I just read (somewhat belatedly) a great article by Hugh McGuire, in which he professes that the line between book and Internet will disappear.
"...we've seen countless times that value grows when data is opened up (sometimes selectively) to the world. That's really what the Internet is for; and that is where book publishing is going.... The current world of ebooks is just a transition to a digitally connected book publishing ecosystem that won't look anything like the book world we live in now."
I think he's absolutely right in describing both publishers' and readers' fears about what shape this new industry might take and what it might mean to "books" as we know them. But I also agree that it's an inevitable merging of sister media that will certainly enhance and complement each other. And a new generation of writers, publishers and readers—one that considers e-books and media interconnectivity to be second nature—won't hesitate to embrace these changes.
With the world of highly connected e-books square in our future, I do want to voice a few concerns that we are all feeling, and that were perhaps outside of the scope of McGuire's article: How will a new format replace the traditional authority of print? How will we ultimately reconcile the copyright and copyfree worlds? How will it affect the art of printed materials?
The answers to questions like these are important to consider, but they should not (and will not) affect our inevitable progress toward an increasingly digital publishing world. And, personally, I think it's all very exciting!
Sandra
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