Comments on Thought Gadgets: Barnes & Noble Nook's $4 billion ad slot

Hi, listen, I'm pretty new on this blogosphere...

2011-12-12T13:17:53.789-05:00

Hi, listen, I'm pretty new on this blogosphere and Internet thing, so I don't know if there's a sort of "subscription" method that I can use in order to receive notifications of your new entries...? Thing is I enjoy reading your blog a lot and I'd like to be up to date with your posts!

That good explanation "Why, newspapers. Their...

2009-11-03T04:33:18.923-05:00

That good explanation "Why, newspapers. Their circulation dropped 10% ..."
But e-books are not that easy to read as regular books!

News is something else we get use to read news website but you have to admit it more fun to read a news paper.

What you've outlined here may be a brilliant p...

2009-10-29T16:48:09.616-04:00

What you've outlined here may be a brilliant plan for saving public libraries.

If the libraries were able to profit by including ads on e-books, people might go for it, because it's not something they'll ever actually own.

But people view books very differently than other media. Kids get into trouble for writing on them. So the notion of an ad inside a precious book is not going to sit well with a lot of people and might, in fact, create something of a backlash.

Free or not.

The other possibility is that this is just another step in the bifurcation of American society into the haves and have-nots. So that those who can afford to do so will continue to buy ad-free books to complement their other ad-free media purchases, while the less affluent are left to deal with the ads on their free content.

Not a pleasant thought if you're a luxury brand, but a place we seem to rapidly be heading towards.

Thanks, Edward. I've always thought books had ...

2009-10-28T22:14:54.255-04:00

Thanks, Edward. I've always thought books had a missing channel ... either for ads related to the content, or for social media conversations. An interactive overlay. I'd honestly prefer a Twitter-type feed to trade ideas or barbs or links about a book I'm reading than ads. Sometimes, and it could be attention deficit disorder, hours alone with one text with no way to amend the thoughts seems too much.

Ben, Great logic. Especially like the possibility...

2009-10-28T14:00:53.848-04:00

Ben,
Great logic. Especially like the possibility of paying a premium for exclusivity. Two benefits. One, we know from examples like Hulu that fewer ads, especially if there's choice around what execution we get to see, drives engagement way up. Plus, it raises consumer tolerance for that kind of interruption. Finding the line between what consumers will accept in return for getting something free (content or technology) ain't easy, and it keeps moving, but seems like an opportunity here.