Last October, I wrote about the two competitors, Oyster and Scribd, who were each trying to become the Netflix of the book world. Since then, other start ups have joined in the race. And while I took a trial run at both services, I found that I did not read enough of their books to justify the ten dollar monthly fee.
What I didn't know at the time, was that the companies were gathering data on my reading habits and preparing to market that data. The service providers plan on offering the data to writers and publishers who wish to improve their chances of writing best sellers. The type of information available, according to the New York Times, includes facts like Oyster readers are "more likely to finish books that are broken up into shorter chapters."
Scribd is just beginning to analyze the data from its subscribers. Some general insights: The longer a mystery novel is, the more likely readers are to jump to the end to see who done it. People are more likely to finish biographies than business titles, but a chapter of a yoga book is all they need. They speed through romances faster than religious titles, and erotica fastest of all.
Clearly this information would be valuable to a commercial writer whose primary interest in writing is to make money. If all it took to turn your book into a best-seller was to make shorter chapters, wouldn't you do it?
As a reader, I have mixed feelings about books written to order. I imagine all writers want their work to be read by the greatest possible number of people, don't blame them, and hope that some of what is to be learned proves helpful to them. On the other hand, there is something almost creepy about an author using statistical data to manipulate the reader. And I fear a future of books being written to the lowest common denominator. Mostly it feels like an invasion of privacy even though no personally identifying information will be used and I did agree with the harvesting of the data when I signed up.
Either way, it is going to be a while before we have to worry too much about it:
Before writers will broadly be able to use any data, the services must become viable by making deals with publishers to supply the books. Publishers, however, are suspicious of yet another disruption to their business. HarperCollins has signed up with Oyster and Scribd, but Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster have thus far stayed away.
New York Times
More news below the fold.
Apple is back in the news again. Last summer it lost its battle with the Justice Department in the antitrust case dating back to 2009 when Apple conspired with five of the big six publishers (at the time) to increase the price of digital books that Amazon had been selling for $9.99. The intent of the conspiracy was to change the marketing method to an agency one, wherein the publisher would determine the price and the retailer would get a percentage of the sale. At the time, ebooks were sold in the same manner as physical books which meant that Amazon purchased the books from the publishers and determined how much it wanted to charge the consumer.
After the publishers settled with the DOJ, Apple went to trial and lost in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Denise Cote. As part of the judgement, a monitor was appointed to examine Apple's antitrust compliance policies. Apple felt that the monitor had overstepped his jurisdiction and protested his assignment to Judge Cote, who rejected their objections in January. Apple then turned to the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. They lost that appeal and the monitor has been re-instated with more specific instructions as to the area of his responsibility.
More bad news for Apple is the class action lawsuit that is being brought by ebook consumers in 33 states. Using testimony from an Apple witness in the antitrust trial, the minimum damages are $232 million. But the class attorney, Steve Berman, points out
in his new claim that his witness, a Stanford economist, estimated that the increase in ebooks sales was 18.1 percent, or a total $280 million worth of sales. Berman says that the judge should force Apple to pay triple this amount so that it can be divided effectively between the various states and consumers suing Apple for damages.
One of the risks Apple assumed when it refused to settle the antitrust suit before trial, was the possibility that it would face triple damages if it was found to be in violation of US antitrust laws. Should Judge Cote agree to triple the damages, Apple will be facing a lawsuit for
$840 million. Apple has not commented on the class action as it pursues its appeal of the earlier verdict.
Last week, Sony announced that it was selling its e-book business and customers to Kobo. Although it was the first to come out with a digital reader in 2006, it has hasn't held a dominant position in the market since Amazon introduced the Kindle the following year. There is an announcement at the Reader Store, informing Sony customers of the transition. Information can also be found on the Kobo website for users of the Sony readers.
“Kobo is the ideal solution for our customers and will deliver a robust and comprehensive user experience. Like Sony, they are committed to those most passionate about reading and share our vision to use open formats so people can easily read anytime and anywhere,” said Ken Orii, Vice President of Digital Reading Business Division, Sony Electronics. “Our customers can be assured that they will have a seamless transition to the Kobo ecosystem and will be able to continue to access and read the titles they love from Sony devices.”
And finally, because this has absolutely nothing to do with ebooks or technology of any kind, the BBC has reported that there have been no sightings of the Loch Ness monster, familiarly known as Nessie, for the first time since 1925.
Gary Campbell, who keeps a register of sightings, said no-one had come forward in 18 months to say they had seen the monster.
[snip]
He said: "It's very upsetting news and we don't know where she's gone.
"The number of sightings has been reducing since the turn of the century but this is the first time in almost 90 years that Nessie wasn't seen at all."
Mr Campbell goes on to speculate that Nessie is just taking a time out and will return with a vengeance in 2014.
Let's all keep her in our thoughts, shall we?
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