I believe you can give away a book online and make additional sales … I can’t imagine why anyone would want to download 384 pages, print it out, bind it and carry it around, much less try to sell it to someone.
Predictor: Rheingold, Howard
Prediction, in context:In a 1994 article for The Seattle Times, Paul Andrews quotes Howard Rheingold discussing writing for the Internet. Andrews writes: ”Rheingold himself has had trouble persuading his publisher to permit him to place ‘Virtual Community’ – his book on online social structure – on the Internet. Publishers worry that doing so will cannibalize the sales of the bound version. ‘I believe you can give away a book online and make additional sales (of the paper version),’ Rheingold declared. ‘I can’t imagine why anyone would want to download 384 pages, print it out, bind it and carry it around, much less try to sell it to someone.’ … Rheingold believes books ‘are not in immediate danger. Nobody really wants to read a book on a screen.’ But magazine writers need to examine alternatives and ‘may be out of business’ sooner rather than later, he said.”
Biography:Howard Rheingold, one of the first writers to illuminate the ideals and foibles of virtual communities, published a webzine called Electric Minds and wrote “Virtual Reality,” “Smart Mobs” and “Virtual Community.” He also was the editor of Whole Earth Review and the Millennium Whole Earth Catalog. (Research Scientist/Illuminator.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Getting, Sharing Information
Subtopic: Publishing
Name of publication: Seattle Times
Title, headline, chapter name: Communication Manifesto: A Plugged-in Author Looks at the Brave New World of Writing for the Internet
Quote Type: Partial quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=1e4916adc8fe2bda48591e01a95a05b6&_docnum=14&wchp=dGLbVlz-lSlAl&_md5=09a725e78d36625a09751bd03a39006e
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Smith, Ian T.