Latest charts are out, thank you ppl. at Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, and they say that 21 percent of the US read digital, a third of them do it mobile – here are some more highly interesting facts to hold on to while Germany still lacks the enthusiasm. 

All them lovely devices are radically changing the habits and expectations of readers and users all over the world and the so-called-hype finally turns into a SWOTable business case.

To be exact: almost every 2nd American adult says that they have either read an entire book or periodic content (magazines, journals, features) in the past year on a computer or a mobile device such as cellphones, e-readers, tablets. And it is getting better: 28 percent of Americans own at least one special device other than a cellphone for e-reading, either a tablet or an e-reader. And they are reading more than ever. While pbooker confessed to have read only an average of 15 books, the ebookers claim the top with an average of 24 titles -

Publishers have reason to be thrilled by these findings and there is more to find: while audiobook-listeners are more likely to lend their content, e-book readers rather buy them (so far there are no convincing subscription models) and don’t share (which is not an act of selfishness but a reaction on legitimations that come with hard DRM preventing them from using an item on more than 3 devices.)

Further in December 2011 approximately 72 percent of American adults pretended they read a book last year, compared with 17 percent who said they read an e-book. The latest  canvas only 3 month later shows 21 percent.

In the past two years the total number of daily users doubled up twice!

And as expected readers who use both preferred e-books for selective consulting reading, when they needed information asap and on the run: commuters and people on holidays are likely to take a device with them. And for all those who do not own a smartphone, the U.S. nonprofit literacy agency, Worldreader, just launched a beta version of an app for feature phones, about 70 percent of the mobile phones sold worldwide. At first hand this shall bring free e-books to poor countries esp. in Africa, but it will also help distribute paid content to a much wider audience.
From survey specialist Malcom Jones we know, “that people answer surveys about reading the same way they answer surveys about sex—that is, they lie.” According to the report 50 percent say they read daily or almost every day – I doubt that. What I do not doubt is the fact that the number of people who said they’d “read no books” (or didn’t know or refused to answer) in the last year jumped from 12 percent in 1978 to 22 percent in 2011.

Less people are reading
but those who read, read more.

The eVolution has only just begun and we’re witnessing a transformation of forms, possibilities, finally habits. We’re learning, that our expectations and assumptions on readers are just a projection of our own publishers perspectives: the reader becomes the user more and more who is interested in experience, convenience and content. Let’s all together open our ears and let this final fact sink in: Only 2 percent of people asked in that survey mentioned the physical aspects of a pbook as a primary pleasure: yes they smell nice and feel good, no, this does not overweight the advantages of the ebook in the long run. The latest German survey among publishers says, they got the hint: while

in 2011 a fifth, 22 percent, of German publishers announced not to publish ebooks in the next two years. This number decreased to 14 percent in 2012

As you can tell, we at PaperC appreciate those efforts a lot and will try and help our publishers to perform as good as possible in the challenging process.

For further information send me an email to katja.splichal@paperc.de and have a lovely day.