Some of this information was originally posted on Michael Hyatt’s blog this past Thursday with some his thought about what this means for book publishing.
A few points and questions from a broader print media perspective:
- Version 1.0 of this technology will be here within 6 months – the most anticipated hardware contender is the Apple tablet.
- Everyday more examples of print (physical) as a driver to online (digital) media are surfacing. I believe for the industry trade groups need to offer a quick, hard education on technologies pushing this convergence.
- This can change the distribution, revenue streams, and customer interaction with a lot of traditional media.
- Books, magazines, forms, textbooks, really anything that can be printed and distributed could ultimately fit this model.
- The more open the system, the more possibilities. It needs the ease of use of the iTunes universe with the ubiquity of the USPS.
- Where is the industry wide ad campaign illustrating how print is relevant? (Think these campaigns don’t work? How many reading this can sing the theme song of the Cotton Producers and Importers trade association?)
- Printer’s are a pivotal cog in today’s distribution model, but where do we fit in this new model?
- What skill sets have printers mastered that would be a natural extension into this convergent world?
Mockup via The Wonderfactory
Real Life Prototype via TechCrunch
(Note the hardware used in this example is a touchscreen laptop. The final hardware will be more like an over sized iPod or KindleDX.)
Read this article from Gizmodo for a that shows a similar paradigm shift being dealt with in the computer industry.
Shout Back:
How soon will this start to effect the print media industries and what can we do about it?
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