Kindle 2: A Rorschach Test for Technology and a Lesson for IT

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Note to anyone living in a cave: Amazon.com announced the next version of its Kindle, an electronic book reader, at a press conference in New York City yesterday. The media has had a field day with the announcement, offering commentary ranging from pithy comments (The Washington Post) to musings on the book industry (Business Week). A sample of articles includes:

• The Washington Post: "Amazon's Sequel to a Best-Selling Thriller"
• Business Week: "Amazon's Kindle 2: No iPod for Books"
• The New York Times: "Amazon.com’s New Kindle Is Lighter, Brighter and Chattier"
• Ars Technica: "Hands on with Kindle 2: what a difference a screen makes"
• The Wall Street Journal: "New Kindle Audio Feature Causes a Stir"

However, I think the most interesting part of the announcement is people's reaction to it, which can be sampled in the comments to The New York Times blog post. Some Apple aficionados, who've never used a Kindle, can't believe it could ever be as good as the iPhone; others bewail the fact that it may be replacing paper books (with their distinctive looks and smells); others love the new found freedom it has given them. A sampling:

Note that you can already read many e-books on your iPhone or iPod touch, using Stanza or a couple other readers. Smaller, multi-function, and way better looking.

geez, talk about gadget fetishism– don’t you people have anything more significant to get excited about?

As a contented Kindle user for over a year I am so amused by the tone of all the anti-Kindle comments. Hey, I enjoy real books as much as anyone, the fact that I own a Kindle doesn’t mean I have to stop rummaging through dusty bins of old books at used bookstores or enjoy the feel and smell of those books.The fact that I have hundreds of books on my Kindle doesn’t mean that my children can’t read the rest of the thousands of books that line the walls of my house. The fact that I use my Kindle every day doesn’t mean that the iphone is or isn’t the greatest electronic product ever marketed. The kindle isn’t a weapon in the culture wars, it’s just a great way to instantly buy books, store a lot of them in a small, convenient device, and read them comfortably. For many of us reading on the Kindle has stopped being so fraught– It’s just the way we do >some< of our reading.

Contrary to some of the negative posts here my Kindle experience has changed my life. I have a degenerative cornea disease and my reading capabilities had decreased to almost completely unable. After purchasing a Kindle last year my reading is once again as it has been all of my life. Actually even more!

I would argue that these comments are a mirror of the wide range of user reaction that IT now gets when it rolls out a new system. Unlike the 1980's and 1990's, when users were cowed by technology and told by IT they were lucky to even have a computer--"So stop complaining"--users now view technology as part of their everyday life and feel free to editorialize on what they like and don't like. Any IT department that doesn't think through how to evangelize a new system to such a wide range of people is making a big mistake.

Comments

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yeah.. honestly kindle is making it big, but
the iphone is more useful to other people imo

[NBA Jerseys]

In this article, when there are some interesting points, but I do notknow if all the people I see the center core. Has some validity, but I will take public opinion until I see further it. Good article, thanks andwe want more!