After actually finishing the post realized that flipping the switch on connecting kindles is one of only two things standing between Amazon and control of publishing.
The second thing is to get enough of an initial user base - and Amazon might be closer to that (1-2 years) than anyone cares to admit.
Crowdsourced Curation for Kindles – The Background
The inspiration for this post stems from two excellent posts talking about the kindle – they review network effects, crowd-sourced curation and the impact of the kindle community. Worth a read -
- Felix Torres at TeleRead – Amazon+Synergy = Kindle. An excerpt -
Look at the Amazon website; people post reviews of their books, draw up lists of recommendations. Why do they bother? Because it brings them just a bit closer to other people like them, readers. ….
All they (Amazon) haveto do is give Kindle an optional front page. Make it something like, oh, Facebook.
Let Kindle users set up reading circles. Let them build communities. Talk to each other about what they’re reading, what they’ve read, Like the online features on the Amazon bookstore but closed, private. Personal. Friendly.
- PersonaNonData talks about Silos of Curation. An excerpt –
Publishers curate content but they don’t really do it well … curation will be a skill in high demand as attention spans waver, choices proliferate and quality is mitigated by a preponderance of spurious material.
Readers don’t really care how many books are published in a year but they do care about knowing which titles they should read based on their interests.
The capability to guide consumers to the best books, stories and professional content within a specific segment (without regard to publisher or commerce) may come to define publishing in the years to 2020.
Lets jump a little into curation and how the kindle could possibly let the crowd, or in particular the part of the crowd that has the same tastes as you and is trusted by you, curate for you.
Kindle and the Kindle Store bring Network Effects to Books
There’s a combination of a few things -
- Everyone buys from the same store i.e the Kindle Store.
- You can leave your comments for everyone to see. You can see how many people bought a book (via sales rankings).
- You can get books instantly.
- There are numerous online blogs, forums, and sites where you can spread the word.
We’re seeing this with how quickly free books ascend to top spots (within a day or less of being released) and the success of independent authors. We’re also seeing the network effects in how well the $9.99 boycott is working (currently 3 in the top 50 and 6 in the top 100 are above $9.99).
Its individual Kindle Owners that curate, and they curate for kindle owners with similar tastes
The Kindle Store is set-up, knowingly or unknowingly, to focus on buying books based on other kindle owners’ recommendations -
- Reviews and Sales Rankings are based on user purchases and user input.
- Anyone can publish so publishers can no longer restrict access.
- Distributors can’t restrict access as there isn’t really a concept of shelf-space except for the free book offers that certain publishers get. Its very different from a physical store where every aspect of the layout and selection reflects what the publishers are promoting and what bookstores think will sell.
Amazon deserves credit for letting customers decide 90% of a book’s success in the Kindle Store.
If you look at the mechanisms set-up beyond just reviews i.e. listmania lists, forums, tags, etc. – they are all aimed at letting users curate for other users with similar tastes.
The only thing missing is a Kindle to Kindle connection
This is the one area where I have no doubt whatsoever – Amazon has intentionally held back on this direct connection. Its because it’s -
- Way too powerful.
- Could create the opportunity for something other than the Kindle Store to emerge as the book buying destination.
- They haven’t figured out how to do it effectively and in a way that benefits them in addition to customers.
The Kindle is already ripping apart the structure of Publishing.
And yet it hasn’t used its trump card - the always-on connection with like minded book lovers.
Once Amazon has figured out how to work out a system that is within the Amazon Kindle eco-system they are going to unleash the direct connection.
Once Kindles get a direct connection – CrowdSourced Curation makes Publishers redundant
We don’t need anyone other than -
- Readers
- Authors
- Amazon the enabler.
Readers determine what books deserve to sell, and in turn those sales determine what books get physical editions.
The authors today who are using the Kindle Store as a launching pad to get a book deal aren’t realizing that in a few years publishers aren’t going to matter very much.
Closing Thoughts on Kindle and Crowdsourced curation
I intended for this article to be a discussion of what could happen in 5-10 years. However, Amazon are way, way closer than anyone realizes -
- They already have a large percentage of influencers.
- They literally own the entire foundation of this new book ecosystem.
Amazon are just waiting for the right set of controls and the requisite number of people – then they’re going to push the switch and, in way sooner than anyone can imagine, control publishing.
The scope of Mr. Bezos’ ambition is infinite. There might not be anyone out there who can match that ambition and is also interested in books long-term.
Filed under: evolution, publishing Tagged: | kindle crowdsourcing, kindle curation
