This is similar to the approach I've taken with Post Book, a method for book publishing which integrates the content with Facebook or another social network. Our first and pretty basic example, Hero Worship, came out four months ago for the iPad.
Posts appear in the context of the book, either in a side panel or within the book itself. Only posts by the book's author or the content's curator, or that are "liked" by the author or curator, or that are by your friends, can show up within the book itself. By default, the posts get sorted in that order -- with the advantage that posts that aren't by you, or by someone you know, or that were liked by the author, don't normally appear. So the random idiot saying, "Hey, everybody!" simply doesn't show up.
The most recent post by the book's curator appears on the splash page, when you first open the book. In the next release, the most liked comment by one of your friends appears next to it. Do you care what some lady from the New Mexico Sun Times said about a book, or what was said by someone whose opinion you've already calibrated?
Leveraging the reader's location also makes it easy for reading groups to spontaneously come together. Five other people in Austin are reading this book this week? Create a Facebook event. Let's meet up at Spider House and talk about it this Sunday! The author's reading at a book store near me next week. I'm totally going. Tomorrow night, my class' guest lecturer will be answering questions about the book live, through the app. A reminder comes up on my phone to open the app in time to hear what she has to say.
Before you even get to the point of categorizing the additions, comments, and marginalia, or surfing the book's content by category or other characteristics, there's a lot of value to be added for people willing to treat a book like a living thing. I think it'll be easier than not for us to take the design of the book this way.
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Post Book
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hero-worship/id415202751?mt=8
It was iPad App of the Week on Appolicious:
http://www.appolicious.com/articles/5012-hero-worship-tops-ipad-apps-of-the-week
Another, a full-color not-for-children children's book called "Where The Deep Ones Are" also gotten some attention.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/where-the-deep-ones-are-hd/id364981143?mt=8
Posts appear in the context of the book, either in a side panel or within the book itself. Only posts by the book's author or the content's curator, or that are "liked" by the author or curator, or that are by your friends, can show up within the book itself. By default, the posts get sorted in that order -- with the advantage that posts that aren't by you, or by someone you know, or that were liked by the author, don't normally appear. So the random idiot saying, "Hey, everybody!" simply doesn't show up.
The most recent post by the book's curator appears on the splash page, when you first open the book. In the next release, the most liked comment by one of your friends appears next to it. Do you care what some lady from the New Mexico Sun Times said about a book, or what was said by someone whose opinion you've already calibrated?
Leveraging the reader's location also makes it easy for reading groups to spontaneously come together. Five other people in Austin are reading this book this week? Create a Facebook event. Let's meet up at Spider House and talk about it this Sunday! The author's reading at a book store near me next week. I'm totally going. Tomorrow night, my class' guest lecturer will be answering questions about the book live, through the app. A reminder comes up on my phone to open the app in time to hear what she has to say.
Before you even get to the point of categorizing the additions, comments, and marginalia, or surfing the book's content by category or other characteristics, there's a lot of value to be added for people willing to treat a book like a living thing. I think it'll be easier than not for us to take the design of the book this way.
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by Derek Pearcy.
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