Thursday, March 14, 2002
Know Better eBook Survey
Posted by Tycho Morgan in "THOUGHT" @ 09:39 PM
http://knowbetter.com/survey.asp
You probably know that Pocket PC thoughts isn't the only project that occupies my copious (ha!) free time. Among other things, I do work editing, and publishing ebooks, and its for that reason that eBooks are one of my focuses for Pocket PC thoughts. I got a message today from Kelly Ford of KnowBeter.com, informing me of a survey that Know Better is conducting on the needs of the eBook market.
It's been our general impression that there are two problems with eBooks as they are now. The first is that technology simply isn't as ubiquitous as it needs to be for eBooks to become viable in a wide market. The second problem is that the marketing, the pricing, and the copy protection that eBook publishers have been using until this point present readers with no clear advantage and several disadvantages. Its for this reason that I think this survey is worthwhile: the eBook publishers need to know what readers want in order to tailor their product properly. The next step is getting the publishers to pay attention to the results of the survey, which won't be an easy task.
"No product or concept can be successful if it ignores the needs of its users, and ebooks are no exception. In fact, some would argue that the lukewarm reception by consumers in general toward the ebook concept is proof that the industry has so far failed to address the needs of its market."
"However, there is no generally available data on those needs are. So far, there has been a noticeable lack of real information about how ebooks are used and who is using them. So, KnowBetter.com has established a survey of ebook users in an effort to help readers, the media, publishers, and manufacturers better understand the needs of this market."
"We plan to publish the results of the survey and we're hoping to get as large a response pool as possible... Whether you're an industry "insider" or not, as long as you're an ebook user/reader, we'd like to hear from you."
You probably know that Pocket PC thoughts isn't the only project that occupies my copious (ha!) free time. Among other things, I do work editing, and publishing ebooks, and its for that reason that eBooks are one of my focuses for Pocket PC thoughts. I got a message today from Kelly Ford of KnowBeter.com, informing me of a survey that Know Better is conducting on the needs of the eBook market.
It's been our general impression that there are two problems with eBooks as they are now. The first is that technology simply isn't as ubiquitous as it needs to be for eBooks to become viable in a wide market. The second problem is that the marketing, the pricing, and the copy protection that eBook publishers have been using until this point present readers with no clear advantage and several disadvantages. Its for this reason that I think this survey is worthwhile: the eBook publishers need to know what readers want in order to tailor their product properly. The next step is getting the publishers to pay attention to the results of the survey, which won't be an easy task.
"No product or concept can be successful if it ignores the needs of its users, and ebooks are no exception. In fact, some would argue that the lukewarm reception by consumers in general toward the ebook concept is proof that the industry has so far failed to address the needs of its market."
"However, there is no generally available data on those needs are. So far, there has been a noticeable lack of real information about how ebooks are used and who is using them. So, KnowBetter.com has established a survey of ebook users in an effort to help readers, the media, publishers, and manufacturers better understand the needs of this market."
"We plan to publish the results of the survey and we're hoping to get as large a response pool as possible... Whether you're an industry "insider" or not, as long as you're an ebook user/reader, we'd like to hear from you."
