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Extracted from different sources and current news by Inti Acevedo on LaInformación.com

Electronic Books:  a simple marketing game or a cultural pattern change

Increasingly and very often one might find involved in a discussion on the subsistence of the publishing industry or in other words of the book, and might listen to older generations talk about the smell and unique sensation of the texture of the different varieties of paper. One might also be able to listen how the youngsters demonstrate the aliveness of the book when one sees the current successes such the sequence of Harry Potter. Personally, the book will eventually take the natural transition toward its death with respect to the established standards and become a luxury item. Perhaps, it might make a comparison with the black and white photography. My own hypothesis is that the transition will take considerable time but it will become true because of economic issues, space, and environmental sustainability. The changing processes are not as fast as we will expect but without a doubt, it is gaining momentum in that world zone in which consumption is more than 50% of the GDP. There are many examples for the different communication generations such as (1): editors, designers, journalists, publishers, filmmakers, and television directors who have lived, suffered and adapted to the violent changes in their technologies.

The front of the Kindle 1 (Left) and Kindle 2 (Right)

It is easier to see the change when viewed prospectively, and thus, systemic. Going from the photo composition and photo mechanics to the electronic adds without the use of goops, markers, stylus, cover paper, cardboard, lettering which disappeared along with many other products and operators only two decades ago; or the black and white tubes television to the OLEDscreens which undergo constant and frequent wave of changes in the systems and capturing equipments, archiving, editing, signaling and reception; or an increasing similar process, maybe exponential, in which the printing on paper has lived even though there are still many small printing shops in many places printed in linotype. Why talk about the personal computer and its information management capabilities or the telephone?

The changing processes are not as fast as we will expect but without a doubt, it is gaining momentum in that world zone in which consumption is more than 50% of the GDP.

Perhaps the difference with the book, as we know it, is that it looks more visible and with more weight. Independently from the production process, the book is not a product of the modern era but it goes back almost to the origins of humanity. If we look the brief outline done by Professor Fernando Lillo with Isidoro, Etymology VI, the book itself has also changed since the papyrus: cart arum primum Aegyptus ministravit…, the pergamin: pergameni reges cum indigernt, membrana primi excogitaverunt …, wax tablets: cerae codex multorum librorum est; perhaps we can add other intervals. Thus, I dare to point out the massive book of the modern era with its processes and implicit reasons and on this point, the definition offered by Wikipedia on Codex is of great interest: it is denominated codex (from Latin wood block, book) a document formatted similarly as the modern books with separate pages, joined together through stitching and bound as a notebook. However, technically any modern book is a codex; this term is utilized only for handwritten books, manufactured during the period from the end of the Classic antiquity until the beginning of the middle Ages. In other words, the book as it is survives and changes its substrate: the electronic book comes because of the modern world.

In other words, the book as it is survives and changes its substrate: the electronic book comes because of the modern world.

The issue here is that it almost contains genetic grassroots of the Codex and the modern book with the human history behind are strong and longstanding, and thus, we will find more emotional resistance and interest groups that any use of a logic and evaluations for the possible change. Nonetheless, we can expect that this transition process might end quickly if the massive electronic book will come sooner through alternative channels and let the structural economies, socio-economic actions, and adequate politics to bring the best literature to the entire public.

“This is the year of the electronic book in Spain. At the end of this year, this type of products will be one of the most sought in the stores as a Christmas gift or the Three Kings. The manufacturers and distributors know it and they will have various brands ready for the holidays. The Corte Ingles, one of the mega stores, started distributing its own model, the Inves-Book 600.” Extracted from Xataka.com

According to data from the Worldwide Media Association, it is worth to highlight that the true change of the book folio and substrate runs parallel to the printed media, a 190 US billion dollars industry and over two million workers. These figures have the specific weight to decelerate the inclusion of the digital media; and this, without doubt, is part of a game system. Nonetheless, the book publishing industry is getting weaker with a longer and fragile value chain in the market even when it shows an advantage of being lighter to move around the change curves and adaptation.

According to data from the Worldwide Media Association, it is worth to note that the true change of the book folio and substrate runs parallel to the printed media, a 190 US billion dollars industry and over two million workers.

The information gathered shows that the electronic book increases its positioning and market share every day and it is more palatable to potential new competitors entering the media industry to participate in a market in which until now there have been only two strong competitors: Amazon and Sony.

In this competition game and cultural inclusion, the current Sony’s counter attack with new versions for Reader Pocket Edition and Reader Touch Edition with prices ranging $200 – $300, and a cost of 17% less for the best titles makes them strongly competitive to face even the most successful leader: Amazon Kindle. To date August 2009, I can expect within the short term, the hegemony that Amazon has in the e-book market will be turbulent, increase actors’ activity and the development of distribution channels for electronic books.

This hypothesis can be tested with many setbacks globally only with the passage of time and it will show a rapid growing role only within the innovation segments and early acceptors of the society. It will be extremely slow in sectors with a mix of major aging groups and economically underprivileged. The new information elites will mark the future inequality gap unless the emergent economies prospectively foster the effective and transparent digital inclusion to the public.

But whatever is the case study, it can be positively estimated that the digital inclusion curve and the one for the electronic books, thus, will be a concave line that is proper for all the life cycles and it will be comparatively slow regarding the rapid technological obsolescence which is causing a hole or gap of increasing inequality. This trial is easy to do because they already know the internet usage data in different countries and with different degrees of development. However, if we see Europe, after 20 years of Internet and 20 years of computer launching, the curve actually does not cover the 33% and 25% of the population respectively. According to a study of the European Union (UE) gathered by the BBC, one of three European has never used the Internet and one of four has never touched a PC. The report, which analyzes the digital landscape for the last five years, also notes that more than half of the European citizens (56%) have become daily users of the network (2004 they were only a third). Furthermore, 70% of the youth, under 24 years of age access it daily, and of them, one of every three would not pay for anything on the Net. Accordingly, this is the age group more reluctant to pay for downloading or use online content such as music or video. Viviane Reding, Commissioner for the Information Society has indicated to the BBC “these youngsters use the Internet intensely and are very demanding consumers,” and continues saying that: “to unleash the economic potential of these digital natives, we get the access to the content to be a comfortable and fair game.” By contrast, the less active on the Net are above 65 years and the unemployed, the study said.

(…) it can be positively estimated that the digital inclusion curve and the one for the electronic books, thus, will be a concave line that is proper for all the life cycles and it will be comparatively slow regarding the rapid technological obsolescence that is causing a hole or gap of increasing inequality.

Many doomsayers reject the penetration of the electronic books but they add and continue with the sales. Our perspective is that they will continue a seemingly pattern similar to all the communication innovation processes from the time of the papyrus until today; the first one slower and the last one faster but the behavior is that they will first settle in those sectors already innovated and will delay its popularization in terms of costs, public policies and titles purchasing power; but without doubt it will be another element of depth, differentiation and gap expansion in education, information, learning and entertainment among the different zones of the globe and in each point among the different socio-economic groups of a territory.

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Volunteer translation by Maria Tenorio

Maria Tenorio has a bachelor degree in Business Management and an MBA in Banking and Finance. She specializes in bi-directional English-Spanish translations. Particularly, the translation of commercial publications, legal work and the similar with utmost accuracy and fidelity and have translated voluminous documents (legal and financial) from Spanish into English. She also translates legal documents for Immigration purposes for friends and help other immigrants within the community with language barriers at schools, hospitals and the like. If you want to contact her for work, please write to joboard@communicatheo.com

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