A protest against the commercialization of ebooks by Michael Pastore

Seconded !

Disgusting. The charitable fig leaf is so lame that it is surprising that they bothered to included it: a small percentage of sales over a short period of time and, just for good measure, capped at $25,000, Sleaze.

I don’t get the ebook connection. Looks like just video to me. Granted, with a watercolor/storybook theme, but who cares? Interesting attempt at creative rich-media web. So-so results, but some artistic flourishes. Why the lament?

Micah, Ralph Lauren is calling this a “storybook” … not a video.
The lament is for the admixture of shopping and literature, that reduces books to nothing more than tools for selling things. Both Bradbury [Fahrenheit 451] and Huxley [Brave New World] warned us about worlds where the media is enmeshed with advertising, but in their dystopias paper books had already vanished.

The mainstream media is failing us here, reporting this “story” as an announcement, without bothering to think or criticize. In this article from the Huffington Post,

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-hall/ralph-lauren-launches-a-v_b_680956.html

you can read this gem:

David Lauren, Senior Vice President of Advertising, Marketing and Corporate Communications, calls the book “merchantainment.”

I have higher and more nobler hopes for ebooks than mere “mechantainment”.
Books (and ebooks) matter: we deserve far better than this.

Michael Pastore
50 Benefits of Ebooks

“Shoppable”, what a cute synonym for “money sucking”.

Seriously, the whole concept is repulsive in the extreme. A “story” whose only purpose is to turn children into status-conscious consumers. It makes me want to vomit.

David Lauren, Senior Vice President of Advertising, Marketing and Corporate Communications, calls the book “merchantainment.”

I call it “vomitainment”.

The story was well done. It was a very clever merchandising scheme. At least the clothes were appropriate for the age shown. Still the whole idea makes me somewhat uncomfortable. It would be interesting to watch it with a child. Would they clue in to the merchandizing aspect of it?

It’s bad enough that children’s books and films are so merchandising-orientated already. Children are being targeted in such an insidious way to leverage parent’s spending and to develop the attitude that it is never enough to enjoy the imagination of a story, they must possess the contents of the story too.

This Ralph Lauren production is imho another level beyond that corrupting of a child’s enjoyment. Yuk.

Sorry but I have to disagree to some extent.
I appreciate your points about commercialization and disrupting a valuable experience. Given the choice I prefer to read advertising free ebooks most of the time.

But the old publishing model is dying. We need to do something to make sure the number of full time authors increases, not falls, in coming years.

I believe the best way forward is to get involved in the conversation and try to shape the advertising into the most beneficial way for everyone.
Because it is coming, like it or not.

Alex said: We need to do something to make sure the number of full time authors increases, not falls, in coming years.

… And why exactly is that ?
I believe we have more than enough writers already being published. In fact we could do with a few less, considering there is so much garbage out their posing as quality work.

Hi Howard,

I believe the bigger the ecosystem, the more quality work will get published. In fact I can see the proportion of bad quality works increasing with a smaller publishing ecosystem.

In any case what’s at issue here is not ‘a few’ writers but a major chunk of the publishing industry is in danger.

If you think only low quality works will be affected if the publishing industry shrinks in a similar way to what the music industry has, I believe you are engaging in wishful thinking.

I regret to say Alex that you are responding to a point I never made. My comment related to your statement that I quoted above, regarding making sure that ‘We need … the number of full time authors increases’. Your response deals with quality of writing, something I did not even comment on.

If by ecosystem you mean Market, then I agree fully with you. eBooks will expand the market considerably imho and that will increase the quantity of quality writing. Regrettably it will also increase the quantity of poor writing too, with more self publishing due to the low cost threshold.

The only shrinkage in the Music industry has been one resulting from a bloated, inefficient and lazy industry that made enormous profits with little effort for too long on the backs of uninformed musicians and gullible customers. If the Publishing industry goes through the same process, no one outside that industry will shed a tear. The Publishing industry, as it is today, is not a viable one. This is reality. It will also have to change it’s complete structure and business model and become far more efficient and lean. I have no doubt whatsoever that some big names will go to the wall, while many entrepreneurial smaller entities will grow in this new market to deliver the new model in a new way, far more successfully.

One thing I would like to point out

Alex said: We need to do something to make sure the number of full time authors increases, not falls, in coming years.

The problem is that the publishing houses are so closed that new writers cant even get in the door. I have found writers online that are producing work that makes a lot of the New York Times Best seller list look like dime novels. One writer is selling his books thru a vanity press because he cant even get a main stream publisher to look at his work.

I can give you a few simple solutions the old business model throw it out the door. For brick and mortar stores you buy and then sell no more returning the book for credit and the cover gets torn off and the book burned. go to a system like some of the vanity presses use for online I log in order the book I want its printed up and mailed in a couple of days if its a real popular book have a few printed up in reserve for older books on demand that means that the writer can keep his work out there indefinitely no more one printing then the book disappears and the writer is screaming you stealing my work when readers find it wear they can. For ebooks drm is useless every time a company puts a new drm in place within days its been cracked. Find a universal format or offer multiple formats forget drm just sell a good product at a decent price and most people will buy it. Offer garbage or dont offer it at all and people will get it were they can just like music.

Howard that’s a very blatant self-contradiction.
First you say “In fact we could do with a few less, considering there is so much garbage out their posing as quality work.”
Then you say
“quality of writing, something I did not even comment on”
How is your first comment not a comment on quality of writing? The difference between ‘Quality of writing’ and ‘Quality of work’ is an exceedingly fine hair to split.

In any case it seems we are all in agreement that the current publishing model is due a shake up.
I contend that the option of using advertising into ebooks can benefit authors, publishers (more money, flexibility) and readers (can choose to pay less).

It would be interesting to ask the leaders of the print publishing industry: “Why haven’t we seen more advertising between the covers of paper books?”

Here is one possible answer …
The effects of advertising on children are harmful. So harmful that the American Psychological Association (and the American Academy of Pediatricians, and other groups) developed a task force to determine how to protect children from advertising.

Some of the consequences of exposure to too much advertising include depression, obesity (children are influenced by ads for junk foods), obsession with material things, and narcissism.

I would never allow an advertisement to placed inside my ebooks;
I will never buy or read an ebook that contains an advertisement.

One could cite thousands of articles (and dozens of books) on this theme; here are a few:

Pressures of Consumerism Make Children Depressed
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article3434233.ece

14-year-old Boy Beaten to Death for His iPod
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1270860/Broken-Britain-Boy-14-beaten-brink-death-iPod.html

10-Year-OId Girl Killed For Her iPd
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,406141,00.html

Childhood Affluenza
http://www.10news.com/money/4237509/detail.html

Children the latest victims of consumerism

(video, 95% in English language: keep viewing)

Consumer Culture
http://www.whomindsthechild.org/consumerism.html

and from this website:

Advertising and marketing directed at children is out of control.

The continued exploitation of children is delivered through an ever-expanding network of digital media, television, Internet, movies, magazines, computers and billboards. It will become impossible to resist for young developing minds that will not learn how to think or question — just consume.

Publishing and ePublishing is not about profit only; it is about enriching our culture with essential and enlightening ideas.

Michael Pastore
50 Benefits of Ebooks

Hi Alex – It’s good that we agree on many things 🙂 though your own interests are clearly more inside the industry than consumer based. I don’t believe for a moment that advertising will result in lower prices, only higher margins. Look for example at the cost of advertising-branded T-shirts… people are still paying full price, even higher than full price, for them. People should be getting these t-shirts for a dollar or free if they are to walk around in shirts with huge “SONY” logos or “Nike”. But it doesn’t happen.

On your first point. I was originally challenging your desire that the number of writers increase. You responded with comments about quality. This is all. No worries …