In my opinion, the Kindle as it is now constituted is nearly worthless. However, I think that it will evolve and take on some of the features of the pocket / tablet PC…and at that point, they will become much more valuable & useful to a mass audience.
The more interesting question is that will writers adapt their style of writing to take advantage of the medium?
Writers of “traditional books” have to write their prose without the benefit of hyperlinks. When devices like the Kindle become more adapted by the public (and when they include internet access), traditional book writers (who are likely composing on computers anyway) can take advantage of the ability to hyperlink to content in the manner that bloggers / online writers do.
Writers in the new media are very comfortable with hyperlinking as part of content creation…but there is no reason why even fiction writers can’t adapt the practice. With a large audience reading on Kindle-like devices, fiction writers can start using hyperlinks to visually illustrate what they are describing in words. And, they aren’t limited to just photos…there isn’t any reason that maps, videos, or even animation can be included as enhancements to their prose.
Wouldn’t it be cool if Stephen King could use a full palette of rich media to scare the heck out of us? In a few years, he probably can (and will).
Todd Mintz knows PPC…knows Social Media…knows SEO…knows Blogging…knows Domaining…and knows them all real well. He runs growth marketing for )and is also a Director & Founding Member of SEMpdx: Portland, Oregon’s Search Engine Marketing Association, and he can be found here on Twitter and Facebook.
I can’t understand how anyone with the slightest bit of understanding of Kindle features could say that you can’t do a traditional access to the internet, which happens over the Sprint network for free without having to find a WiFi access. And of course a hyperlink does work.
This kind of non-understanding is very bad for the reputation of the writer, and causes all readers who don’t know to be misinformed. What a shame!
Charles Wilkes, San Jose, Calif.
I’ll grant you that I could have probably done a better job in description here…(reminder, don’t write stuff on Super Sunday) and I meant to place the word “conventional” next to “internet access” (i.e. having the option of plugging in or accessing traditional wifi…bad editing on my part). Certainly, I know that hyperlinks work on the Kindle, though my description might have left something to be desired.
However, I stand by the core point which is that while the Kindle can allow you to read “traditional” books online, at some point, traditional writers will adapt to the medium and provide a rich media experience for folks that are reading them on Kindle like devices.
Better Charles? :.)