Bob Stein
Future of the Book
by Lina
Attended a fascinating talk by Bob Stein last week on the future of the book. Seems like Kindle and e-Reader are just the beginning. Their institute if:book has been working on an open source software called Sophie that according to their website "opens up the world of multimedia authoring to a wide range of people and institutions". So, practically, a book will exist on the web, instead of still photos, you might have videos, if you want more information about a word, thought or concept, you click and it will connect you to wikipedia or a search engine. You can read it, or have the author read it, you can comment in the margins and the author(s) can dive into a live virtual discussion with you. The experience is as rich and interactive as you make it. All the tools are there. They even have tutorials, how-to movies and sample books to guide you through. If you're ready for Book 2.0, download the software and start writing.