Om bokens digitale fremtid

Cory Doctorow har skrevet en lengre artikkel om Google Book Search. Artikkelen begynner med en gjennomgang av Google Book Search-saken uten å bringe frem noe særlig nytt. Fra omtrent midt i artikkelen, fra avsnittet som heter "Google versus the scrapers", blir det imidlertid mer interessant. Herfra handler artikkelen om bokens fremtid som et digitalt åndsverk i konkurranse med andre media. Noen sitater:

The realpolitik of authorship is that authors can't master their digital destiny when it comes to fans who share their works. ... No sustainable business-model starts by insulting or suing the customers who love you best.

We need to stop telling people that the Internet isn't as good as books. It makes us look like whiny jerks. We need to stop telling people that they have a moral duty to read. It makes us look like imperious jerks.

We need to act like a money-making industry and spare some attention for what our customers demand: books that are no more clicks away than web-pages.

Link: Why Publishing Should Send Fruit-Baskets to Google, Boing Boing, 14. feb. 2006.