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Introduction
Just a quick side note in case you've forgotten what advances Gutenberg's specific contributions to printing were: the invention of a process for mass-producing movable type, the use of oil-based ink, and the use of a wooden printing press similar to the screw olive and wine presses of the period. His truly epochal invention was the combination of these elements into a practical system. However, writing and reading are still
basically seen as two different activities. We are moving into
a world that will be dominated by interactivity. Reading is still,
for the most part, a passive activity. The writer's world, for
the most part, is a lonely world of creation working alone. There
is currently a great deal of experimentation around creating
a world where the writer can interact with the reader and each
has an input in creation. Let me try and explain how this goes
beyond popular pandering and may lead into an exciting state
of creation. Technology There are a great many technological advances that have led to the current re-evaluation of how we communicate. How we collect and disseminate information and knowledge have changed because of the following: computers, the internet, portable devices, blogs, social networking, wireless connectivity, etc. Computers have changed our lives. As a writer it has given me access to a new and improved way of working. Just using spell check and the delete button, that when I began my career would have used up reams of paper and lots of white-out, have saved me time. The internet has put the sum of human knowledge for good or bad at my fingertips. I can fact check in minutes - unless of course I get side tracked by my search. A laptop or PDA allows me to go for coffee and work anywhere and anytime I wish. Blogs and networking enables me to connect with others and provides me with an immediacy that was impossible just a few years ago. But how does this change the way that we read? If you are reading this now you are reading the result of an electronic transmission. And for the most part it has been a sit at the desk and read what was available online. There are some new devices and added means for technology to read what was only previously printed - books, full magazines, etc. Kindle, Sony PRS, Bebook, iRex Iliad, Cybook are all handheld electronic readers. They range in price from $200 to $800 and in screen size from 6" to 10" with a whole range of capabilities. But the most popular and seemingly the best in class is the Kindle. At 10.2 ounces, Kindle is lighter than a typical paperback and thinner than a pencil. It holds over 1,500 books and the Kindle Store states that it has over 300,000 books, plus a wide range of newspapers, magazines, and blogs. On a recent trip while I was reading the paperback on the airplane I noticed the gentleman across the isle from me was reading from one of these Kindles. It was sleek and light. It had a nice size screen that was a bit larger than the paperback I was holding. It was lighter. He showed me the screen navigation and he could select and highlight text and look up words. He could even download a new book or another source to read. While I could not change my reading material he could access something else to read on the fly as it were... Kindle's page-turning buttons are located on both sides, allowing you to read and turn pages comfortably with one hand from any position. The page-turn buttons now flex inward to prevent any accidental page turns when picking up or handling Kindle. This new way to access reading material
is quite impressive and very easy to use. I know, I know, each
time there has been a new device - telephones, radios, televisions...
- there has been a discussion of the end of the way we do things.
However, this is not the end of publishing; this is the beginning
of a new form or way of publishing. Some Facts as I see Them There are nearly one trillion devices connected today. Most people have portable phones that are their connection to one another. And, portable phones are portable computers that enable anyone within range of a cell tower or satellite access to internet pages, global positioning, games, and just about anything else. This generation of electronic book readers will provide libraries full of reading material in a format that "feels right" and even turns a page as if you licked your finger to do so. Lets face it, the publishing business model is one of the last hold outs. Books haven't changed much since the middle ages. The way that they have moved from hand scribing to electronic presses has up to now been a passive retreat into reading what is printed on the page. As Clive Thompson writes in an article
for "Wired" magazine:
This is where the future of publishing meets the future of reading. Static internet sites meet the interactive community of blogs and instant messaging. Readers snip and send their favorite passages and each person in the community of readers comments on what has been read and written and then sends it along to others. This opens up collaboratively reading as a pastime. Reading is no longer a passive activity but rather an interaction between reader and the writer. The technology exists. There are XML-like markup languages that enable linking and note sharing. This goes beyond the idea of book clubs into the realm of collaborative story editing. Remember as a kid someone starting a story and others in the circle taking a thread and sending the tale in new and exciting direction. The authors who have experimented with giving away digital copies have found that they end up selling more print editions because people wish to see what direction their story followed. As Guillermo del Toro (director) states:
How many times have you been reading a story or a poem and wanted to take it in another direction? The interactive model not only allows you to do it, but it also allows others to add their thoughts. Reading then becomes like life - a full contact activity. As writers we live with our thoughts and actions. It is mostly a solitary endeavor. We determine the direction and activities of our characters and their surroundings. The reader is only able to observe. This open model enables not only the reader to comment, but also to interact with what has been written and the direction of the piece. This can be a game changer. I'm not suggesting that all of us will lose the control of our written words - but like a valued editor who suggests how we expand or contract an idea or direction, we can directly hear our audience and interact immediately with them. This can be both exciting and terrifying. However, adaptability always wins out. And as always, there is some middle ground that should be achieved. Not all suggestions or directions lead to something that is better. Interactive reading is the future and we should all prepare to learn how to read and write for it. I would like to take my closing moment to invite you to continue to visit Word Catalyst because we are attempting to create that interactive community. A level of involvement that will be interesting for both the writer and reader. We are striving to attempt to build a true relationship between the two. In the coming months we will commit to moving the site from the static pages that now exist to something - and really I'm not yet sure how this is going to work. I just know that we're going to try. If you have any suggestions or comments, please let me know at: harryfurness@wordcatalystmagazine. © Harry Furness 2009 Send Harry a message either directly or using the Word Catalyst feedback form. |
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Songs for the Soul
Greetings
- I want to deviate a little this month and talk about the future
of publishing and reading. We have been accustomed to seeing
something written and being able to read just about anywhere.
While I was growing up it was newspapers and books. Now it seems
as though most everything that has been written is available
online and accessible using our computers or handheld devices.
We are experiencing the same type of change that the world saw
when Johannes Gutenberg introduced movable type. Hand-scribed
manuscripts were replaced with printed texts.
From The Attic
Cheshire Cat
Songs of
