Amazon has announced they are opening up the Kindle to library e-books.
Yippee! Amazon Goes Capitalist.
As you know, Amazon wants to build a digital library. Google tried the same thing, and they’ve both met a lot of resistance from authors and publishers. (Mostly from publishers.)
A few weeks ago, I did a story on Social Media: Cheap and Easy about what Amazon is doing and gave them specific advice about how to make it work. Judging from their change in a long-held policy, I say it’s great that they’re listening.
Public libraries are an established part of our communities. They’re free to use, and libraries provide access to information, education and recreation. It’s understandable that we all get a little upset when a for-profit company comes along and says they want to get into the library business.
That said, I think there’s an entirely viable, capitalistic and useful way for Amazon to build their digital library.
For starters, imagine how much easier it would be to give remote communities a bunch of Kindles loaded with thousands of books. The Kindle is easier to take care of than all the books, and all you need to keep it going is a solar power charging unit. Amazon can open whole new opportunities for people who can then prosper to become customers for Amazon.
That’s capitalism at work. You invest, do the work, then reap the rewards.
Pop over to Social Media: Cheap and Easy now to hear the whole story.