Walking around the bookstore the other day the depressing thought occurred to me that for the most part, all these books around me (that I love) are no longer any good to me. No surprise to you all...the reason is that nowadays I read almost all my full length books by listening. Simply a matter of time....as I can read an audio book while doing other things....and with the juggle of life and the amount of info I need to take in in short form (articles, blog posts, presentations) the time for long-format reading is basically zip.
So for me, if a book is not an audio book, well - it almost may of well not exist. Marshall McLuhan was right, the medium really is the message.
Which then got me thinking, how many more people are this way? And how many people are like this with other mediums? For some people, maybe information cannot be consumed unless it is in the form of a video. If we want our learners to be able to access content, information, then we should strive to make it available in as many formats as possible. If audio versions exist of articles or books, then we should figure out how to make those available in addition to the text. If the concepts can be transmitted by a video, as well as an article, then we should strive to get that video in.
And finally...a small rant. Amazon now owns Audible. The Amazon site is wonderful. The Audible site terrible. Why can't I search for my audiobooks in Amazon? Download them from Amazon? Manage my Audible subscription through Amazon. Why are these two sites separate...when it is one company, I'm the same person...and it is all bits anyway? I actually sent a message to Amazon asking just this question...and they sent me back a form letter. Pity...as they get lots of my money...and I tend to tell people about the services.
Here is my Amazon wishlist.......a whole bunch of books that I probably will not read (and pay for) as the publishers have not gotten around to making an audio version. Seems like they are leaving money on the table.
I agree about the Audible site. I keep hoping that the Great Cleansing will happen soon.
And there are some conspicuous gaps in Audible's offerings, such as novels by Michener.
Posted by: Malcolm Brown | August 18, 2008 at 12:40 PM