No Book Is An Island

Know More: Online Publishing, Web Books, Writing Resources 2.0, Writing Resources

The good folks over at The Institute for the Future of the Book have a thick post about networked books. Resident scholar Ben Vershbow meditates on the brand new Farrar, Straus and Giroux book, Pulse.

This multimedia book project by Robert Frenay is available in paper, blog, RSS, and emailed formats--allowing readers and writers to interact in exciting ways. These "networked books" are the future.

Instead of a single, paper product, Pulse will include a website where readers can actually participate in the conversation about this textual quilt of biology, culture and elegant writing. The project isn't perfect, and readers still haven't flocked to the comments section.

Nevertheless, FSG and if:book are new proving grounds for the publishing industry. It's time to start paying attention...

"But taking the book for a spin in cyberspace — attracting readers, generating buzz, injecting it into the conversation — is not at all a bad idea, especially in these transitional times when we are continually shifting back and forth between on and offline reading. This is not unlike what we are attempting to do with McKenzie Wark's "Gamer Theory," the latest draft of which we are publishing online next month. The web edition of Gamer Theory is designed to gather feedback and to record the conversations of readers, all of which could potentially influence and alter subsequent drafts."

I like this project. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

I'm big into the 'getting your audience involved' deal but I have some questions about this one. That's a good thing.

Posted by: chartreuse | April 19, 2006 4:06 PM | Permalink to Comment

To be honest Chartreuse, they need somebody like you to say something dramatic--something to get the comments section jump-started.

It's one thing to encourage audience participation, but it's another thing to actually achieve it, like you...

Posted by: Jason Boog | April 19, 2006 7:58 PM | Permalink to Comment

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