The ebook market is picking up pace

Ebooks have been picking up pace in recent months and I want to take this post to summarise what has been happening so far.

The most easy way to start is to see some numbers. O'reiliy's blog mentions that the fastest growing category in itune is book. The interesting thing, beyond the growth, is the fact that iphone is becoming the next ebook reader, something that a lot of people didn't expect to happen. With Google and Amazon now making their ebooks available in Apple's platform, it is emerging as one of the leading ebook device.

Despite the growth, I feel that the potential of the ebook is far from realised ( have blogged about such potential before). This has been echoed by debates on whether are we having the wrong conversations about ebook pricing, instead of focusing them on new creative forms that ebooks can bring. We have seen how tv has created its own genres of content such as reality shows and music videos that are not possible other mediums like radio, cinema etc. The ebook format can potentially bring such creative innovation as well.

Beyond the creative potential, ebooks also unlocks new opportunities for the book publishing industry. Specifically, ebooks can become marketing tools for authors. If employed correctly, more conversations and connections can happen between authors and readers.

I really think this is an exciting time for the book publishing industry. I think we are about to witness another great shift as what we have seen for iTunes.

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