The publishing debate has two distinct sides, digital optimists and those who lean towards traditional print media. The leading enemy of the traditional publishing is the Kindle from Amazon.
Last month Borders (US-based bookstore) announced that it will be closing some of its stores and filing for bankruptcy. According to Agnes Sokol “I can’t imagine a world without Borders.” This makes one wonder if more large bookstore chains be closed due to e-book readers? When you go on to the Amazon website the first thing that you see is the Kindle. And it’s the #1 bestseller on Amazon.com. Is the day gone when paperback books top the bestseller list?
So what does this mean? Is digital publishing taking over leaving paper lovers no choice but to deal with this shift? In a previous article, Lauren explored the claim by Rolling Stones founder that such a shift has to be done slowly and carefully. People shouldn’t jump on the bandwagon as it has not yet been shown as being financially viable. Therefore, those who subscribe to Rolling Stones doesn’t need to worry that it will only be available online.
For emerging markets, I think bookstores are safe for now. There are not a lot of people with e-readers or tablets for bookstores to start getting worried. This does not mean that people who have such devices are not downloading books. But there are not enough people who are moving towards e-books to have bookstores worried. I will start worrying when Exclusive Books also starts closing down their stores and their website shows an e-reader as its bestseller. Are you worried about the death of print? Or excited for the digital frontier to arrive?
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