 at 5.29pm
Categories: libraries
Comments on "more on the future of the book"
The benefits of an improved handheld computer optimized for reading are really obvious… you can see them working in so many situations. On the other hand, the paper book has some really attractive features which are going to make it nearly impossible to kill.
1) Low power requirements and durability. I’m not kidding. There aren’t any technological devices for the mass market which you can take to the beach, step on, grind in the sand, splash with water, and still use after 50 years. Digital formats have such short lifetimes… print is a real “keeper” of info.
2) Inherent linearity. This is a feature for many applications, not a drawback. Obviously reference materials are nonlinear… that’s why the hyperlinked nature of the internet and wikipedia are so attractive.
But when it comes to storytelling, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, people still crave linear narrative experiences. There’s something magical about just being swept away in a story, and NOT interacting with it. Films are still very popular, and they are the ultimate in linearity… in a theater you can’t hit rewind, pause, or fast forward. I think books, especially paperback narratives which are so easy to take around, are gonna stick around for the long haul.
Posted by mjb on January 22, 2007 at 7.23pm :: link
