"Can Our Infrastructure Support All this Brewing?" Bulletin, 8/21/11.
Blink.
Of course not. It's a fad.
**********
"Small Bookstores Add a New Chapter."
I don't argue with the thrust of the article, I've been saying something similar; that small bookstores are positioned to survive better than the megabookstores. They also mention that many of their best customers aren't coming in for the "best-sellers" which is something I've been very aware of. Most of my customers are looking for quality books, books that have a track record. And one of the examples of a new bookstore, was that of an owner working 7 days a week with family, and not doing as well as he thought he would. Well, exactly.
Still, the stat they use to talk about an "increase" in bookstores is exactly the same number I remember reading about 5 years ago: 100 bookstores.
In the year that Central Oregon got an influx of 4 new bookstores,(in the late OO's...) about 100 bookstores opened in the country. Bend, in other words, garnered 4% of the new bookstores in the country that year, with a minuscule percent of the population.
Sadly, with Camalli closing up, two of those bookstores are gone. (I thought Tina had a very nice store, and I'm sorry to see her go.)
I'll just keep saying it: opening new stores (whether in downtown Bend or elsewhere) does not represent market strength, it represents HOPE.
**********
"Incredible Inevitable Shrinking Album Art."
I probably should start saving up these examples of Unintended Consequences from the digital revolution.
Any one of these small diminishments to the quality of our life are hardly noticeable. It's only when it all done and you realize the sheer extent of it, that it becomes a problem.
People either won't notice or won't care about each small drop away -- but will get a nagging sense of something being not quite right.
All in pursuit of the cheap and easy.
What a surprise.
**********
I've been saying from the beginning of e-readers that I thought a significant percentage of adopters would drift back, consciously or unconsciously, to the actual books again.
Here's an example I found on Slate, yesterday. He's talking about The New York Times but my point remains.
"Print versus Online." Jack Shafer
"...less than a year after my Times cancellation, I was paying for home delivery of the newspaper again."
"What I really found myself missing was the news. Even though I spent ample time clicking through the Times website and the Reader, I quickly determined that I wasn't recalling as much of the newspaper as I should be. Going electronic had punished my powers of retention. I also noticed that I was unintentionally ignoring a slew of worthy stories."
In my opinion, there are going to be both enough substantive and minor differences in the reading experience that will bring people back.
It may be the layout of the paper, as in the above example.
Or it may be just the feel of paper, the heft of a book on your chest as you lay on the couch reading at night.
I think it's a little early to give up on books.
Blink.
Of course not. It's a fad.
**********
"Small Bookstores Add a New Chapter."
I don't argue with the thrust of the article, I've been saying something similar; that small bookstores are positioned to survive better than the megabookstores. They also mention that many of their best customers aren't coming in for the "best-sellers" which is something I've been very aware of. Most of my customers are looking for quality books, books that have a track record. And one of the examples of a new bookstore, was that of an owner working 7 days a week with family, and not doing as well as he thought he would. Well, exactly.
Still, the stat they use to talk about an "increase" in bookstores is exactly the same number I remember reading about 5 years ago: 100 bookstores.
In the year that Central Oregon got an influx of 4 new bookstores,(in the late OO's...) about 100 bookstores opened in the country. Bend, in other words, garnered 4% of the new bookstores in the country that year, with a minuscule percent of the population.
Sadly, with Camalli closing up, two of those bookstores are gone. (I thought Tina had a very nice store, and I'm sorry to see her go.)
I'll just keep saying it: opening new stores (whether in downtown Bend or elsewhere) does not represent market strength, it represents HOPE.
**********
"Incredible Inevitable Shrinking Album Art."
I probably should start saving up these examples of Unintended Consequences from the digital revolution.
Any one of these small diminishments to the quality of our life are hardly noticeable. It's only when it all done and you realize the sheer extent of it, that it becomes a problem.
People either won't notice or won't care about each small drop away -- but will get a nagging sense of something being not quite right.
All in pursuit of the cheap and easy.
What a surprise.
**********
I've been saying from the beginning of e-readers that I thought a significant percentage of adopters would drift back, consciously or unconsciously, to the actual books again.
Here's an example I found on Slate, yesterday. He's talking about The New York Times but my point remains.
"Print versus Online." Jack Shafer
"...less than a year after my Times cancellation, I was paying for home delivery of the newspaper again."
"What I really found myself missing was the news. Even though I spent ample time clicking through the Times website and the Reader, I quickly determined that I wasn't recalling as much of the newspaper as I should be. Going electronic had punished my powers of retention. I also noticed that I was unintentionally ignoring a slew of worthy stories."
In my opinion, there are going to be both enough substantive and minor differences in the reading experience that will bring people back.
It may be the layout of the paper, as in the above example.
Or it may be just the feel of paper, the heft of a book on your chest as you lay on the couch reading at night.
I think it's a little early to give up on books.