Email has virtually replaced snail mail, ipods have transformed how we buy and listen to music; will books and magazines be replaced by digital publications? Technology is constantly evolving and our lives seem to adapt to the latest gadget, whether its digital television, Mp3 players, digital cameras, Blackberries or the latest mobile phone that you can watch TV on, send emails and teleport yourself to the planet Zog (almost). Technology is impacting on the world of words. Everything from news reporting, novel writing, magazines and diaries has been transformed into websites, ezines, digital publications and blogs. The internet is the ultimate democratic space. You just need a computer and broadband connection to publish, whether its trivial information about what you had for breakfast or an attempt to be the next Tolstoy.
Revolutionizing Publishing – Digital Publications
The world of reporting has also changed, instead of journalists, publications now advertise for digital managers and web editors. Ezines and digital publications cater for every niche market you can think of – whatever the subject, you can guarantee there's an online community blogging about the latest developments. But books? Books have always had a special place in many people's hearts. Something about the paper, pages, design and feel of a book is, many believe, irreplaceable. Holding a digital publication on the beach just wouldn't feel the same as a sun-cream splattered paperback. But some predict that ebooks, like ipods did for music, will revolutionize the publishing industry.
Digital Publications Transforming Literature
How can ebooks replace a tattered paperback with pages bent down, scribbles in the margins or precious inscriptions from loved ones in the title page? Books are attractive because they are not electronic. Talk of ebooks, epaper and digital publications has been threatening to make books extinct for some years now, with little impact. The decline of paper, newspapers and magazines has been debated ever since new technology kept developing. Digital publications are certainly more a part of our lifestyles. Newspaper websites are a popular way to check the latest headlines, and digital magazines are a fantastic way of accessing obscure or difficult to get titles, but books are hanging on firmly to their traditional format.
Plug in and Tune in
Everything is becoming centralized onto our computer screens. Channel Four's recent launch of 4OD means we can download our favourite programmes and watch them on our laptops whenever we wish. Even films can be downloaded, and perhaps this could transform the DVD market just as downloadable music had changed how we buy CDs from shops. We already buy our books online through retail giants such as Amazon, so why not turn to digital publications? The ebook has been slow to catch on. Digital publications are great in the form of newspapers and magazines, but books are still embedded in our culture. They are objects of adoration, and the pages and jacket covers are central to the reading experience. Books are already an ideal invention - portable, convenient and nice to look at, and many books use sustainable wood pulp.
Digital publications v. the Benefits of Books
However, despite all the benefits of books, digital publications are looming on the horizon. The devices to read ebooks on have not been particularly sophisticated. Until the technology comes along that makes reading a book more attractive on a screen then holding a paper version in your hands, its unlikely the world of digital publications will impact on books for a number of years. However the new Sony Reader and iRex Iliad are said to be the first easy to use products to read ebooks on, as well as offering related features such as the ability to jot down notes on the electronic pages. They are however expensive gadgets at almost £500. It seems then that books will be a realistic option to ebooks for some time yet.