Martin. rowling. kipling. marks. tolkien. sebold. scott fitzgerald. hosseini. collins. martel.
digitized
Digital rights management, also referred to as DRM, is a software or a ‘wrapper’ that surrounds all digital content. It provides a connection between the content and it’s owner, identifying their ‘intellectual property’. In short, the music, film, book you think you just bought still doesn’t belong to you. It’s never going to be yours, so you better just get used to it.
DRM has the ability to ‘track usage’ of the content (Clark, G. Phillips, A. 2008) so that the owner (author, artist etc.) can see what you’re doing with ‘their property’ and control how you use it. This is intended to protect content and property FOR the owners, a form of copyright that stands up against piracy. But does this software take it a little too far? Even if we pop down to the shop to grab the latest JT album so we have it in tangible form - it’s in your hands (!!!) - you still don’t own it. They’ve just set a limit on the CD which controls how many times you can burn it. So does it work? There have been a lot of theories thrown around about the viability of DRM, whether it actually works or if it’s just a waste of time for everyone involved. Frania Hall states in her book The business of digital publishing that there is ‘no compelling evidence’ to say that it ‘prevents copyright theft in any major way’. She actually goes on to suggest that it even ‘hinders legitimate users’, stopping them from gaining access to the content that they have previously bought. But Hall only says ‘in any major way’. Her use of ‘major’ makes me wonder what use DRM is doing in a MINOR way. What would happen if we got rid of DRM altogether? Well actually, if i’m honest, I don’t think it would be a whole lot different. Already there are independent publishers who are ditching DRM in favour of trusting their valued paying customers. Smashwords an ‘indie ebook distributer’ claim that DRM ‘treats lawful customers like criminals’. They don’t seem to have come up against any problems so far, and they aren’t the only ones; Closed Circle Press and BeWrite Books are also following these strategies. On the other hand, for the budding author, DRM could be a bit of a godsend. Foster speaks of a recording artist who wanted to self-distribute her work — ‘DRM [empowered] her to sell recordings’ without CD distribution companies. This in turn ‘diminishes the power of the record company and facilitates a free market’ (Foster, E. 2006). If this technology has enabled this artist to self-distribute, why can’t it work the same for authors in the publishing industry? Maybe this is technologies next gift to self-publishing authors. This doesn’t mean anything good for the publisher though. If this software begins to encourage authors to bypass them altogether, they are at an even higher risk of having to close Watermarking is an alternative option to go about protecting your work from an authors point of view as it places trust and honesty with the consumer. I guess all we have to do now is wait for the consumer to step up — and be honest. Word Count: 535 Bibliography Clark, G., Phillips, A. (2008). Inside book publishing. 4th ed. Abingdon: Routledge. Clockw0rk. (2013). How a company can ‘catch’ you for pirating. Available at: http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/15u5sl/eli5_how_a_company_can_catch_you_for_pirating/ [Accessed on 21st October 2014]. Foster, E. (2006). In defense of DRM. Available from: http://www.infoworld.com/article/2641666/techology-business/in-defense-of-drm.html. [Accessed 25th November 2014]. Gill, P. (2014). What Is 'DRM'? Why Is DRM So Controversial with Music and Movie Artists?. Available at: http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/d/f/What-Is-DRM-Digital-Rights-Management.htm [Accessed on 21st October 2014]. Hall, F. (2013). The business of digital publishing. Abingdon: Routledge. Mesentsev, L.Y. (2011). DRM. Available at: http://macbookreader.com/wp/drm/ [Accessed 21st October 2014]. Patokallio, J. (2012). Why e-books will soon be obsolete (and no, it’s not just because of DRM). Gyrovague. Available at: http://gyrovague.com/2012/04/30/why-e-books-will-soon-be-obsolete-and-no-its-not-just-because-of-drm/ [Accessed on 21st October 2014]. Solon, O. (2011). JK Rowling reignites DRM debate. Olivia Solon’s Blog. Available at: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-06/23/harry-potter-e-books-drm [Accessed on 21st October 2014].
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Of all the many various business models around these days, the one that is probably the most annoying (yet most profitable), is advertising. Don’t get me wrong, a good advert here and there has certainly made itself useful in my digital lifetime, but the majority of the time, they just get on my nerves. Popping up halfway through a really intense game of ‘Piggy Break’, flashing at me from the side of a page while I'm attempting to get some research done, tracking my every move across the internet so that next time I go on Facebook they can attempt to offer me the latest crazy hotdog-pizza that you can find in Australia if you buy these tickets for only £2000 (!!!) - it’s just not my cup of tea shall we say. Hint to all businesses: it just makes me hate you. But hey guess what’s coming? Ebook advertising. The lovely chaps down at Wowio have finally found the publishing industry cowering in the corner and is intending to drag it out and line it up with all the other unfortunate industries. Here’s a clip to give you a better idea: I guess I am being slightly melodramatic, let’s get some perspective on this… They ARE offering us cheap or sometimes even free books which sweetens the deal somewhat, and even promising to make the adverts demographic to each specific reader means we won’t have to put up with having denture cream paraded in front of us while reading our soppy romance. But still… it just doesn’t seem right. Take a look at Figure 2. This is a template of the proposed new ebook layout (Kozlowski, M. 2014). Having space in the left and bottom margins leaves space for your mind to feel almost like it has space to roam free; allows the imagination to interpret what is happening in the story. Now looking at the opposite margins (top and right), how is it possible for the mind to concentrate on a novel when it has cluttered, clustered adverts flashing away in your face? Personally, they would ruin the story for me, constantly distracting me from the plot. But hang on… adverts have been published in printed books as far back as the 1950s? According to an article from The New York Times, ‘Roy Benjamin’ founded the ‘Quality Book Group’ in 1958. By 1959 the company had published its ‘biggest success of them all’, publishing a 500,000 Pocket Books print run titled “Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care”. It included adverts by ‘Q-Tips, Carnation and Procter and Gamble’ (Collins, P. 2007). Figure 3 gives you an idea of what they looked like. Later on in that article it speaks of authors distaste and readers feeling not too dissimilar. Although ‘A 1972 study of paperback advertising found that although readers professed to dislike the idea of ads in books … brand awareness climbed’ (Collins, P. 2007).
Despite this factor, the question we really have to ask - the question the author really has to ask - is am I prepared to sacrifice the quality of my book, of the readers experience with their artwork, for a little extra money in the bank? I know I wouldn’t. Would you? Bibliography Abel, S. (2011). Advertising in ebooks: Heresy or genius?. Available at: http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/Column/Flexing-Your-Content/Advertising-in-Ebooks-Heresy-or-Genius-77412.htm [Accessed 14th October 2014]. Collins, P. (2007). Smoke this book. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/books/review/Collins-t.html [Accessed 14th October 2014]. iMedia Connection. (2014). Why ebook advertising is the next big thing, part 1. [Online Video]. 25 March. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4Lf8eTpXhM. [Accessed 14th October 2014]. iMedia Editors (2014). Why e-book advertising is the next big thing. Available at: http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/36199.asp#multiview [Accessed 14th October]. Kozlowski, M. (2014). Advertisements in ebooks - is it a good idea?. Available at: http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/advertisements-in-ebooks-is-it-a-good-idea [Accessed 14th October 2014]. National Research Council. (2002). Technical, business, and legal dimensions of protecting children from pornography on the internet. Washington D.C.:National Academy Press. Schuessler, J. (2011). The secret history of ads in books. Available at: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/the-secret-history-of-ads-in-books/?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3As [Accessed 14th October 2014]. StudioW Digital (2014). Available at: http://www.studiowdigital.com/ [Accessed 14th October 2014]. Not more than a few years ago, the world went crazy over the mysterious invention of QR Codes. What are they? What do they do? How can I use them? But all of a sudden, they’ve essentially disappeared, somewhat like the fashion fad (and major disaster of the early noughties) - the dreaded poncho. If you didn’t know, a Quick-Response Code is something similar to a barcode except it can be read horizontally as well as vertically. This small square of black and white mush holds and distributes information when it is scanned with a reading device (generally found on your phone). They hold a ton more information than the old barcodes, take up less space and look a little better too! What’s not to love? Well, many things apparently. Other than the fact that nobody owns the correct scanning facility without taking specific time to download, some directing you to websites non mobile-user-friendly or being placed in an area with no wifi spots, the system is just too slow (Strout, A. 2013). There is a definite and trending proof that QR codes are going down in the world though. According to a comScore report, ’as the number of smartphone users continues to rise, the number of consumers scanning QR codes remains the same’ (MarketingCharts staff. 2013). (Shown in Fig.1). However, whilst doing some research on these… gadgets(?), I’ve discovered a really interesting medium that they can be used with. Education. Children of all ages, these days from birth, are living in a primarily digital world. My cousin at the age of two knew what she was doing on an iPad better than I did! So why not implement these into schooling systems?
An interesting paper published by the University of Bath suggests using them to gain feedback about a course or to collect real-time results for surveys (Ramsden, A. 2008). This alone could radicalise the way we look at researching and feedback as it is instantaneous and can be stored as a live and up-to-date set of results. This concept is such a good one and makes a lot of sense when moving forward into this digital age. Have we missed the trick? With QR codes already into ‘Slope of Enlightenment’ in 2011 (Gartner. 2011), no one really gave them a proper chance to thrive and find their groove in the industry. As I am currently still in education and I still haven't seen them used in my lectures, I guess we will have to just wait and see if they still have the strength to push their way through the foggy digital print into the bright light of a classroom. Bibliography Arseneault, L. (2012). What you should know about QR code hype. Available at: http://cafelina.me/2012/01/25/what-you-should-know-about-qr-code-hype/ [Accessed 11th October 2014]. Educational Publishers. (2010). QR codes in education. Available at: http://www.bbcactive.com/BBCActiveIdeasandResources/QRcodesineducation.aspx [Accessed 11th October 2014]. MarketingCharts staff. (2013). Data dive: QR codes. Available at: http://www.marketingcharts.com/online/data-dive-qr-codes-29525/ [Accessed 11th October 2014]. Ramsden, A. (2008). The use of QR codes in education: A getting started guide for academics. Working paper. University of Bath. (Unpublished) Available at: http://opus.bath.ac.uk/11408/1/getting_started_with_QR_Codes.pdf [Accessed 11th October 2014]. Strout, A. (2013). The death of the QR code. Available at: http://marketingland.com/the-death-of-the-qr-code-37902 [Accessed 11th October 2014]. Timbrell, N. (2014). New technology and publishing. U65025 [Online]. Oxford Brookes University. Available at: https://moodle.brookes.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/491274/mod_resource/content/5/U65025TechnologyPublishing.pdf. We all knew it would happen at some point; the miraculous Amazon smartphone has finally arrived! But is it set to go up or down in flames?
Last week the Amazon ‘Fire Phone’ was released into the UK’s android-mosphere to a mix of reviews. Personally I didn’t even realise it was being developed, and when I asked my friends they were equally surprised. I guess it all makes sense for Amazon to scale down to pocket size devices; an interesting opposite as Apple just released their own growing breed of plus size models like the iPhone 6+. But Amazon is just a giant, digital shopping mall, what do they get out of this development? In a recent lecture (Timbrell, N. 2014), I was shown some figures as to what means (devices etc) people like to read books on. This Mintel report said that 24% of consumers read via e-reader and only 7% via smartphone proving that this new addition to their hardware collection is no follow on from their Kindle products and is intended for a new purpose - but what is it? If you look at the features, everything that it does seems to direct the user to the Amazon site. Looking at the review from ‘The Verve’ on YouTube, Pierce states that the smartphone simply doesn’t cut it when it comes to being an actual phone: ‘The only thing consistently straight forward about the Fire Phone is how easy it is to get things from Amazon’ (Pierce, D. 2014). So what are Amazon playing at? On this new phone you can buy anything from T-shirts to the latest up-and-coming rock album to their concert tickets by simply flashing your phone at a poster. At this rate they are going to completely eliminate all other industries - not just the book trade which suffers blow after blow due to their super cheap pricing strategies. When the e-reader was being developed, Amazon already had an advantage over the market in the sense that they already had customers who regularly bought their books (Hall, F. 2013). This created a perfect opportunity for them to develop the Kindle which could ‘connect effortlessly to their storefront’ (Hall, F. 2013) allowing customers to search, purchase, download and read any book they wanted in a matter of minutes. With the Fire phone it seems to me that they are following a similar pattern covering products which is not limited to one market. By releasing a phone they can attract attention ‘effortlessly’ and boost their sales so much so that one day they could, possibly, monopolise all markets. As stated in an interview with Jeff Bezos in 2012, ‘we sell the hardware at our cost’ as they are able to make back profit through the sales of their ebooks. Is this the same with the Fire phone? In my local O2 store it is priced at £399 compared with the new Apple iPhone 6 priced at £629. Business Insider reminds us that the phone boasts ’32 gigabytes instead of 16’, making up for the high price tag, but does it really matter when all you are really buying is a ‘phone’ that is essentially a portable, direct link to Amazon so you can buy whatever you want, wherever you want, as long as its from Amazon. Bibliography Clay, K. (2012). Amazon confirms it makes no profit on Kindles. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyclay/2012/10/12/amazon-confirms-it-makes-no-profit-on-kindles/- [Accessed 5th October 2014]. Eadicicco, L. (2014). Jeff Bozos: Here’s why the Amazon smartphone is so expensive. Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-fire-phone-price-2014-6 [Accessed 3rd October 2014]. Hall, F. (2013). The business of digital publishing. Abingdon: Routledge. The Verge. (2014). Amazon Fire Phone review. [Online Video]. 22 July. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeQqBYX2or4. [Accessed 3rd October 2014]. Timbrell, N. (2014). Devices, formats and standards. U65025 [Online]. Oxford Brookes University. Available at: https://moodle.brookes.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/491264/mod_resource/content/4/U65025Lecture22014.pdf [Accessed 3rd October 2014]. Williams, A. (2014). Amazon Fire Phone review. Available at: http://www.stuff.tv/amazon/amazon-kindle-phone/review [Accessed 3rd October 2014]. |