Newsprint vs. Kindle (niload (kennedye)) by erik

How’s this for a disturbing reminder of how hard it is for newspapers to manage costs: Silicon Valley Insider did some back-of-the-napkin math based on published figures by the New York Times and came to the conclusion that printing and distributing the newspaper costs twice as much as buying every subscriber a Kindle instead.

Are we trying to say the the New York Times should force all its print subscribers onto the Kindle or else? No. That would kill ad revenues and also, not everyone loves the Kindle.

What we’re trying to say is that as a technology for delivering the news, newsprint isn’t just expensive and inefficient; it’s laughably so.

Prediction: 2009 isn’t going to be any easier on the newspaper industry than 2008 was.

Tags: kindle, newspaper, times Posted in: kindle , media , newspaper , times

The newspaper as community-builder (niload (kennedye)) by erik

Catching up on some media-type stuff from earlier this month, there’s a couple of interesting back-and-forth pieces over at the Online Journalism Review between OJR contributor Tom Grubisich and washingtonpost.com’s Jonathan Krim on whether newspapers should be doing more to build relationships between themselves and their community. It started with Grubisich’s post from January 7th wherein he tackles the Post’s recent strategy announcements and their perceived lack of emphasis on engagement:

[Post publisher Katherine] Weymouth details what the Post will do about utility (”make the paper and washingtonpost.com go-to places for local information”) and convenience (”make it possible for [local consumers] to complete many… transactions on the site”). But nowhere does Weymouth expand on how the Post will promote engagement.

How odd – and disturbing. It’s great that the Post will work ever harder to help its readers and users find movie listings and streamline their shopping. But what, if anything, does it plan to do about helping to turn them into a community that can make the District of Columbia and its suburbs – home to many of them – better places to live?

Grubisich went on to say that one of the reasons the Post fails to properly connect with readers is the use of anonymous comments on washingtonpost.com stories and features. He felt the lack of accountability lessens the sense of community vs. a site like FaceBook, where everyone basically identifies themselves as, well, themselves.

Krim and former washingtonpost.com editor Russ Walker responded in the comments, pointing out that the site has done several commendable things to promote greater awareness of the underlying issues behind a story (see the link for all the examples).

Grubisich later wrote a response post, taking up the topic of how the site handled the recent “Fixing D.C.’s Schools” series that Krim brought up in the comments of the previous article. Again, there was some great back-and-forth discussion on what it means to be a reporter of information vs. a community-building force for action.

The reason these posts and the conversation they generated interest me is that I sort of wonder if they’re both going about this the wrong way: does it really make sense for the Post to invest a huge amount of resources in building a FaceBook-like community for its readers, or would we be better off just partnering with FaceBook directly? It’s pretty clear that FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and the like are as well-established as social media is likely to get for 2009. Instead of drawing people away from the communities they’ve already formed there, should we be doing more to send information their way and let them integrate it into their existing worlds?

There’s a risk there, of alienating the very people you’re trying to reach—how dare these old-school journalists try to impose their imperialist ways on us new-frontier types and so on. Plus, how do you send your content out into the world and still maintain editorial credibility (stop giggling) over it, not to mention making money from it?

As Krim pointed out, the Post has a very active community built up around the OnFaith and PostGlobal sites. Should we have steered them into a pre-existing community instead?

Obviously, I don’t have the answers or else I’d be running the company instead of making sure the site works. Okay, I’d probably be paying someone else to run the company, since I hate the thought of being a CEO. The point is, this is one of several issues that the Post and other newspapers are facing as they try to figure out how to evolve. Although it probably doesn’t mean anything for the immediate future, I do think it’s not insignificant that FaceBook welcomed a new board member late last year.

disclaimer time: I almost ended up as a freelance writer of sorts under Russ when he worked at WPNI; I’ve met Jonathan once when I helped him with a USB drive a couple of years ago; I wouldn’t know Tom if I bumped into him on the street.

Tags: community, facebook, newspaper, washingtonpost Posted in: community , facebook , media , newspaper , washingtonpost

Two Month Kindle Review (and full text of my Washington Times interview) (Tiny Screenfuls (JoshB)) by Josh Bancroft

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Kelly Jane Torrance, a reporter for the Washington Times. She was working a piece about the Amazon Kindle ebook reader, and had seen my Kindle unboxing and initial review video. We conducted an email interview, part of which went into her final article in the Washington Times (”The Carry-On Library” - beware popups).

Of course, all of my lengthy replies didn’t make it into the article, so I’m posting them here. Consider this my “two month” review of the Kindle - that’s about how long I’ve been using it. Read on for the rest of the interview/review.

(Update: I forgot to refer you to a couple of other posts I’ve written about the Kindle, namely, my Rebuttal to Kindle Critics, in which I talk in depth about the limits, real and perceived, of the DRM on Kindle books purchased from Amazon, and “Why eBooks are a Better Entertainment Value Than Almost Anything Else“, which is pretty self-explanitory. Both are good background on my thoughts/stance on the Kindle in general, and DRM in particular. I didn’t get into DRM much in the newspaper interview.)

How long have you had your Kindle?

I’ve had my Kindle for about a month and a half, since they became reliably available in mid-April. But I’ve wanted one ever since they were released in November 2007 (and subsequently sold out in 6 hours).

Why did you decide to purchase it?

I’ve been a long time fan of ebooks. I’ve read hundreds of them on various PDA and phone devices over the last few years. Needing to touch a physical book as part of the reading experience stopped being an issue for me a long time ago. The convenience of being able to take a library of hundreds of ebooks with you on a small device is very appealing. Already a fan of ebooks in general, I wanted a dedicated reader device with an electronic ink screen (super high contrast and DPI, low power usage). Among the dedicated eInk reader devices out there (Sony Reader, etc.), I chose the Kindle for a couple of reasons.

First is the Kindle Store - the almost-150,000 books that Amazon has made available to purchase and read on the Kindle. You could have the greatest ebook reader device in the world, and without a great library/store, it would fail. I figure if anybody can do the “electronic bookstore” right, it’s Amazon.

Second, the Kindle has a built-in unlimited cellular wireless data connection. That means it can access the internet and the Kindle Store almost anywhere there’s cell phone coverage, with no monthly fee. Besides being able to look things up on Wikipedia, or browse the web, this means I can go from “I want to buy a new book” to having the book purchased and downloaded to my Kindle in a matter of minutes, from anywhere.

You mentioned you have an iPhone, so are you the sort of person who tends to buy the latest gadgets?

I’m definitely the kind of person who always wants to have the latest gadgets. I’m a geek all the way down to the core. Interestingly, it was when I bought my iPhone that I stopped reading ebooks, because there was no ebook software for the iPhone, and it replaced the other mobile gadgets that I used to carry. So when the iPhone came along, I went back to buying “dead tree” version of books. I lost the advantages of ebooks, and the paper books I was buying started piling up all around my house.

Have you always been a big reader?

Yes, I’ve been a voracious reader all my life. It drives me crazy to have a few minutes go by without something for me to read (either on my Kindle, or reading the web on my phone).

How many books do you read in a month/year?

I read probably 6-8 books a month, around 100 per year (first time I’ve counted that up - yikes!).

What sort of things do you find yourself reading on the Kindle?

I find myself reading mostly books from my favorite genres on my Kindle - science fiction, history, computer books. Besides the books that are available for purchase from Amazon, I read a ton of free books that are available from places like Project Gutenberg, Creative Commons, and the Internet Archive. Many of my favorite authors, like Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross, have embraced Creative Commons (”Some Rights Reserved”) as a way to distribute their work for free in order to gain new fans. Cory Doctorow has written extensively on why he follows this model (the basic argument is that for most authors, your enemy isn’t piracy, it’s obscurity), and in my case, at least, it works. I buy hard copies of Cory’s books to give to friends, as well and recommending they get the free versions of his books. He and others like him have gotten way more money out of me this way that they would have if they followed the traditional publishing model.

Are you happy with your purchase?

I am very happy with my Kindle purchase. I use it every day, and I love it more and more. I read to my daughter from it every day (she calls it my “magic book”, the best way I could think of to describe how it works to a 5 year old). I highly recommend it to anyone who loves reading.

What have been the best things about the device?

As a concept, the best thing about the Kindle and ebooks in general is being able to hold hundreds (or thousands) of books in one physical device. As a device, I love the electronic ink screen on the Kindle, and the built-in wireless connection (and the fact that Amazon doesn’t artificially block you from using the web with it). The battery life is stellar (with the wireless radio turned off, battery life is measured in thousands of page turns, which translates to days and days of active use). The design and layout, while controversial, becomes immediately comfortable when you start using it - you can tell why it’s designed the way it is as soon as you hold it in your hand. For me, it has changed reading the same way MP3 and iPods changed music. It’s a real-life Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Anything you’ve been dissatisfied with?

My only real complaint with the Kindle is that I wish the page would refresh faster when you “turn” it. The refresh time is about 750 milliseconds - three quarters of a second. I understand why this is - the electromechanical eInk screen just can’t flip all those pixels very fast. This will improve as the technology matures. But it’s still irritating sometimes, when the Kindle can’t keep up with me and my page turns. I also feel a little guilty when visiting my favorite local independent bookstores. I still go there, browse, and buy books that aren’t available or wouldn’t work well on the Kindle (photography books, etc.), but I’m spending a lot less time and money there than I used to.

Have you shown your Kindle to others through the forum on Amazon?

Yes, I posted a “See a Kindle in Portland, OR” in the forum that Amazon set up for this purpose. A couple people came, including another Kindle owner (at the time, the only other Kindle I had seen “in the wild” besides my own). Since then, I’ve been keeping loose track of how many people in Portland have a Kindle - we’re up to 8 or so that I know of (and a whole lot more that I don’t know about, I’m sure).

Do you find people coming up to you to ask about the Kindle? And do you enjoy showing it off?

People often come up to me and ask about the Kindle, and I love to show it off, and tell them all about it. I know several people who have decided to buy a Kindle after hearing me sing the praises of mine. Sometimes I feel like I’m working for Amazon and Jeff Bezos, and they should pay me a commission. (Actually, I am an Amazon affiliate, and I get a small percentage of Amazon credit when someone buys a Kindle through the links on my website.)

Have you traveled with your Kindle?

I have traveled with my Kindle, and it’s one of the most brilliant uses for the device. A few weeks before I got my Kindle, I took a two week trip to Shanghai, China. I brought a “dead tree” book with me to read during the trip. I finished the first book before I even left my home airport, and bought another one there. I finished that one by the time I got to San Francisco, and bought another one there. I finished that one before we landed in Shanghai. While I was there, I bought a couple more books, which were sufficient for the rest of the trip. By the time I got home, I had been carrying these five or six books in my luggage all over the world. It was that experience that gave me concrete evidence of how a Kindle could simplify my reading.

Could you see yourself taking it to the beach and places like that?

I take my Kindle with me everywhere I go - it has a semi-permanent place in my cargo pants pocket. I take it to work, to appointments, to meals, everywhere. I love being able to read for a few minutes when I have the chance.

Did this factor into your decision to buy — To me, this seems like one of the biggest benefits, being able to get what you want wirelessly, without having to carry books or worry you’ll run out of reading material.

This is exactly why I love my Kindle - being able to read what I want, when and where I want, and get new stuff to read easily and quickly, and I can carry it all around in my pocket.

/end of interview

Do you have a Kindle? If so, what do you think about it? If you don’t have one, what would it take for you to get one? Have any questions about mine? Post a comment, and let me know!

Posted in: amazon , blog , ebooks , gadgets , interview , kindle , newspaper , reader , review , washingtontimes