Is This the Future of the Digital Book?

By BRAD STONE

PLENTY of authors dream of writing the great American novel.

Bradley Inman wants to create great fiction, dramatic online video and compelling Twitter stream — and then roll them all into a multimedia hybrid that is tailored to the rapidly growing number of digital reading devices.

Mr. Inman, a successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur, calls this digital amalgam a “Vook,” (vook.tv) and the fledgling company he has created with that name just might represent a possible future for the beleaguered book industry.

Publishing, of course, is feeling the same chronic pain as other media businesses, with layoffs, corporate restructurings and a general sense of gloom, doom and kaboom settling over name-brand giants like Random House and Simon & Schuster.

At the same time, there has been a flurry of optimism and activity around the once-derided idea that people might read books on a digital screen. Just this year, new electronic reading devices have emerged from Amazon, Samsung and Fujitsu, while mobile phones like iPhone from Apple have flowered seemingly overnight into acceptable reading devices for many bookworms.

And just as digital media have begun to change the nature of news, music and video, the emergence of e-books is causing various entrepreneurs and technologists to reconsider the kind of experience that books might one day deliver.

Link

Technorati Tags: ebook

Digital Book 2009: May 12th

Digital Book 2009: An eBook Stimulus Plan for Publishing will take place on Tuesday May 12, 2009 at the McGraw-Hill Auditorium in New York City. Our one day conference will discuss the sales, marketing channels and tactics that booksellers and publishers can leverage as well as opportunities to connect with the consumer. Adam Smith, Director of Product Management, Google Book Search will be giving one of the Featured Presentations this year.

New this year is a ½ day of workshops taking place on Monday May 11, 2009 from 1:30 – 5:00 PM. The workshop will have multiple tracks on eBook production, workflow as well as sales, marketing and business development.