Medium and the Message

A debate is raging in e-publishing circles: should content be encrypted and protected (the Barnes and Noble or Digital goods model) - or should it be distributed freely and thus serve as a form of viral marketing (Seth Godin's "ideavirus")? Publishers fear that freely distributed and cost-free "cracked" e-books will cannibalize print books to oblivion.

The more paranoid point at the music industry. It failed to co-opt the emerging peer-to-peer platforms (Napster) and to offer a viable digital assets management system with an equitable sharing of royalties. The results? A protracted legal battle and piracy run amok. "Publishers" - goes this creed - "are positioned to incorporate encryption and protection measures at the very inception of the digital publishing industry. They ought to learn the lesson."

But this view ignores a vital difference between sound and text. In music, what matter are the song or the musical piece. The medium (or carrier, or packing) is marginal and interchangeable. A CD, an audio cassette, or an MP3 player are all fine, as far as the consumer is concerned. The listener bases his or her purchasing decisions on sound quality and the faithfulness of reproduction of the listening experience (for instance, in a concert hall). This is a very narrow, rational, measurable and quantifiable criterion.

Not so with text.

Content is only one element of many of equal footing underlying the decision to purchase a specific text-"carrier" (medium). Various media encapsulating IDENTICAL text will still fare differently. Hence the failure of CD-ROMs and e-learning. People tend to consume content in other formats or media, even if it is fully available to them or even owned by them in one specific medium. People prefer to pay to listen to live lectures rather than read freely available online transcripts. Libraries buy print journals even when they have subscribed to the full text online versions of the very same publications. And consumers overwhelmingly prefer to purchase books in print rather than their e-versions.

This is partly a question of the slow demise of old habits. E-books have yet to develop the user-friendliness, platform-independence, portability, brows ability and many other attributes of this ingenious medium, the Gutenberg tome. But it also has to do with marketing psychology. Where text (or text equivalents, such as speech) is concerned, the medium is at least as important as the message. And this will hold true even when e-books catch up with their print brethren technologically.

There is no doubting that finally e-books will surpass print books as a medium and offer numerous options: hyperlinks within the e-book and without it - to web content, reference works, etc., embedded instant shopping and ordering links, divergent, user-interactive, decision driven plotlines, interaction with other e-books (using Bluetooth or another wireless standard), collaborative authoring, gaming and community activities, automatically or periodically updated content, ,multimedia capabilities, database, Favourites and History Maintenance (records of reading habits, shopping habits, interaction with other readers, plot related decisions and much more), automatic and embedded audio conversion and translation capabilities, full wireless piconetworking and scatternetworking capabilities and more.

The same textual content will be available in the future in various media. Ostensibly, consumers should gravitate to the feature-rich and much cheaper e-book. But they won't - because the medium is as important as the text message. It is not enough to own the same content, or to gain access to the same message. Ownership of the right medium does count. Print books offer connectivity within an historical context (tradition). E-books are cold and impersonal, alienated and detached. The printed word offers permanence. Digital text is ephemeral (as anyone whose writings perished in the recent dot.com bloodbath or Deja takeover by Google can attest). Printed volumes are a whole sensorium, a sensual experience - olfactory and tactile and visual. E-books are one dimensional in comparison. These are differences that cannot be overcome, not even with the advent of digital "ink" on digital "paper". They will keep the print book alive and publishers' revenues flowing.

People buy printed matter not merely because of its content. If this were true e-books will have won the day. Print books are a packaged experience, the substance of life. People buy the medium as often and as much as they buy the message it encapsulates. It is impossible to compete with this mistique. Safe in this knowledge, publishers should let go and impose on e-books "encryption" and "protection" levels as rigorous as they do on the their print books. The latter are here to stay alongside the former. With the proper pricing and a modicum of trust, e-books may even end up promoting the old and trusted print versions.

About The Author

Sam Vaknin is the author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited" and "After the Rain - How the West Lost the East". He is a columnist in "Central Europe Review", United Press International (UPI) and ebookweb.org and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory, Suite101 and searcheurope.com. Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.

His web site: http://samvak.tripod.com

---

Google News Updated : Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:55:50 GMT Obama Campaign Criticizes Rival McCain's Economic Proposals - Bloomberg Wall Street Journal Blogs Obama Campaign Criticizes Rival McCain's Economic Proposals Bloomberg - 5 hours ago By Alison Vekshin July 6 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's advisers criticized Republican rival John McCain's economic proposals as both candidates prepared to focus on the US economy this week. Obama Advisers Tout Tax Plan FOXNews That topic we love to hate Atlanta Journal Constitution Wall Street Journal - Newsweek - NewsMax.com - Wall Street Journal Blogs all 10 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 06 Jul 2008 19:27:55 GMT Bosox, Cubs each put 7 players on All-Star rosters - The Associated Press AFP Bosox, Cubs each put 7 players on All-Star rosters The Associated Press - 54 minutes ago NEW YORK (AP) - Maybe Manny Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano and the rest of the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs should just play their own All-Star game. All-Star rosters revealed Sports Network Cubs win 7-1 and seven All-Stars; I'd say it was a good day Bleacher Report MLB.com - Chicago Sun-Times - WSBT-TV - Atlanta Journal Constitution all 421 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:00:58 GMT AT&T's Odd iPhone Offer - TechNewsWorld Computerworld AT&T's Odd iPhone Offer TechNewsWorld - 13 hours ago By Eric Benderoff Some of the details surrounding AT&T's iPhone prices make little sense, writes Eric Benderoff. The company will sell a 3G iPhone with no contract for a $400 premium. iPhone 3G line forms in NYC for a green cause Ars Technica New iPhone Can Decouple From AT&T, for a Price Washington Post TMCnet - Slashdot - CRN - CNNMoney.com all 568 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 06 Jul 2008 11:04:21 GMT Google, Zen Master of the Market - New York Times Times Online Google, Zen Master of the Market New York Times - 1 hour ago By STEVE LOHR Bill Gates, who walked away from full-time work at Microsoft last month, was perhaps the foremost applied economist of the second half of the 20th century. Why Microsoft will win Yahoo CNNMoney.com Yahoo! re-enters merger talks with Time Warner Times Online TheNewsTribune.com - CNET News - Washington Post - InformationWeek all 244 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 06 Jul 2008 22:57:50 GMT Obama cites faith as key to change - Boston Globe Obama cites faith as key to change Boston Globe - 17 hours ago Barack Obama called "active faith" an obligation of religious Americans and a chief agent of societal change in a speech yesterday at the national meeting of a black church group. Veterans Group Urges Support to 'Finish the Job' Washington Post Veterans’ Group Critical of Obama Plans Costly Ad Campaign FOXNews The Associated Press - KPVI-TV - Telegraph.co.uk - New York Times Blogs all 129 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:58:31 GMT Weather Channel Is Sold to NBC and Equity Firms - New York Times Weather Channel Is Sold to NBC and Equity Firms New York Times - 3 hours ago By MICHAEL J. de la MERCED An investor group led by NBC Universal and two private equity firms clinched a deal for the Weather Channel on Sunday after three weeks of negotiations. NBC Universal, Bain, Blackstone Buy Weather Channel (Update1) Bloomberg NBC and its Partners Announce Deal To Buy Weather Channel and Assets Wall Street Journal The Associated Press - Hollywood Reporter - Variety - New York Times Blogs all 360 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:48:12 GMT 'Hancock' a signature opening for Smith - Los Angeles Times Ottawa Citizen 'Hancock' a signature opening for Smith Los Angeles Times - 52 minutes ago The offbeat superhero story brings in $66 million over the holiday weekend, marking the star's eighth straight No. 1. He's hot, but the reviews were not. ‘Hancock’ Powers to the Top of Box Office New York Times Will Smith is box office superhero with 'Hancock' Reuters USA Today - Celebrity News - The Associated Press - BloggingStocks all 322 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:03:03 GMT Rss Feed Reader Website Traffic Promotion

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

Publish Anything: The Saga of a PublishAmerica Author

My story is that an author who'd done online writing... Read More

Plagiarism on the High Seas

More and more companies are finding the value in informational... Read More

Search Engines Can Be The Online Writers Best Friend

It's an exciting time for online writers, with a wide... Read More

Explode Your Business

You can make a decent income selling products and services... Read More

8 Effective Ezine Publishing Tips To Put You Ahead Of The Game

1. Swap sponsor, feature, or solo ads with other ezine... Read More

8 Killer Mistakes For Ezine Failure You Must Avoid

It is true that sometimes in life there is a... Read More

E-Power The E-zine Advantage

"Regular communication with your customers is essential to your success."... Read More

Why Arent You Writing Ezine Articles?

I'm amazed!Everywhere I go on the Web, people are desperately... Read More

The Future of Email Newsletter

The future of email Newsletter - Llando Ford 07.28.2004 What... Read More

How to Choose a Good Newsletter Name

Good newsletter names are usually 2-4 words. If shorter, they... Read More

7 Useful Free Services For E-publishers

If you want to have an online business, without doubt,... Read More

The Magic Button That Earns $3,546 or more

Ever wonder how a "guru" earns $3,546 or more just... Read More

The Sure-Fire Ways To Increase Your E-zines Readership!

You Have Won! Hold an ongoing prize drawing... Read More

10 Valuable Tips For Ezine Publishers

1. Write your own articles.Your articles will give you an... Read More

Top 10 Tips to Give Your Newsletter Impact!

There are thousands of email newsletters or "ezines" produced every... Read More

Who Is Your E-zine Really FROM?

One morning this past fall, I was going through my... Read More

9 Rock Solid Ways To Explode Your E-Zines Readership!

Are you like most of us who created an E-Zine.... Read More

What Every Ezine Owner Should Know About Unsold Ad Space

The deadline approaches and your ad STILL has not sold.... Read More

Newsletter Formatting

Formatting your text newsletter correctly can make a failure into... Read More

Top 7 Techniques For Generating Subscribers To A Newsletter

Imagine you are sitting at home relaxing reading a book... Read More

Newsletter Design Ideas - How to Get Creative Ideas for Your Newsletter Template

If you want to have a successful newsletter, you need... Read More

Are Your E-Mails Bouncing? Hard Bounces, Soft Bounces, and Everything in Between

Are you doing "the bounce"? No, it's not a new... Read More

How Many Articles Can An Author Write As An Expert In A Field?

More and more smart business people are finding the value... Read More

Write an Ezine? But I Dont Know HOW!

If you've been promoting your business on the internet you've... Read More

WHOOPS -- There Goes My List! (Are You Backing Up YOUR Biggest Asset?)

Have you ever accidentally lost an important file on your... Read More