Until the iBook Author app came out, there was no way to produce books on an iPad specifically for the tablet audience. For years, we have been seeing media
companies go digital, and converge their media onto the web, mainly in the form
of online newspapers. More recently, with the invention of tablets, such as the
iPad and Amazon’s kindle, we have seen the book industry take part in
technological convergence as well.
Just drag and drop text, pictures, video, and more into the pages of your book. iBook Author has many templates that Apple created that users can select to get their book started. Formatting and customizing your book in the app is as simple as can be. Unlike the kindle, which is mostly used for reading novels, and cannot create content, iBook Author seems to be geared towards those making books other than long narratives, such as scrapbooks, picture books, cook books, etc. This is a good business plan by Apple, as the market for this type creativity did not exist within other platforms. This also means that average people who may not have the resources to hire a publishing firm in order to get a book out there now does not have to go through that process to share a book with the world.
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| An iBook created in iBook Author |
Just drag and drop text, pictures, video, and more into the pages of your book. iBook Author has many templates that Apple created that users can select to get their book started. Formatting and customizing your book in the app is as simple as can be. Unlike the kindle, which is mostly used for reading novels, and cannot create content, iBook Author seems to be geared towards those making books other than long narratives, such as scrapbooks, picture books, cook books, etc. This is a good business plan by Apple, as the market for this type creativity did not exist within other platforms. This also means that average people who may not have the resources to hire a publishing firm in order to get a book out there now does not have to go through that process to share a book with the world.
iBook Author is very
closely connected to an industry that is rapidly growing currently, podcasting. Podcasting does not take much equipment, and anyone can share a podcast on the Internet. If
you have a podcast for which you charge, Apple can host your podcast on iTunes
and keep a percentage of the profits. This is the same with iBook Author, if you choose to sell
your book in the iBookstore, they will keep a percentage of your money. However,
it does make sense for an author or podcaster to have Apple host their product,
mainly because being part of the Apple store is great exposure for a product
that might otherwise go unnoticed. Both podcasting and iBook Author allow for a
group of people who may never before have had a chance to become a recognized
artist to get this opportunity.
There are some complications with selling your iBook Author project online, as there are with any type of user created content that is made with the intent to distribute. Apple changed the policy regarding how users can sell their iBooks. Technically it is illegal to sell any work in the .iBook format anywhere other than in the iBookstore. However, at the moment this is not realistically enforceable from Apple’s point of view as it would be hard to track down such activity. There is certainly potential for pirating because of this, just like the obsession with stealing music and not paying for it from iTunes that happened years ago. People still steal music, but not nearly to the degree they used to.
iBook Author is a great innovation in the digitized world we live in as it allows more of an audience to participate in creating original content. People like the ease and simplicity of an iPad screen, and iBook Author will provide a platform for millions of users to enjoy books, even if they are not holding a real book in their hands.
Electronic books such as the iPad and Kindle are indeed growing in popularity, threatening the traditional bookstores. You made a great point when bringing attention to the convergence of books, magazines, and newspapers to the web as we have discussed in class. The presentation about the Apple iBook was very informative and relates very well to the topic of convergence of traditional books to electronic outlets.
ReplyDeleteThe iBook seems like a great business move by Apple, since they are such a huge media company. By collecting a small percentage of each iBook sale, they are not only generating profit but also further expanding the Apple empire. Although there seems to be some issues with the iBook policies, Apple seems to be working on a solution, as seen in the embedded link. Both embedded links were well chosen and relevant to your post.
I agree that the iBook Author is a great innovation to our continually digitized world, and has huge potential. As Apple products have been continually successful, I think that this could be another huge step in the right direction for Apple as a business. Inventions like the iBook Author are proof that there are some benefits of digitized books and media over traditional, paperback books.