E-readers have become increasingly popular in the past few years. Devices such as the Nook and Kindle allow readers to experience their books electronically. Although still not as common as actual books, readers are catching on. After purchasing an e-reader, eBooks can be bought and instantly downloaded. According to Forrester Research, sales of eBooks in the United States are expected to triple to nearly $3 billion by 2015.
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Book signings have been popular at bookstores all around the country. Authors go on tour to promote their books and meet their fans. Signing autographs gives the readers bragging rights and a little bit of the author to take home with them. The book becomes more personal, but authors cannot sign e-readers.Author of "Hyperformance" and senior consultant for United States Special Operations Command Headquarters T.J. Waters said, "How come the tech world can put a man on the moon and I can’t sign an eBook?”
Spurred by the growing demand of electronic autographing, Waters and softwares companies began to create the technology needed. Waters and Robert Barrett, an information technology executive, plan to debut Autography. This technology allows for the reader to take a picture with the author by using the author's iPad camera or digital camera. By using Bluetooth, the image from the digital camera is sent to the eBook. The picture immediately shows up, and the author uses a stylus to scrawl a digital greeting on the photograph. After tapping a button, the picture is sent to the reader's e-mail, which can then be downloaded onto their eBook.
These pictures can be instantly downloaded onto Facebook and Twitter for bragging rights. Autography has been tested at multiple book signings and worked quite well. The chief marketing officer for Open Road Integrated Media Rachel Chou said, "Within the year consumers should expect to see a variety of advances in digital signing, including eBooks that are sold with blank pages for that purpose." Sony's Reader already has their own solution which is a stylus that can sign a certain page on its screen.
I have never been to a book signing, but I can see the appeal of "showing off" that you met someone famous. The digital autographs will make putting the image on social media sites extremely easy and fast. That gives instant bragging rights to the individual, which is why people usually put up photographs like that anyways. I do believe there will continue to be a rise in eBook and e-reader sales as the technology increases. The article made me think about what the future of books will look like, and whether or not everything will eventually be digital. I am not ready to see the death of paperback books.
The article itself was scattered with quotes from various sources in different fields. An actual author was included which made the point more valid. By including details of companies that have already created the technology necessary, it stressed the reality of the future of virtual autographs. I might have to go out and buy an e-reader in the future.
Oh, I would mourn for the book-signing! I absolutely love doing these (as the signer), and I don't think I would even know where to start to do an "e-sign," which really has little value unless you print it out. And that's the point of e-books, isn't it? Not printed out? Maybe as you said, the picture will be oh so cool. But I would mourn for book-signings.
ReplyDeleteI hope, like you do, that paper books don't go away. What a horrid thought, as the e-reader is so unstable. As soon as the technology is gone or upgraded, those books are gone forever. There is nothing but "air" left, so to speak.