Video books: A new way to bring long-form content to your audience
I try to read books. I really do. But for the past couple years, I've really struggled to get through nearly every book I've picked up. I might get through the first few chapters, but somehow I put them down and never pick them up again. It's depressing.
With tongue embedded firmly in cheek, I blame Google for my reading woes. Here's a cover story from The Atlantic entitled "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" Whether it's correct or not -- and there's been much debate about that -- the premise that the Internet has changed the way our brains function is an interesting one. Ever since I read this article last summer, I've conveniently had a scapegoat for that huge stack of unfinished books sitting in my home.
So when I saw this Washington Post article about how Jeff Jarvis and HarperCollins are launching what they're calling the "video book" (or as Amazon is calling it, a "V-Book"). It's a 23 minute video for sale for $10. It's basically a video synopsis of his book. He's not trying to cover the entire book here -- just summarize it and hit the key points. That's what makes this format quite different from the audiobook, where you have a full or abridged version of a book that you listen to on CD, tape, or in a digital format like Audible or Playaway.
I think the price point is interesting. Some people may not want to pay $10 for a 23 minute video book when they can buy the full book on Amazon for $18. But for those who are busy and know they won't get through the full book, it might be a good deal. And with the CD version of Jarvis' book going for $30 and the Audible version priced at $28, the $10 video book really seems like a bargain.
Could this be the future of books? Are books going to be reduced to 20-minute sound bites (or in this case, video bites)? If Google has really made us stupid as that article from The Atlantic hypothesizes, and given the success of online video in the past couple years, video books might have some legs.
I'm sure book marketers -- and other producers of long-form content -- will be watching closely and experimenting with similar formats soon.
With tongue embedded firmly in cheek, I blame Google for my reading woes. Here's a cover story from The Atlantic entitled "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" Whether it's correct or not -- and there's been much debate about that -- the premise that the Internet has changed the way our brains function is an interesting one. Ever since I read this article last summer, I've conveniently had a scapegoat for that huge stack of unfinished books sitting in my home.
So when I saw this Washington Post article about how Jeff Jarvis and HarperCollins are launching what they're calling the "video book" (or as Amazon is calling it, a "V-Book"). It's a 23 minute video for sale for $10. It's basically a video synopsis of his book. He's not trying to cover the entire book here -- just summarize it and hit the key points. That's what makes this format quite different from the audiobook, where you have a full or abridged version of a book that you listen to on CD, tape, or in a digital format like Audible or Playaway.
I think the price point is interesting. Some people may not want to pay $10 for a 23 minute video book when they can buy the full book on Amazon for $18. But for those who are busy and know they won't get through the full book, it might be a good deal. And with the CD version of Jarvis' book going for $30 and the Audible version priced at $28, the $10 video book really seems like a bargain.
Could this be the future of books? Are books going to be reduced to 20-minute sound bites (or in this case, video bites)? If Google has really made us stupid as that article from The Atlantic hypothesizes, and given the success of online video in the past couple years, video books might have some legs.
I'm sure book marketers -- and other producers of long-form content -- will be watching closely and experimenting with similar formats soon.
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