There's This Thing. It's Called The Internet
2 min read
It looks like iPad magazine sales are down.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: it's not about content, it's about interaction and the ability to find and remix the things that matter to you.
With the declining magazine sales on the iPad, it's hard not to see this as another nail in the coffin of the "you will pay for my content tethered to my device" business model.
And it's fun watching the music industry and the publishing industry flail about, largely because the textbook industry is next. The textbook industry has been able to buffer their fall because they have a captive audience. Textbook industry involvement in the development of new standards can be seen as a way for the industry to play a role in designing the cages in which they want to lock districts, schools, teachers, and learners for the next several years.
But the internet solves many of the logistical issues related to distribution. And people can learn without traditional textbooks. And people are voting with their feet - by running away, fast - from delivery models that tether content to a specific channel or distributor.
There's this thing. It's called the internet. It works.
Image Credit: "It's the internet" taken by Robert Jagger, published under an Attribution-Share Alike license.
