This is the last stand for books. With everything moving to the Internet, how do we make reading accessible and fun for kids and even adults?
Wikipedia might have an answer by allowing users to create their own books from the information on their website. By making users creators/editors of their own content, it opens up a new realm of books. All content is making the move to the Internet, but this allows users the ability to take a step back and remove and gain information from the Internet in a non-digital form.
This idea has its advantages and disadvantages, and frankly, I think the positives outweigh the negatives.
You can make a personal, non-digital wiki from wikipedia however you like. The title, cover photo, page length and chapter organization is all customizable; however, the more pages you use, the more expensive the book.
So when would be a good time for a wikipedia book? How about for you your next vacation? You could make your own travel book with tourist spots, food locations, shows and history of the area. You could also create your own book for your next research paper or test. Sure it would only be a start for your research and studying, but it would be a great starting point.
Let’s not limit it to students though. Teachers could create their own textbooks. How many times have you purchased a huge, expensive textbook and your class only gets through about half of it? Teachers could weed out the sections they don’t want and could crank out a textbook of 100 pages for $9.
And did I mention you don’t need a power cord for this resource? Sure, these advantages mean nothing if the content on Wikipedia is useless and untrustworthy. So let’s keep it useful and trustworthy, please.
Some of the disadvantages? One, it’s not updatable. And two, people cannot contribute to it. Well, a Wikipedia book is obviously not readily updatable like the website, but if you are willing to make a book then do you really need it to be updatable? The whole point of this tactic is the personal customization for a user to create their own book.
So is this the last stand for books? Does allowing created content make books more intriguing? I think it can be very successful and useful, but it only creates a small niche in the booking industry. The future of books fall into the hands of the Kindle and more so, the iPad. I was reluctant to go along with the push for books to the Web and other digital devices, but if books are going to be like this on the iPad…
…then count me in. I still like the idea of pulling information from the Internet and creating your own book. Call me a Renaissance man, but I think it’s a great idea. I always wanted to write a book (might be a stretch though).
