You must watch this ALL the way through to see its brilliance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Weq_sHxghcg
Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Weq_sHxghcg
Enjoy.
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The Future of Publishing - This is BRILLIANT
- Thread starter samcraig
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When someone has to tell me to read or watch something all the way to the end, I just know it's going to be long and boring
If you think that was boring - well... there are no words.
Only if they do "book"-in purchase, I'm not going to buy 100 books and have it fill up the screen. Apple should ban those publishers from creating each book as an app and require each one to only have one app for all the books or per genre or whatever.
Seriously, what exactly do you want from a book for interactivity? I rather just read the book the way it is supposed to be read and not get distracted by some audio and videos. The only thing that's acceptable is illustrations.
Now, if we're talking about magazines and comics, than the interactivity is okay in my opinion since they are designed for short reading bursts.
Seriously, what exactly do you want from a book for interactivity? I rather just read the book the way it is supposed to be read and not get distracted by some audio and videos. The only thing that's acceptable is illustrations.
Now, if we're talking about magazines and comics, than the interactivity is okay in my opinion since they are designed for short reading bursts.
Dorling Kindersley has been in the interactive multimedia book-analogue game since the mid-90s. They were, as far as I'm aware, one of the first companies to do this. I'm not sure that it is fair, then, to accuse them (even obliquely) of ripping others off. They're simply extending their previous ideas to a new platform using its unique capabilities.
With regards to the video itself; yes, the idea has been done before but it is a good idea. I think it works well to contrast the pessimistic view with the optimistic one that DK is promoting. As I just said, DK have been in the multimedia game for a long time and their previous multimedia titles have been joys to use (not simply tacking multimedia onto a book, but turning their books into a wholly different medium). In particular, their CD-ROM version of 'The Way Things Work' (already a great book) was fantastic: http://www.amazon.co.uk/DK-Originals-Way-Things-Work/dp/B00004UAFI
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As to the video, good stuff. I have seen a few done in this manner, always an interesting take on the "flip" side.
To the comments highlighted..first and foremost, I have zero issues with your personal prefrences on how you enjoy your media. To each his own, but giving us a choice can't hurt anyone can it? What is distracting to you may enhance the experience for me or others.
Who says "how" a book is to be read? Can the way we do things not evolve as technology evolves? Why limit the authors creativity to only words if a picture or some interactive idea they have better convey's their message or makes it a more interesting experience. Paper books are not going anywhere, that's not the point at all, but why limit what the possibilities are for those who wish to explore something new?
How about DK tour guides with interactive content? Maps of museums and city centres with the ability to touch an area and have it expand into a video or photo gallery or voice over guide?
What about the textbooks that will have interactive lessons and lectures for you students out there at different points? Reading a book on architecture? Watch how the Eiffel Tower was constructed, piece by piece and learn about the more salient details for an architect - how is this beam supported, how much does this weigh, what about the elevator tracks?
Maybe a publisher decides to try something radical - how about mood music for certain points in a book that changes page by page? Someone could create an entire score that accompanies a novel. Maybe a book on Winston Churchill throws in some audio of his speeches.
The possibilities are endless - just because you don't have a desire to approach a book a new way doesn't mean that it shouldn't be done. Books can be filled with so much rich content - to this point it has been limited by the medium.
http://newgadgetworld.com/ipad-imagineering-penguin-books-dk
Dorling Kindersley has been in the interactive multimedia book-analogue game since the mid-90s. They were, as far as I'm aware, one of the first companies to do this. I'm not sure that it is fair, then, to accuse them (even obliquely) of ripping others off. They're simply extending their previous ideas to a new platform using its unique capabilities.
With regards to the video itself; yes, the idea has been done before but it is a good idea. I think it works well to contrast the pessimistic view with the optimistic one that DK is promoting. As I just said, DK have been in the multimedia game for a long time and their previous multimedia titles have been joys to use (not simply tacking multimedia onto a book, but turning their books into a wholly different medium). In particular, their CD-ROM version of 'The Way Things Work' (already a great book) was fantastic:http://www.amazon.co.uk/DK-Originals-Way-Things-Work/dp/B00004UAFI
Just because you do "multimedia" doesn't give you a license to rip off other ideas, call them your own, the declare Look at me I'm cool.
Whatever. People copy and imitate all the time -- no big deal. Look at how long that Hitler is mad meme has been running. My point was if you want your old industry to be relevant during a period of rapid innovation... maybe you should demonstrate innovation.
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They don't appear to be claiming that the idea for the video format is theirs, and it seems like an industry video rather than a consumer one given its content. I, personally, object to the use of the term 'rip off' which seems to add an overly emotional spin to the debate.
I believe DK, and the Penguin group as a whole, have already demonstrated that they grasp some of the opportunities provided by the new platform amply with their demos and previous products. To deliberately satirise, would you expect them to deliver all their promotional materials using projected holograms or their own constructed language?
In the end, what matters is that the people who were the target audience for this video get the right message, which seems to be that DK sees this as an opportunity to engage in relevant ways with an audience which is fundamentally intelligent and curious (contrary to pessimistic trade press).
Innovation for the sake of it is puerile; being revolutionary significantly changing a bit of the world doesn't require something entirely new, just making what you deliver have a large impact. Sometimes it is the small changes which make the whole cohere into a world-altering package.
*sighs* It may sound like what you think because of my first sentence, but it's not what I meant. Let me clear it up for you. The first one is not related to the remainder of the post. I just don't want publishers to release 1000 books as 1000 different applications, no matter how much interactive it is. It's just a mess to organize. It should be centralized in one source. That's it.
The next was I asked a question about what interactive features people want in their books. I then went on to explain how I prefer to read, to strike up a conversation with my question as the topic.
Videos/audios aren't acceptable for my books except for illustration because that's just me due to the nature of me being hearing impaired. I'm mainly textually based due to this, but the problem I have is that some books may offer interactive audio or videos that add information that the books itself won't contain, which is why I don't find them acceptable. They are simply not accessible to everybody.
But it's my preference as you stated. I didn't say anything about other people, I'm asking other people what they really want in their books. I know there are many forms of reading and how different people read. I know some people rather read audio books than reading a book, that's fine as long as they are learning something from the book. Read below for why I'm asking this question.
Interactive guides are not books, they are guides, different reading form. Textbooks are a different form of reading as well, they are for training our brains by understanding the concepts and yes, would benefit the most from the interactivity since concepts can be difficult without visual help.
I'm talking about fiction/non-fiction books in general, books that don't need visual help, the ones that help the readers create the world that the book is projecting.
The thing I'm seeing in a lot of people is that they are having mental issues with reading long content and would often just skip it because its too long even if it is interesting to them. That's due to our brain patterns adjusting to the internet society where we are so used to getting short information from multiple random sources at same time. I know a lot of people of my peers have this issue and when i asked how often they read books; they answered barely one book per year, some never read. They rather be reading facebook, twitter, play games and so on. While I understand the society places a lot of pressures on us to get work done and so on with not a lot of time for ourselves, I have problems with facebook/twitter/video games and so on because they do not provide any benefit to the society or individuals. Society should be getting smarter as time progresses, not lazier and stupider. My concern is that we are shifting all of our thinking onto machines and letting them think for us. (Googlers know what I'm talking about)
If people could be motivated to read more with the interactive features, than I say we need to do it more. But if people are not getting motivated and are skipping the book just to watch the video because its cool, that's a different concept. I know some people who doesn't read any of the content in the National Geographic magazine because they just want to look at the pretty pictures and put them back on the shelf. That's the problem I have, they aren't interested in the story behind the pictures.
We need to get motivated in reading material of all kinds, to gain knowledge and be smarter, regardless of the topic.
Whoever managed to read my post, thank you. I'm willing to bet there are some people who wants to say...."MikhailT, please post a TL;DR summary, thank you".
I love the idea of interactive books. But I also wish there was some way to have ONE app (like an interactive version of iBooks) into which books can be imported at will. Like someone else mentioned, I don't want to cover the face of my device with that many book-apps. :/
I can't watch the video yet, but I totally agree with that in multiple arenas. I have an entire page of my iPhone devoted to news apps. Now why can't Apple or someone else devise something like "iNews" that is like a launchpad for the other stuff or use a folder-like feature?
If these publishers are going to make APPS for every book, crikey at all the icons. Surely Apple could update the iBooks app to allow this. Of course maybe part of this is because I haven't heard anything about iBooks working on the iPhone or iPod touch. Develop an app that runs on those and you have many more buyers.
Jailbreak>Categories - folder issue solved for iphone. Completely agree though - don't want books as apps.
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As to your post, Mikhail (I did read it all the way through), I did suggest a way to get more readers immersed in the experience. Obviously I didn't know you were hearing impaired, but setting a book to a score could really capture the imagination of young readers out there.
I personally would probably turn it off as I find I prefer silence when I read (which is with great frequency - I've worn out my Kindle, she's getting a well-deserved retirement to a less frequent abuser come Saturday), but there are endless possibilities for making the 'book' experience more...interactive.
I read a book and I can feel myself being immersed without needing extra stimuli - I don't have brain rot, I suppose. But, again, I go back to interactive content like my example of an auto-bio of Churchill with speeches being heard from the man himself. Or maybe a book about JFK and the Zapruder Film is embedded. Perhaps a book about the New York Giants that has clips from games, x's and o's breaking down historic plays, interviews with players or source material from the NFL/networks. Maybe one of these popular vampire books has a soundtrack during action sequences or what have you.
The list of possibilities is endless and mind boggling. I read a hardback book these days and I'm fidgety if I come across a word or term I don't know because I can't slip the cursor in front and the dictionary pops up on the kindle. These new paradigms will make it so we forget what it was like to read books without them. I don't think it will dumb down the population - I think it may bring back some people to the majesty of the printed word.
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As to your post, Mikhail (I did read it all the way through), I did suggest a way to get more readers immersed in the experience. Obviously I didn't know you were hearing impaired, but setting a book to a score could really capture the imagination of young readers out there.
I personally would probably turn it off as I find I prefer silence when I read (which is with great frequency - I've worn out my Kindle, she's getting a well-deserved retirement to a less frequent abuser come Saturday), but there are endless possibilities for making the 'book' experience more...interactive.
I read a book and I can feel myself being immersed without needing extra stimuli - I don't have brain rot, I suppose. But, again, I go back to interactive content like my example of an auto-bio of Churchill with speeches being heard from the man himself. Or maybe a book about JFK and the Zapruder Film is embedded. Perhaps a book about the New York Giants that has clips from games, x's and o's breaking down historic plays, interviews with players or source material from the NFL/networks. Maybe one of these popular vampire books has a soundtrack during action sequences or what have you.
The list of possibilities is endless and mind boggling. I read a hardback book these days and I'm fidgety if I come across a word or term I don't know because I can't slip the cursor in front and the dictionary pops up on the kindle. These new paradigms will make it so we forget what it was like to read books without them. I don't think it will dumb down the population - I think it may bring back some people to the majesty of the printed word.