I gather that Penguin—the literature arm of my publisher Pearson—is including some video bits in some ebooks. Reading techvibes, it sounds like Knowlton Thomas doesn’t think this is a good idea—Penguin launches ebook infused with video: Isn’t that what movies are for? – Techvibes.com—I, however, completely disagree and think this kind of additional content is just what book publishing needs.
There is no question that book publishers are looking at ereaders with a bit of both fear and elation. Will people stop buying (paper) books? Are ereaders the real future? Pearson is jumping on the ebook and iPad revolution with both feet and as I wrote about on the Future Shop blog, so are many schools and universities. So what might be wrong with expanding the use of ebooks with a video or two?
How about this idea, classic works with audio commentary available? Interactive notes and glossaries in works that might need some explaining? I see Pearson and Penguin’s moves to include media with books as a smart use of technology and a sharp vision of what people want.
People still want books. People still read. Now more and more people want to carry a large library with them and use that instead of a bag of books. Do I miss the feel of a book? Not really. In fact that’s the topic of another post…
Stay tuned.
