Monday News: New Sony Reader, More on Kindle Lending, Shifting Book Buyer Demographics
Publishing Newsdigital lending / Fifty Shades / Sony21 Comments
I’m still trying to perfect the presentation of the news. To make it easier to read, I’ve included my commentary after the link and blockquoted the portion of the article that I am quoting. Let me know if that is easier to read. Also, at the request of a couple readers, I’ve inserted “target=”_blank” to open the links in a new window.
Christian Faur – Artist Christian Faur uses 100,000 hand casted crayon tips to recreate portraits, usually based off photographs. The pixelated art harkens to the original pointilism blending old world technique with Andy Warhol-esque pop art.
“This experimental series of blurred children portraits focuses on images of children as anonymous individuals. The final images are littered with common names of children rendered in “crayonAlphabet” color. The anonymity of these individuals is reflected in both the technique and the written text that is being used in each individual frame as a face without a name is only a fiction of an individual. One of the faces used in the series is a self portrait of myself as a child, rendered in the same style and with the same set of random common names, to appear similar in every to the other portraits, one portrait among the many.”Christian Faur by way of Petal Pixel
Fifty Shades Of Grey: It’s really FIVE Shades as analysis reveals that only one in ten finishes the bestseller – This is the one 50 Shades article that you should read because data from Kobo shows that few people are actually finishing the book and the parts that the readers do enjoy are the non sexual interactions between Christian and Ana. The text messages, the emails, and the flirty dialogue.
“Data collected by Kobo, the firm which makes ebook readers sold by W.H. Smith, shows that only 18,000 readers using the system who rated the book after buying it have finished it so far – just 10.5 per cent of a total of 170,000. ” Daily Mail
An update to our search algorithms – Google is changing its search algorithm to reduce the ranking of sites that are targeted with “valid copyright removal notices.” The word “valid” describes whether the takedown notice is properly filled out, not whether the takedown notice itself is valid. Google notes that only the courts can decide if something is infringing. Unfortunately, sites like LendInk which was targeted by authors and taken down by LendInk’s host shows how even valid takedown notices can be falsely executed and damage the reputation of a site with little recourse. Google is, in fact, making determinations of guilt without due process regardless of their protestations otherwise.
“We aim to provide a great experience for our users and have developed over 200 signals to ensure our search algorithms deliver the best possible results. Starting next week, we will begin taking into account a new signal in our rankings: the number of valid copyright removal notices we receive for any given site. Sites with high numbers of removal notices may appear lower in our results. This ranking change should help users find legitimate, quality sources of content more easily—whether it’s a song previewed on NPR’s music website, a TV show on Hulu or new music streamed from Spotify.” Google
Report: E-book Prices Fell in 2011; Boomers Don’t Buy the Most Books –PW reports that Bowkers’ statistics show that ebook prices are falling and the book buying demographic is shifting. (PW interjects that this is contrary to the DOJ position that ebook prices are rising but the DOJ position is that the ebook prices of the Big 6 rose after Agency Pricing). As for the shifting demographic, I wonder if this the market not meeting readers? I’ve noticed, for example, that HarperCollins is investing heavily in celebrity books and perhaps the young celebrities aren’t very interesting to the baby boomer population.
“While the report, the “2012 U.S. Book Consumer Demographics & Buying Behaviors Annual Review,” documents the changes in such high-profile industry areas as format and channel, a significant shift that has been a bit under the radar unearthed by the study is the change in who buys books. With Baby Boomers accounting for the highest percentage of the general population, that age group has historically spent the most on books. In 2011, however, that changed, when Generation Y, those born between 1979 and 1989, took over the book-buying leadership from Baby Boomers, accounting for 30% of book expenditures in the year, up from 24% in 2010, while Baby Boomers’ share of spending fell from 30% to 25%.” Publishers Weekly
Kindle Lending Library vs Lending Kindle Books (Hint: They’re Different) – Author Moira Rogers takes to her blog to explain how ebook lending works for those authors who sell books through Barnes & Noble and Amazon, the only two retailers that currently allow the lending of digital books.
“Ebook lending is meant to mirror the act of physical lending–the book “disappears” from the lender’s account and “appears” in the lendee’s account. The lending period is restricted to two weeks, and a book can only be lent once. In many ways, it’s far more restrictive than its physical counterpart, even if the internet allows you to easily use your one lend on people outside your immediate geographic area.” Moira Rogers
New Sony Reader PRS-T2 up for Pre-Order on J&R Website – Sony is still in the ebook game?
“The T2 has the same Pearl E-ink screen, Wifi, touchscreen tech, and microSD card slot found on the current model, but the dimensions show it as being slightly smaller and (possibly) slightly thicker. As you can see from the image at right, the T2 swaps out the hard buttons found on the T1 with either smaller buttons or touch-sensitive pads (it’s not clear from the photos). I’d say it’s probably even running Android, just like the T1. And this ereader is also going to come with a pre-loaded copy of a Harry Potter ebook.”The Digital Reader
I don’t know how popular Sony is in America, but it seems to be doing OK in Japan. I’ve seen Sony ereaders on sale, etc. in Japan, but I’ve not seen Kobo or Kindle yet.
I find this formatting much easier to read. I was so confused by previous method of presentation. Thanks for switch.
Outside the US of A? Yes please. Amazon can’t even bother to make a Canadian Kindle site. Can’t use the 3G here, and when you try to buy a Kindle, you’ve got to pay import taxes on it. Plus the extra $2 charge on every download, etc…. Same applies to the B&N/Nook. The non-US market is so very different, there’s no comparison.
If few finish 50 Shades , then you’d expect the sequels to do badly. But the data show that you can have a wild, runaway best seller with a book most readers find a DNF.
@Nadia Lee:
I’m not sure about popularity, but from what I’ve seen online, it seems like people in general either love or hate their Sony e-readers. The people that love it seem to like the device itself for its user-friendly layout and ability to read most file formats. The people that hate it seem to focus more on the Sony store or the (lack of) customer service. Personally, I love my Sony but I never buy from the store because the prices are so random (coould be better than average, could be way higher) and the organization is terrible.
AM I the only one really creeped out by Kobo releasing such information? I don’t think most people using their personal ereader making personal notes expected that information to be used in this way.
I used to be a staunch Kobo fan. I guess I will either get on the Amazon bandwagon or deal with Sony. Arrrrg! None of it is a good idea.
Sony is actually most likely to be my next e-ink reader purchase. I still refuse to buy into Kindle, but BN has so totally failed their Nook customers, that I’m just over it. The only thing keeping me from Sony in the first place was the higher price. They have folder organization. End of argument.
I love my Sony. It’s easy to use. I will say, I don’t use the Sony software and instead load my books using Calibre. Like Jess, I rarely buy from the Sony store. They will occasionally have a coupon that I use, but not very often.
@Cara: The Sony doesn’t have folders, it has collections which are like tags (similar to Kindle collections) but aren’t multi-level like a folder file structure would be. Just FYI. As far as I know the only readers that have folders are those from third parties like PocketBook, Onyx, Bookeen, etc.
One nice thing with Sony collections is that you can use Calibre to easily manage them (Kindle collections can be managed too, but not as easily).
It looks like the T2 might get rid of the glossy plastic bezel of the T1 which is good. It’ll be interesting to find out more, although I’m a little surprised it doesn’t appear to have the higher rez 1024 x 768 eInk screen that’s been out for a while now.
@Brian:
Yeah, I’ve seen the specs. Not too excited about the new T2. I dislike the page turn on my T1 but I love having collections. Now I need more collections and a better home page. And some way to give the percentage read.
Hey, not asking for much! ;-)
I was Sony, switched to Kindle for price, ended up back at Sony. If you want ease of use and selection – Kindle is your pony. If you’re all about self management from multiple sources, the Sony is the better ride. Different markets, I think. Sony will probably stay niche since they don’t seem interested in software/store improvements.
Much better news format. Thanks.
Is it just me, or has the “one lend per book” thing always seemed stupid? I can understand limiting lends, but for goodness’ sake give us a couple more than just one. Like library lending and promotional pricing, people lending a friend a book is more likely to result in more sales, not fewer.
@Cara:
Cara, what do you dislike about BN service? I’m just curious. I find it annoying when books are only available on Kindle but that is KDP’s fault (and the author’s of course). Otherwise I have loved the 2 nooks I have had (the first one which was the 3g one (loved that 3g!) )and the simple touch I have now.
@Brian: The tags/Calibre management is what I meant, sorry.
All I know is that from the BN Simple Touch’s inception, customers have been begging for the shelves to be fixed, because they’re virtually useless right now, if you have more than just a handful of books on your device. It’s a major issue and a major complaint (although not the only common complaint by far), and they’ve done absolutely zero to address it, even in the new Glow device. They don’t care what the customers they already have want or need; they’ve even done away with their ‘Suggestions’ area of their forums.
Further, their website is a friggin’ beast on morphine – I’ve rarely if ever bothered to use it to purchase anything. The only exception being when a book is free or I can’t get it anywhere else (and how often does that happen with BN, really?).
Seriously, I used to be a major fangirl. But my whole reasoning for *not* getting a Kindle was to have flexibility in format and still have a solid device. The 3G nook was that (I gave mine to DH when I got the Simple Touch, and I do prefer the touchscreen and lightness of the ST). But BN has clearly displayed that they’re not interested in what the customer wants, they’re only interested in releasing a Bright New Shiny to draw in new customers. I can’t fault them that, except that their current products still need attention that they’re not getting. So, rather than continuing to be frustrated with their business and RD model, I’ll simply purchase a reader that fits my needs better, next time.
My major complaint with B&N, and what keeps me from a ST Glow, is that they sequester all but a very small amount of memory for non-B&N purchases. yeah, you can put things on an SD card, but they tend to disappear off your shelves, if you can even get non-B&N books on your shelves.
The GlowNook has been my first experience with B&N software or hardware (or store). I agree that the shelves are horrible if you have more than a few books, but I still use them (I keep between 50 and 100 books on my Nook at a time). I haven’t had any problems with the store. It’s fairly quick for me and I don’t find it more clunky or difficult to use than the Kindle store.
The vast majority of books on my Nook are side-loaded onto an SD card. They all show up on the device. In the three months I’ve had it, I haven’t noticed any books going missing. I manage them through Calibre, since you can’t delete from the device. That is a pain, but since I’m sideloading anyway, it’s part of the process.
Maybe the SD card issues improved with the latest firmware update? Because all my non-BN and BN books display together.
I love my Sony T1 and far prefer it to my Kindle. I get most of my books from Kobo though. They have more promo codes.
I wish we could lend a book more than once, but I love knowing I’ll never lose another keeper to someone who doesn’t give it back.
I feel the information on Fifty Shades is somewhat meaningless without:
1) How did they determine whether someone finished the book?
2) What are the stats like for other books??
I like my PRS-T1 more than kindle since it’s pretty customizable and I can have books from any store and, if I play my cards right, I can even install the kindle app on it. But I probably won’t be buying PRS-T2 since there’s not much difference from PRS-T1.
I’m another who likes the independence and customization of Sony over the more-proprietary and limited Kindle and Nook. I started with a Pocketbook, so even the Sony seems limited in comparison.
I’ve bought from the Sony store a few times (thanks to having a gift certificate. If not for that, I probably never would) but only from my computer. My PRS-T1 is a completely agnostic device that I manage with Calibre, and that’s just the way I like it. :)