KNOW THIS: Industry Players and the Future of E-Books: Scribd
May 27, 2010
We at The Know Something Project believe digital publishing is already influencing the ability of more readers and writers to share and access a wider array of published material than ever before. Innovative industry players are moving closer every day to leveling the playing field when it comes to easy, quick access to information for readers and comprehensive distribution outlets for content creators. In this first part of a KSP series examining such players, we highlight a resource often overlooked in discussions of the newest gadget released by Amazon or Apple: the innovative document-sharing site Scribd.
Scribd’s vision is to “liberate the written word” and “connect people and organizations with the information and ideas that matter most to them.” In order to bring readers and content creators together via the simple and usually free dissemination of writings on almost any topic, Scribd designed a system that simplifies and expedites information sharing and access regardless of a document’s format, size, or other constraints.
Book publishers such as Random House use Scribd to promote upcoming titles by sharing free digital excerpts. Nonprofits such as UNICEF use Scribd to disseminate manuals and reports on children’s health and education, often in various languages. Corporations such as Ford Motor Company use Scribd to publish fact sheets and news releases. But the majority of content creators on Scribd are individuals—teachers, students, authors, business people, researchers, cooks, musicians, doctors, etc.—who publish and discuss everything from papers and articles to recipes, essays, poetry, novels, and sheet music.
Both Scribd readers and content creators benefit from the site’s open format. Practically any document, whether it’s been saved as a Word, PDF, Google doc, or PowerPoint file, can be converted to a new file—that retains original text and graphics and formatting—which the creator can then embed on a web page and/or post and share on the Scribd site.
While originally reading any Scribd document required use of a Flash player, Scribd recently announced it’s in the process of transferring all its documents to HTML5 so readers can view them directly on a web browser with no need for a plug-in application. According to Scribd, this change is now possible due to current browsers’ ability to display a much more diverse collection of fonts as well as much more complex graphics. While no schedule for such a complex transition has been posted on the site, Scribd states from now on all new content will be posted in HTML5 while all current content is transferred to the HTML5 format.
A look at a sample Scribd e-book formatted in HTML5 shows the new Scribd document toolbar at the bottom of the page. This toolbar disappears when not in use, and when in use acts like the controls on a typical e-reader, allowing the user to turn to next, previous, or specific pages; zoom in or out to increase or decrease text size or enter full-screen mode; even forward the document to a mobile device, download it, or print it—if the work’s stated permissions allow such functions.
When the HTML5 transition is complete, all Scridb document storage will occur via cloud computing and Scribd documents will “live” on the web. The need for Scribd readers to install and use a reading application will no longer exist, and more portable web-enabled devices such as mobile phones and non-proprietary e-readers will be able to open and display Scribd documents.
Such universal accessibility makes Scribd a powerful example of how digital publishing is indeed leveling the playing field for readers as well as writers of a wide variety of material. And not only does Scribd allow writers to immediately publish their works on a site through which readers can easily search and find what they want to read: The new ability to access Scribd documents via a web browser rather than a required reading application will allow readers to use whatever web-enabled tool they have on hand to read selected works discovered and accessed—often for free—via this unique resource.
—Karen DeGroot Carter
|
|