It is coming: The e-Book revolution

Computer World blogger Mike Elgan has an interesting post at why he believes e-Books are going to catch fire and ‘ignite’ in 2009.

Here is the lowdown on why Mike believes e-Books will boom in 2009:

Just because e-books are available on better (the new Kindle) and more (all cell phones) devices doesn’t mean people will read them. But mark my words, read them they will. Six trends will conspire over the next year to drive e-book reading to levels that will surprise just about everybody.

1. The economy. The economy is in the tank, and people are looking to cut costs any way they can. An Amazon Kindle pays for itself after the purchase of 20 or 30 books, then starts paying dividends. You save big on books, magazines and newspapers. These savings will grow even more attractive as the recession deepens.

2. The environment. Interest in protecting the environment just keeps growing and growing. The idea of getting a daily newspaper or a weekly or monthly magazine on paper seems incredibly wasteful to the point of decadence. Environmental consciousness will drive e-book acceptance.

3. A publishing revolution. The book publishing industry is one of the most backward, musty, obsolete businesses in our economy. While every other kind of information moves at the speed of light, the process of publishing a book is like something from the Middle Ages.

4. The rise in aggressive e-book marketing. Like the move from silent pictures to “talkies,” the transition to electronic publishing will prove fatal to laggards. Those aggressively pursuing and developing e-books will rise to take control of the publishing industry. Part of this revolution will happen in e-book marketing.

5. A rise in books written for electronic reading. The shift from print to electronic will change the nature of the book itself. Many books will be shorter. They’ll be more timely and culturally relevant. They’ll be more colorfully and engagingly written. And they’ll go after young readers like nothing before.

6. The decline of the newspaper industry. And, finally, the newspaper industry is dying. The old method of physically delivering blog entries on dead tree pulp is obsolete. It’s very simple. Newspapers that embrace e-books will survive. Those that don’t, won’t.

…

After decades of false starts, the e-book revolution is finally upon us. By this time next year, e-books will be totally mainstream.

Mike touches on a number of patterns which are becoming increasingly common within the industry… all leading to one question. Is 2009 the year of the e-Book?

[ ComputerWorld ]

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