The Networked Book: reading in pixels and writing for Google

I attended a recent BookCamp on the future of books. It seems clear to most who attended that the book publishing industry is fast moving towards the "networked or open book" much the same as has happened with the portability of music. After reading How the E-Book Will Change the Way We Read and Write by Steven Johnson and The Future of Reading in a Digital World by Clive Thompson, the digital age is on the cusp of reinventing the fundamental concept behind what it means to discover, read and even write books.

The concept of the networked book is interesting because the publishing industry like many others that has begun shifting online is beginning to think and write for Google. In the attention economy, as Johnson writes, "“the unity of the book will disperse into a multitude of pages and paragraphs vying for Google's attention. Writers and publishers will begin to think about how individual pages or chapters might rank in Google's results, crafting sections explicitly in the hopes that they will draw in that steady stream of search visitors. Individual paragraphs will be accompanied by descriptive tags to orient potential searchers; chapter titles will be tested to determine how well they rank. Just as Web sites try to adjust their content to move as high as possible on the Google search results, so will authors and publishers try to adjust their books to move up the list.”

What about the front door versus the side door argument about word of mouth for authors and their books. How much will side-way conversations, comments and annotations by readers shift the balance of influence away influential book reviews in reputable publications as well well as books privileged enough to have their cover seen on shelves in bookstores.

Isn't the reality of the way we discover the networked book the same for people and individuals. The more channels and communities that people and individuals choose to engage in and have a conversation, the more buzz that is created. If the networked book that engages people in the multi-channel universe leads to increased brand and recognition, isn't the same true for the networked individual and organization?

If it is, what will happen to individual and organizations who decline or delay participating and engaging with online communities.

The debate about the right mix of online and offline participation is ongoing. It seems inevitiable that the idea behind the networked book is a worthwhile analogy to way people will choose to interact and engage with one another online and offline in terms of raising their individual brand. Whether it be deep focussed reading in isolation or online interactive chats about a single page, the range of choices for how people choose to digest books will be based on selective preferences that work best for them.