The Mystery of the Missing Amazon Public Notes

Prime Suspect: The New Amazon Upgrade Program

Amazon Public Notes look like they are taking a turn that only a detective can figure out.

I blogged in February about the Great News of Amazon adding a new feature to their eBooks called Public Notes in which readers could share highlights and notes with other readers. In that blog, I detailed some areas I thought were potential high benefit areas.

Public Notes have caught on with Kindle 3 users as more and more readers add their ideas and thoughts. If I follow the instructions, I can add my own notes as well as view other reader’s public notes.

I decided to go investigate the Public Notes process to see if there were any surprises or changes to the initial release. I not only found some surprises but I can see Amazon moving along in a whole new direction. One that I didn’t see coming.

The Process is Very Elementary

For the purposes of this blog, I selected the eBook with the most Public Notes to date. The leader was “THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES” with over 200 people adding notes and highlights. Since I share no expense in researching for my blogs, I downloaded the FREE version of the eBook.

Let me share with you the simple process.

1.      After I downloaded the eBook, I went to my “Your Books” section for my account and turned on the settings for: MAKE READING STATUS & RATING PUBLIC and the PUBLIC NOTES: MAKE YOURS PUBLIC for this eBook.

2.      Next I clicked on the “ADVENTURES…” title to view the books summary page. It showed that my status for this eBook, “PUBLIC”, had been unlocked. The page also showed me that 223 Customers had Public Notes for this eBook. To view other reader’s notes, you must setup a connection between yourself and the other reader called ‘Following’.

TIP: I could preview other reader’s posts and highlights on the books summary page but I couldn’t view Public Notes on my Kindle 3 until I ‘followed’ an individual reader to view their notes. Preview is the clue here. Only a portion of a reader’s notes can be viewed from the books summary page.

3.      I clicked on the number ‘223’ and a dropdown list called “Customers with Public Notes for this Book” appeared with the names of readers that had added public notes to this eBook.

4.      I selected one of the reader’s names and their profile appeared. Just under the name was a button named “Follow”. I clicked on the button and I was automatically following this reader. Now their notes for this eBook were going to appear on my Kindle 3. Very elementary.

IDEA: It would have been so much easier to have a ‘SELECT ALL’ button rather than going through all 223 readers to see their notes.

POTENTIAL PROBLEM: it seems there is no control over who follows you and who can view your note.

Back in the day even Watson could keep up with Holmes if he had a Kindle and they could sync their notes. I can visualize Dr. Watson taking notes for Holmes and maybe for once, Watson and Holmes would finally be on the same page.

The Plot Thickens

It was time to check the current Public Notes features against my blog in February 2011. There was indeed Good News. The Kindle 3 and Amazon connection was working great. My notes were present with little tags in the content. I had set my notes to be synced with all my devices so they would appear on my Kindle and in my Kindle for PC app.

Other reader’s public notes and highlights were there. Amazon even had included a note of who had created the annotation.

The eBook’s Popular Highlights for all readers of the eBook were underlined with dots and the number of people that highlighted the passage was noted.

TIP: on your Amazon site under “Manage your Device”, you must have the Whispersync Device Synchronization turned on.

Next I reviewed some of the opportunities I had addressed in my blog in the Educational area. They involved the coordination of Public Notes between a Kindle 3 device and Kindle for PC/Mac Apps.

I had discussed the use of teachers and students sharing notes in their etextbooks along with the authors being able to add additional ideas or updates after the eBook was published.

I had known that Kindle 2’s would not include Public Notes but I did not realize until this research that the Kindle Apps do not include Public Notes either. Maybe in the future?

A Red Herring?

As Sherlock Holmes would say “Watson, I have come across a three pipe problem.” While doing my research I came across what may be a clue for the missing public notes in the apps. Amazon has a new program called the Amazon Upgrade which focuses on the use of Public Notes and I believe the future of eBook viewing. As close as I can tell, the program is designed to help authors and publishers get more revenue from the increased use and popularity of Public Notes.

Evidence of foul play for the Reader

The Upgrade program allows a reader to view an online version of an eBook which is accessed from any Internet-connected computer using a browser.

The reader will be able to read, search and annotate every page online along with highlights, bookmarks, copy text and print pages using the Amazon Online Reader from inside a browser. This is not a Kindle for App. The Amazon Online Reader is the same program used to view the Search Inside! purchasing feature for the samples of an eBook.

You can access Amazon.com directly and the eBook will be stored in your media library. The reader can view public notes of other Amazon Upgrade customers.

Can anyone see where the trail is leading us?

Publishers and Authors have a motive

Let’s investigate deeper into the problem or should I say mystery.

1.     Amazon has created the Upgrade process to generate incremental revenue and increase our    costs.

2.     The content will be kept on the Amazon servers, in a cloud no doubt.

3.     You only have access to books purchased through Amazon.

4.     You can only read the eBook using the Amazon Online Reader not on a Kindle or using Kindle for Apps.

Amazon Upgrade Process

If my evidence is correct, this is a crime of the highest order. Here is how the process works.

1.     First to have access to the Upgrade process, you must buy the physical version of the book. No other vendors or personal uploads can be used.

2.     Next you must pay an additional charge for the online version of the same book.

3.     The book must be a part of the Amazon Upgrade program. Not all are.

4.     Not all publishers and authors will participate. In other words, not all books will be in the Upgrade Program.

So do we have a clue what is going to happen?

1.      The process is simple, elementary for starters.

2.      This is not an eBook only program. The author must have a physical book in inventory and it must have a digital version.

3.      You can view the Upgrade notes online but not on your Kindle.

4.      This has to be a Tablet venture with the use of a browser to view the notes.

5.      The process is controlled by publishers and maybe self-publishers but Amazon controls what eBooks they make available for the Upgrade program.

6.      One good thing is a real name is associated with each public note. At least when ‘the kids’ start playing with the notes, we will know who they are or at least where to find them.

WARNING: I see no gatekeeper here or a way to monitor the notes, so that could be a problem.

So where is Amazon going with this? Are they changing the way we use public notes by connecting them to the purchase of the physical book? Are simple ereaders like the Kindle still in Amazon’s plans or are they moving the eBook to online viewing with the use of tablets? Maybe we need Sherlock around to figure this one out?

View my website: HBSystems Publications

Or EMAIL at: jrm@hbspub.com

Or goto my blog: The eBook Author’s Corner

Author: Call Off The Dogs, a rendered eBook

LinkedIn Profile: James Moushon

Related Blog:

Amazon Has Some REAL Good News and They Have Some Great Newsfor e-Textbook and eBook Users

Holmes and Watson picture by Sidney Pagnet

Picture Image via Wikipedia

Ebook Industry: Where Is Microsoft?

As the ebook industry progresses and the major players compete, it seems we are headed in several directions at once. Self-publishing authors are confused where to start with all the various formats and devices and platforms to publish on.

The major players are bent on keeping control of their domain as they clash with each other for control of the industry. You have Amazon and Barnes and Noble in a struggle for control of the online distribution business and the sale of low end ereaders.

Then you have Apple and the ipad and ibooks positioned a notch-up in price.

Following is Google with their great exposure and Adobe with their brand in the PDF format. As these major players battle it out, one question begs to be asked. Where is Microsoft?

A lesson from the past

We have been through this same type of industry fragmentation. The PC industry in the early 1980’s was in just as much disarray as the ebook industry today with major companies fighting for control.

I know. I was at ground zero on this one. When the PC industry started, the Phoenix area was a hot bed of PC development. Motorola was building the 68000 processor for Apple/MAC and Microage was franchising computer stores across the country. DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) was entrenched in the minicomputer industry and had a large presence in the valley.

In 1980, I started a custom software development company in Phoenix to try to jump on the bandwagon. But like the ebook industry of today, the PC startup industry lacked standards. There were lots of different microcomputers. Each one had a different programming language and operating system. It wasn’t anything to be working on three custom projects with three different makes of microcomputers and three different programming languages.

At that time Digital Research was the leader in operating systems (CP/M) for the PC industry and Apple and Radio Shack (TRS-80) had begun their PC hardware adventure.

In 1980, IBM entered the PC industry and everything changed. They needed an operating system so they contacted the leader, Digital Research. They promptly refused because they wanted to control the process. Sound familiar.

Microsoft to the rescue. Microsoft agreed to IBM’s terms plus they added a Basic Programming language. Now software developers had something to hang their hat on. That one decision made Microsoft the leader in the software industry. MS-DOS made it a standard playing field for all the players.

IBMs next move was to try to control the startup of the PC industry. They licensed Computerland and Sears Computer Stores to sell the IBM PC exclusively. They put together MS-DOS(really PC-DOS), Lotus 1-2-3, and their PC and sold them through the stores. The PC wars had begun. This is similar to the confusion in the ebook industry today.

The PC needed software to make it useful. Lotus 1-2-3 started the ball rolling with the first spreadsheet written especially for the IBM PC. Following right behind 1-2-3 was the WordStar word processor and the dBase database system. These were the “big three” as someone once said. These were indeed killer apps.

These were great tools but users wanted them to work together. The parts were greater than the total product in this case.

Lotus Symphony was the first attempt at combining the three functions together with mild success. Again users were accustomed to the killer apps and the Lotus database and the word processor fell way short. It was not really designed for joint tasks.

Again Microsoft to the rescue. In 1989 they introduced Microsoft Office. It combined Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint with Visual Basic for Applications scripting language. Later they added Microsoft Access. Now users had the interrelationship they were looking for. Ebook users are looking for the same interrelationship. They want to do more with the information than just read it once.

Back then, the marketing was done by computer store. Prospects could easily touch and feel the products and the sales soared.

I will only mention COMDEX briefly because of the major part it played and as a segue into my ‘needs’ takeaways on this blog. It was a computer trade show held in Las Vegas every November. It started in 1979 and continued for over twenty years. This is where major product announcements and releases were made. It had been a “must attend” event in the industry.

For the last few years of existence of COMDEX, Microsoft kept the show going taking up a considerable amount of the convention floor. It was a place where small companies could display their wares and hope to catch on with dealers across the country.

Microsoft and the eBook

Being entrenched in the digital conversation world since 1994, I started changing my focus to ebooks in 2003. One of my clients wanted to put together a system using a PDA. So off to the computer store I went to buy a Palm Pilot V with its syncing ability.  At the same time I purchased my first ebook reader, a RCA REB1100.

I thought I would put their technical manuals on one to help them with the information overload they had developed. Immediately a problem arose that still plagues the industry. The REB1100 had a proprietary format which did not allow documents to be created in-house. Calibre has solved this problem now.

Ebooks were not new. The Project Gutenberg had been going on for years and most computer technical manuals included a CD with text, html or PDF files but no one had tackled any main stream novels or anything like that.

I started working with Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader (now called Adobe Digital Editions) and the Microsoft eBook Reader. I had been using the Adobe’s PDF files for a while but the free Microsoft ebook software seemed to be the best choose.

Most ereaders had screen problems, especially in bright light, but Microsoft’s Cleartype display technology solved the on-screen reading problem. Also, they had an add-in program that let you take a document in MS-Word and create an ebook automatically. (LIT format) A very simple process.

Their software included bookmarks, notes, a library function, online ordering and the ability to create free-form drawings or margin notes. You could zoom in on pictures and highlight text. It ran on any Windows platform including Windows Mobile.

It seemed like the best choice because Microsoft was entrenched in the computer industry. It seemed to be where the expansion was going in the new ebook industry. Wrong. Microsoft dropped the ball for some reason.

Now the ebook industry is fragmented with numerous formats and proprietary ereader operating systems with no path upward to the next level of devices. For example, you cannot insert notes and highlights on an ereader and do anything with that information on a PC without a lot of work.

What do we need?

We need standardization. Not necessarily one format but devices that can read the most popular formats. A tablet like the ipad can read the popular formats but the cost rules out many readers from ever going digital.

We need a place for a hands on experience like a computer store or a bookstore. Recently I visited an Apple store and I could not believe the activity the store was experiencing. Of course they are limited to the Apple offerings. Bookstores are positioned to push this concept forward because they are not tied to one solution.

The ebook industry needs a ‘SHOW’ presence. You know. A must attend show for readers and authors and device manufacturers with product displays and workshops. Maybe the computer electronics show held in Las Vegas every January would be a good start. At the CES show this year, ereaders were ‘the thing’ at the show but ereaders were a small fraction of the total activity.

We need a device with an upward capability to be able to do more than just read the ebook but use its content in other meaningful ways. Tablets will be the key here but the need for the low-cost device that just allows a good read will not go away.

We need an even lower cost color device to appear that is aimed at the children’s market. You know the kind that is made out of hard plastic that can be dropped and the content can be controlled by the parents. No need for WIFI or 3G here. A USB or Simm card will work just fine.

So where is Microsoft?

We know they are up in the clouds. Will this be our answer? In the future, will all ebooks be up in the clouds, ready for us to snag, read and go on our way? Maybe we are talking about paying a small charge to view an ebook but not necessarily downloading it to a device like the Netflix model.

We need a company to smooth out the process. It is going to be fun watching how all this shakes out. At the end of the day, new software and digital devices will lead the way.

To read a related article, ‘Lessons For the eBook Industry – Study the E-Forms Industry Beginning’, click here.

Another blog came across my desk, forwarded by Dominique Raccah via Linkedin,  about Booki.sh, a cloud eBook distributor, that is good reading on the cloud distribution topic.

Let me know what you think about where the ebook industry is going? What else do we need to do to push the process forward? Who out there wants to start an ebook only oriented convention?

View my website: HBSystems Publications

Or EMAIL at: jrm@hbspub.com

Or goto my blog: The eBook Author Corner

Author: Call Off The Dogs, a rendered ebook

    

eBook Authors: Use The POWER of Links

One of the first things an eBook Author must learn to use is the power of links. Whether you’re creating your ebook, setting up your web site, writing a blog or joining a group on the Internet, hyperlinks are what make things happen. The more clicks, the more chances of your success. The synergy created by links is a powerful thing.

With that said, where should you put links? The following is a list of possible opportunities for linking.

Your eBook Author Page

Let’s start with your ebook. You should always have an author page with links to everything in your arsenal. This page is different than the title page or the copyright page. You should have links to your website, your blog, your social network and your email address. Make sure to link to your other ebooks buy-pages to help the reader go directly to your other writings.

Your In-Book Links

Another link possibility is links imbedded in your content. These links can be added in the ebook rendering process. Whether the links are to Internet sites or to information in the back of your ebook, the links can be very valuable to the reading experience.

In my ebook, Call Off The Dogs, I included brief definitions of uncommon terms and locations in the back of the ebook. For example, the reader could click on a link imbedded in the content and see a brief description of the pier in Seal Beach, California. Then they would press the BACK key and continue reading.

Other Link Opportunities

You should link everything you do digitally. For example:

Website – Your site is a great place to include links to your ebooks. Include a blogroll on your home page to link to other sites you visit. And then ask those sites to link back to you. The more the merrier.

Blog – You should establish a blog to keep in touch with your readers. Your followers will follow the links you insert into your blog like a page for your upcoming ebook. Also, you can use links to get them involved in the writing process.

Social Network – You should use Facebook and Twitter and link away every chance you get.

Email - All outgoing communications should include a link even if it is just a link in your email signature line.

Link Maintenance

One of the important things to remember is that link maintenance is great an opportunity to keep in front of your reader. Links change and become invalid for one reason or another. You should maintain a current, up to date list of links you have used in your writings. Then point the reader to your site for the latest link information.

Another example. Let’s say you have an ebook with a lot of internet links imbedded in the content or the ebook has a list of links associated with source material. As the links turn bad, and they will after time, you could add Amazon Public Notes in the ebook to assistant the reader in finding the updated link or an alternative one.

You are maintaining the value of the reading material by updating the content without republishing the ebook.

Link Power

So what does linking everything do for you?

1. It will build traffic to your ebook buy-page, to your Internet site, your Facebook page and your Blog.

2. Links are what drives Internet Search Engine Optimization. The more links you have on the net, the more chances you have for readers to find your offerings. The most prized link is one that is an incoming link from another site. This can be your site or blog or one from one of your peers.

3. Connections through Social Networking, links your friends and followers to your site and your ebook. You cannot have enough of this. The more ebooks and blogs you put into the pipe, the more action you create.

Takeaway

Think of this as a little web page with the power of communications.

A general rule: Never publish anything without a link or two. That includes your ebook, your Internet site, your blog, your email or comments on other people’s blog.

So what do think? Be sure to share with me other link opportunities that I have overlooked.

View my website: HBSystems Publications

Or EMAIL at: jrm@hbspub.com