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.
Pages:
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53