Amazon vs. The World

by Libby Hellmann

Remember the battle between Betamax and VHS a few decades ago? Remember how VHS won? Well, as many of you know, there's a new battle today in the ebook world: Amazon vs. ePub. For those of you who have been in a cave, ebook formats roughly break down into the Mobifile format, which Amazon uses, vs the epub format, which everyone else (Barnes and Noble, Sony, Google, Kobo, etc) uses.

For a while now, I've been saying that, unlike the Betamax-VHS struggle, Amazon is going to win this one. Why? Because their inventory is unparalleled, and their interface is the smoothest around. I really wanted to like Google, since they made it possible for independent booksellers sell ebooks, but their interface is lousy. Then we began hearing that Apple was going to restrict the Kindle app on the iPhone and iPad -- previously it was free -- and people started to say, "You see? Amazon is on the decline."

Well, think again. SHELF AWARENESS today reports news from blogger Chuck Toporek:

Will bookstores eventually be able to sell Kindle books? Cnet reported that Amazon might be working on a way to circumvent Apple's new rules on subscriptions by utilizing the Kindle app for iOS...Bookstores, authors, retailers, bloggers and other website owners will be able to offer Kindle books from their own sites, let their readers start enjoying the full text of these books instantly, and earn affiliate fees for doing so....Toporek suggested "the reason we haven't heard Jeff Bezos screaming about this recent change to the IAP rules is because Amazon isn't worried. They have a solution already in beta testing.

Read the complete post here.

Interesting times we live in...

Connections

by Libby Hellmann

This is a story with a happy ending. In fact, it’s one of those experiences that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy about technology, connections, and the internet.

A few months ago, I started researching a new novel. Some of it is set in the recent past, specifically the late ‘70s and ‘80s when Cuba sent forces to Angola to help that newly independent country defeat South African rebels and insurgents.

I knew absolutely nothing about that part of the world. Or what some called the Cuban “Vietnam.” So my first stop was Google for a basic understanding of the issues, timeline, and outcome. Within an hour, I knew enough to know what I didn’t know. I needed more.


On a whim, I decided to tweet that I was seeking more information. I used the Twitter hashtags #Cuba and #Angola, but I wasn’t really expecting any responses. Twenty minutes later, though, I was surprised when I got a reply. The tweet was from a Brit, Edward (Tedd) George, who said he’d written a book called Cuban Intervention in Angola.

I couldn’t quite believe it, so I went to Amazon. Sure enough, there was Tedd's book, which turned out to be an expansion of his doctoral thesis and was highly recommended. There was a problem, though. Since there was limited distribution, the book cost $140, too expensive for my meager research budget.

So I went to the WorldCat online catalog to look up the book. I discovered it was in 6 Chicago libraries, called my branch library to tell them which ones. Within three days I had the book.

Not bad, huh? Except that’s not the end of the story.

I read the book, took copious notes, but realized I still had questions. By now, Tedd and I were emailing, so I wondered if he’d be willing to talk to me. I was surprised when he asked if I had Skype – I probably shouldn’t have been -- and I replied I did. He did too, so we set up a time to talk. His only criteria was that we talk after the World Soccer cup match of that day.

At the appointed time, I skyped him, and we talked for 45 minutes. I came away with some excellent ideas for my novel, and I think Tedd enjoyed the brainstorming, too.

So, in a period of a week, I accomplished what probably would have taken months. None of it would have been possible without Google, Twitter, Skype, Amazon, Worldcat, and the internet. And it was all free!

I love technology when it works like this… don’t you? What are some of your good technology stories?

Jumping off the High Board

I'm not a big risk-taker, and it's making me frustrated and melancholy that I live my life in too tight a way, especially these days: hard times require a big spirit and a willingness to take risks.

My cousin, Barb Wieser, whom I love dearly, has just been visiting me, showing me as she always has, one version of the risk-taker's life.  Barb is amazing: she's a skilled trekker and wilderness guide  She kayaks around the Alaskan coast, making camp wherever she sees a flat bit of shore.  She started two presses; the second, Aunt Lute Books (name for our shared great-aunt, Lute) is still an active small press.  For over two decades, she ran the country's oldest bookstore, Amazon Books in Minneapolis (no connection to the behemoth, which came along after Amazon Bookstore had been up and running for more than twenty years).

And now she's turning her life in  yet another direction: at sixty-plus, she's joined the Peace Corps and is heading for Ukraine.  Barb is a warm and loving woman, a bright presence in the lives of the people who know her; I know her Ukraine experience will challenge and change her, but that she will bring all she has to the task, and that the people she works with will be richer for her presence, as I and her other friends are, too.

We're the same age, Barb and I, but here I sit, tight in my little ball, while she opens and takes in the world.  

I'm trying to learn to change that, so I'm wondering what risks others have taken, things I can learn from and grow.  Let me know.