Comments on: More On Google; We Never Rest

By: Booksquare

Booksquare — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 19:08:53 +0000

But of course. Stay tuned. Constructive thoughts are wending their way through my pathetic little brain even as I type (actually, all weekend, except during naptime). First, of course, we have to break their spirits…it’s like the military, with printing presses.

Google is search. MSN is search. Other search is search. These search companies are also going to move into providing physical or digital product. If done right, this product will serve as an adjunct to various distribution streams. My biggest fear is that publishing will lock into the single-provider model (see: music industry, failed experiments) rather than seeing search as the tool it is.

I believe that it is in the best interest of publishers to cast as wide a net as possible. You cannot guess what avenue your customers will take to get to you, but you can be sure that they’re not all taking the same route.

Please, someone stop me before I get all metaphorical…

Love you too, Joan!

By: Eoin Purcell

Eoin Purcell — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 18:48:31 +0000

I loved the post and the link but I wonder if instead of dissing publishers we should encourage them to make the leap into infrastructure themselves and provide a wide range of outlets and digital databases for books to avoid an i-Tunes like development where one company has a virtual monopoly of distribution? If Google proves to be the best provider of search tech for books that could be how it develops.

By: Joan

Joan — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 16:48:33 +0000

Thanks for being a book-lover who also loves the idea (and reality) of progress, instead of one who pretends there’s something cooler or more authentic about loving books only when they’re in one, old-fashioned format. Goddammit we love Booksquare.

By: Booksquare

Booksquare — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 13:22:14 +0000

Robots are more afraid of you than you are them.

Sure, Google is a big scary monster, but there will be another big scary monster after them. Google and MS are simply laying the groundwork.

By: David Thayer

David Thayer — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 13:15:33 +0000

Your common sense view of publishing is refreshing. Remember, though, that Google is a big scary monster with great big teeth and great big eyes and they’ve got robots! Robots.

By: Khalil A.

Khalil A. — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 06:36:52 +0000

Books are not going away; books are, as all things do, evolving to meet needs.

I’m 100% with you.