Books In Africa
Posted: August 15th, 2013 | Author: Michael Goldstein | | 2 Comments »
Seth writes:
Books, those bound paper documents, are part of an ecosystem, one that was perfect, and one that is dying, quickly.
Ideas aren’t going away soon, and neither are words. But, as the ecosystem dies, not only will the prevailing corporate systems around the paper book whither, but many of the treasured elements of its consumption will disappear as well.
THE BOOKSTORE as we know it is doomed, because many of these establishments are going to go from making a little bit of money every day to losing a little bit….
…THE LIBRARY is limping, partly because….
…Yes, we’re entering a new golden age for books, one with more books and ebooks being written and read today than ever before. No, books won’t be completely eliminated, just as vinyl records are still around (a new vinyl store is opening in my little town). But please don’t hold your breath for any element of the treasured ecosystem to return in force.
Read Seth’s whole thing here: short and smart.
How will this affect Africa and the rest of the developing world?
Let’s ponder phones for a moment. Cell phones allowed developing countries to “leap” ahead. There was no infrastructure for land lines, and idea of creating it was daunting. Boom, cell phones. Now many very poor people have a phone. People can talk to each other. People can pay for things with M-Pesa — the phone is a bank account. It’s a huge boost to quality of life.
The same tech-leap will happen with books. No bookstores, few libraries. No book infrastructure.
However, when the price falls enough on the Nook and Kindle, the “leap” will happen. Guaranteed. Everyone will have a device to read e-books. Much of that content will be free or super-cheap. Kids and adults will read!
The problem is, what do we do at Bridge for the next, say, 4 years, before the e-reader prices drop? We need kids to read a lot, but we’re reluctant to ask parents to pay.
I think the “leap” is already happening…not to e-readers but to cell phones. Books are free or super-cheap to anyone with a cell phone right now.
My students in South Africa, almost all owners of a cell phone, were constantly reading via mobile book publishers like Funzda and Worldreader Mobile.
Maybe you don’t need to wait for the Nooks or Kindles to come down in price. Or maybe you bypass them until they do.
What percentage of Bridge students do you reckon have access to cell phones?
While I share the optimism of e-readers and books on phones, I tend to be a bit more sober about the timelines.
The leap is happening with cell phones because people can charge them off of generators or solar panels, they’re fairly durable, can be shared, and there’s a vibrant second hand market for those who can’t afford new ones.
I don’t think you’re going to wait for e-readers to accommodate the consumer to see the leap. I think e-readers are going to get leapt. Low-end consumers are going to stick with the technology they have and continue to see improvements in the cell phones they use- in terms of battery life, internet access, applications, and cost.
If kids have phones, you could do a lot with just putting the content on them. You could even send out stories via SMS text (would have to be short and in chunks-still not free). If not, second hand phones with sd cards loaded w/ content would probably still be the most cost effective solution.