It's a Revolution...

I found myself saying that yesterday to a coworker. What is happening in publishing today is nothing short of a revolution. We, as consumers, are witnessing the introduction of the new Gutenberg's press. 

I know, I just got ahead of you, so let me explain. When I was an undergraduate I was forced to buy large expensive text books. Here's a good example Chemistry: Matter and Its Changes. This book weighs six pounds, would take up space in my backpack, and I'd have to lug it across my three mile campus on a regular basis. Yes, I realize this was a first world problem, but it was annoying none the less. Now, students can download the text book onto an e-reader. 

Let's ponder the implications of this, shall we? The above mentioned book weighs six pounds. That may not seem like a lot to you or I, to a student Ghana it is a millstone around the neck of a drowning man. Six pounds means that the book costs roughly $335 to ship. So, the cost of the text book is $184 + shipping of $335=  $519. The gross annual wage for an average Ghanain is $689. See the problem? Okay, now lets factor these costs using a Kindle. The cost of a Kindle is $114. Cost to ship to Ghana is $211.00. Price: $325. The average Kindle can hold up to 3500 books. For half the price it cost to ship one Chemistry text book it's possible to ship an entire library. The best part? Older Kindle models are dropping in price, and as Amazon comes out with new versions people are going to want to upgrade. Meaning, as the technology advances the older versions of the Kindle are going to become much less expensive. If the price today is $325 to ship one, imagine what the price will be in October when Amazon announces the newest version? 

Now you see why I call this a revolution on par with the Gutenberg press. The advent of e-readers, iPads, and laptops are going to create a newly educated class of people in the most unlikely of places. We are standing at the starting line of this. It will happen faster than thought possible. As Hunter S. Thompson once said, "Buy the ticket. Take the ride." 

Indeed. 

(Image of a Gutenberg Bible)