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Scribd Challenges Amazon and Apple With ‘Netflix for Books’

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Re: Scribd Challenges Amazon and Apple With ‘Netflix for Books’

#21

Post by freehunter »

philwebster wrote: post #3

It would be great if public libraries offered this service (or one like it) to their patrons. My local library offers Overdrive Media Console [1], but the selection always seems to be lacking and the apps are subpar. An electronic rental service with books that people actually want to read would be killer and could save libraries money. My library system has cut back on inter-library requests because of shrinking fun…

My library co-op uses the same system, and while they do have books I want to read, they're often out of stock of the ebook. That irritates me enough to not borrow ebooks from them.

Re: Scribd Challenges Amazon and Apple With ‘Netflix for Books’

#22

Post by wil421 »

iamben wrote: post #4

Whilst I'm pretty sure I'd use this or something like it, it's kinda sad the traditional libraries I used so much (and for free) when I was younger can't keep up with the pace of convenience. I often wonder how long it'll be before the smaller towns (sadly) lose them completely. That said, good luck to them :-)

What happens to all the information we have converted to digital form if a worldwide disaster occurred?

Think like a nuclear war and the resulting EMP wipes out most of the US/EU/Asia electronics.

Think even a massive solar flare that fries the majority of the electronic equipment.

Re: Scribd Challenges Amazon and Apple With ‘Netflix for Books’

#24

Post by panzagl »

drharris wrote: post #14
judk wrote: post #11

Interesting that publishers would play ball with scribd, whose business model features selling access to pirated documents.

They just turned those former pirates into a revenue stream. It's a good business move. Either spend tons of money litigating pirates to just have them go somewhere else, or at least make some money off of the inevitable.

Yeah, but these pirates put their own DRM on everything and generally get in your way as much as any publisher paywall. This is more like hiring Hell's Angels to provide event security.

Re: Scribd Challenges Amazon and Apple With ‘Netflix for Books’

#25

Post by RandallBrown »

ernesth wrote: post #10

After 24symbols, youboox, publie.net, izneo, oyster (and probably lots I do not recall), we have a new contender as the netflix/spotify for books? What makes scribd better or more challenging to amazon?

of all the companies you listed, Scribd is the only one I've heard of.

Re: Scribd Challenges Amazon and Apple With ‘Netflix for Books’

#26

Post by conanbatt »

tucaz wrote: post #15

I just signed up for it but it doesn't look very good to me. Not sure what's wrong. http://i.imgur.com/6wMjmeI.png Edit: tried the mobile app and it looks great there

Hey Tucaz. Is this problem persistent for you? Does it happen even after refresh?

If so, dont hesitate to contact me personally at gabriel (at) scribd.com and I will look into this issue.

Re: Scribd Challenges Amazon and Apple With ‘Netflix for Books’

#27

Post by GotNothing »

$8.99 is too high for this to be worth while for most readers, IMO. I'm a pretty regular reader and I'm lucky to get through 1 and half books a month. Most books I buy are under this price (around $5)... I can sample from Amazon before I buy, so I don't see the benefit here unless you're a power reader and most people are not.

Re: Scribd Challenges Amazon and Apple With ‘Netflix for Books’

#28

Post by jonnathanson »

GotNothing wrote: post #27

$8.99 is too high for this to be worth while for most readers, IMO. I'm a pretty regular reader and I'm lucky to get through 1 and half books a month. Most books I buy are under this price (around $5)... I can sample from Amazon before I buy, so I don't see the benefit here unless you're a power reader and most people are not.

1.5 books a month is probably higher than the national average, but you'd be surprised how voracious a lot of readers are. I probably read 2 books a week, and I'm by no means a power reader by the standards of those who really are. I know quite a few people who regularly plow through 5 a week. Especially fiction readers and readers of "snackable" nonfiction (Jon Krakauer, Malcolm Gladwell, Michael Lewis, etc.).

Power readers are probably a small niche, but they're also a profitable niche. Younger readers (13-16), especially female, tend to consume YA novels like we consume HN posts. Vast fortunes have been made catering to that segment.

Re: Scribd Challenges Amazon and Apple With ‘Netflix for Books’

#29

Post by tucaz »

conanbatt wrote: post #26
tucaz wrote: post #15

I just signed up for it but it doesn't look very good to me. Not sure what's wrong. http://i.imgur.com/6wMjmeI.png Edit: tried the mobile app and it looks great there

Hey Tucaz. Is this problem persistent for you? Does it happen even after refresh? If so, dont hesitate to contact me personally at gabriel (at) scribd.com and I will look into this issue.

I'm at work behind a lousy internet connection and a proxy so maybe that's why. I'm going to try at home and see what's happen.

Anyway, not too much of a good first impression for non techies.

Re: Scribd Challenges Amazon and Apple With ‘Netflix for Books’

#30

Post by microtherion »

yalogin wrote: post #16

Finally Scribd found a business model. I never understood what their value proposition was.

Yes, to me they always looked like a strictly value subtracting service in terms of functionality, making the documents they host less convenient to read than they were in their original form.
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