Latitude

Contributing editor: Ian Schulte

This is part 1 of  The Opportunity Space on digital content. Part 2, coming soon, will focus on digital web content.

1. Digital Public Library (or, “Netflix” for the Kindle)

   (If this already exists, we haven’t heard about it. But it sounds so good, we can’t believe it wouldn’t.)

   Most of the e-reader hullabaloo thus far, if justified, has dealt with lending content that one has already purchased, as to a friend (see our #2 for more on this)–not borrowing it for himself.

   But as we move more towards a new sharing economy where actually owning things becomes superfluous in light of continuous, unhindered access to desired items (Netflix, Zipcar, Bag Borrow or Steal)–why own content at all?

   Movies have Netflix, music has Rhapsody, and digital books have… an opportunity space?

2. Temporary “Lending Licenses”

   This notion isn’t a new one. Microsoft’s Zune (“Welcome to the Social”) devices allow users to listen to music and to “spontaneously share” full-length tracks; recipients can listen up to 3 times over the course of 3 days.

   “You bought it. You own it. And you can’t share it.”

   One of the loudest complaints about the Kindle has been the inability to share purchased content with friends.

   Better emulating the “physical” attributes of digital information “objects,” wherever possible, has struck a positive chord with patrons of Kindle competitors–for one, Barnes & Nobles’ new Nook eBook reader, which gets a part of the way there.

   Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of the Nook is that it allows consumers to share their e-books with friends [...]. Customers will be allowed to share an individual e-book with one person at a time for up to 14 days.

   After that, they will not be allowed to share that book again, though, so it is not an exact mirror of the physical book world.

   “Live Blog: Barnes & Noble Unveils E-Reader,” New York Times Bits Blog

   Physical books are “rival,” so it seems natural to give up access to my book while my friend is using it–and for her to be able to “possess” it for as long as she needs. Unlike the model for B&N’s Nook, the traditional (“physical”) notions of sharing that I expect and adhere to would allow me to lend an eBook to many different friends over time, one friend at a time.

   The digital medium should make the sharing process more fluid, not restrict access–we needn’t wait to borrow books or trouble ourselves to physically return them when digital “transmission” of content (or permissions) is instantaneous.

   And, ideally, we might still share specific passages, dog-eared pages, and margin notes with a friend to whom we’ve lent a book.

3. Partnerships: Device Manufacturers + Content Providers

   Again, transposing wisdom from other media realms, Nokia’s XpressMusic phones tied subscription-based music downloads to device purchases/service contracts.

   B&N’s Nook currently allows users to receive their magazine subscriptions on the device–but we’ve yet to observe anyone transform this into a viable business opportunity yet.

   When I purchase a device, perhaps someone should offer that, if desired, I can also receive a year of my favorite Condé Nast magazine on it, or opt-in to receive the Wall Street Journal’s digital subscription service?

Header image courtesy of whyisjake’s flickr, (cc) some rights reserved; oversized quote courtesy of Michael Critz, “Can I Borrow That?”