With the growth of digital developments few might think that this could affect the publishing industry negatively— many seek easier and cheaper ways to become authors. The social media today has made it easy for people whom are dreaming of becoming authors to make their dreams come true. Self-publishing, blogging, and even online tools for proofreading are attributes that social media offers. How trust-worthy they are, is a whole other question.
The digital developments have caused a great change in our society and some schools in the UK have interlaced tablets into the curriculum and are used for educational purpose (Dredge, S 2014). However, I believe that many children have become more addicted to playing games on tablets, computer etc, than actually with each other in a playground, and books being a way of passing time seem no longer necessary. When I was in preschool, I always found myself in the library looking for a new book to read and visiting a weekly book-bus was a part of my teacher’s plan. Nowadays children would rather pick up a smartphone or a tablet if they are bored (Mance, 2014). The younger generations are finding these new distractions more appealing than books (ibid), so how are publishers using that to their advantage? Well, new creations also come with new opportunities and publishers are using this to create new innovative ways to tell stories such as Gamification and Interactive Storytelling.
Tablets are becoming more and more popular for children to use in school as well as leisurely. Interlacing two hobbies: gaming and playing, might boost children’s reading habits as they are more inclined to choose a tablet over a book. Interactive stories allow the best of both worlds by letting the users alter the outcome of the story, and watch it reveal itself on the screen. This new innovative element might create an incentive to the new generations to start reading. After all, to create a habit of reading one must engage readers at a young age (Mance, 2014).
Many developers are collaborating with publishers to further expand their market: Skyreader Media, a leading developer for children’s content interactive stories (Skyreader Media, 2014), has worked with Rubicon Press; Night and Day Studios, another developer whom specialises in children’s content, has worked with publishers such as HarperCollins and Penguin (Habash, 2012). Many of these apps, and other similar ones, are available on Apple Store, Google Play and even Amazon too, but they also have a collection of their own interactive story-apps.
It is evident that interactive stories are aimed, foremost, towards children, with a few exceptions, but not in the same amount. However, I would think that many teenagers, or young adults, would find it rather fun to be a part of creating a story and choosing your own ending depending on how you bond with the different characters. In a competitive market, something like this would perhaps help publishers to gain an advantage. If they were to start to include teenagers and young adults it might result in gaining more audience. I think that many readers (all ages) would agree that they would have liked to alter a book’s ending. After all, we have all, at least once, been disappointed by an ending of a book.
Word count: 547
Bibliography:
Bates, J. (1992) The Oz Project [Online]. Available at: http://studioforcreativeinquiry.org/projects/the-oz-project (Accessed: 10 October).
Cocozza, P (2013). Are iPads and tablets bad for young children? The Guardian [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jan/08/are-tablet-computers-bad-young-children (Accessed: 13 October 2014).
Dredge, S (2014). Tablets in schools: coding, creativity and the importance of the teachers. The Guardian [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/27/tablets-schools-coding-kids-education-ipad (Accessed: 13 October 2014)
Habash, G (2012). There’s an App Developer for That. Publishers Weekly [Online]. Available at: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/Apps/article/50405-there-s-an-app-developer-for-that.html (Accessed: 13 October 2014).
Leonard, D (2013). The iPad Goes to School. Businesseek [Online]. Available at: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-24/the-ipad-goes-to-school-the-rise-of-educational-tablets (Accessed: 10 October 2014).
Mance, H. (2014) How to get British kids reading [Online]. Available at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/0e82701c-b50c-11e3-a746-00144feabdc0.html#axzz33Z9wNhfj (Accessed: 10 October).
Reid, C. (2012). Skyreader Media Launches Self-publishing Interactive Authoring Tool. Publishers Weekly [Online]. Available at: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/Apps/article/54766-skyreader-media-launches-self-publishing-interactive-authoring-tool.html (Accessed: 10 October 2014).
Robots Rule Books (2014) Robots Rule! [Online]. Available at: http://www.robotsrulebooks.com/index.php (Accessed: 10 October).
Skyreader Media (2014) skyreader.ca [Online]. Available at: http://skyreader.ca/ (Accessed: 10 October 2014)
The digital developments have caused a great change in our society and some schools in the UK have interlaced tablets into the curriculum and are used for educational purpose (Dredge, S 2014). However, I believe that many children have become more addicted to playing games on tablets, computer etc, than actually with each other in a playground, and books being a way of passing time seem no longer necessary. When I was in preschool, I always found myself in the library looking for a new book to read and visiting a weekly book-bus was a part of my teacher’s plan. Nowadays children would rather pick up a smartphone or a tablet if they are bored (Mance, 2014). The younger generations are finding these new distractions more appealing than books (ibid), so how are publishers using that to their advantage? Well, new creations also come with new opportunities and publishers are using this to create new innovative ways to tell stories such as Gamification and Interactive Storytelling.
Tablets are becoming more and more popular for children to use in school as well as leisurely. Interlacing two hobbies: gaming and playing, might boost children’s reading habits as they are more inclined to choose a tablet over a book. Interactive stories allow the best of both worlds by letting the users alter the outcome of the story, and watch it reveal itself on the screen. This new innovative element might create an incentive to the new generations to start reading. After all, to create a habit of reading one must engage readers at a young age (Mance, 2014).
Many developers are collaborating with publishers to further expand their market: Skyreader Media, a leading developer for children’s content interactive stories (Skyreader Media, 2014), has worked with Rubicon Press; Night and Day Studios, another developer whom specialises in children’s content, has worked with publishers such as HarperCollins and Penguin (Habash, 2012). Many of these apps, and other similar ones, are available on Apple Store, Google Play and even Amazon too, but they also have a collection of their own interactive story-apps.
It is evident that interactive stories are aimed, foremost, towards children, with a few exceptions, but not in the same amount. However, I would think that many teenagers, or young adults, would find it rather fun to be a part of creating a story and choosing your own ending depending on how you bond with the different characters. In a competitive market, something like this would perhaps help publishers to gain an advantage. If they were to start to include teenagers and young adults it might result in gaining more audience. I think that many readers (all ages) would agree that they would have liked to alter a book’s ending. After all, we have all, at least once, been disappointed by an ending of a book.
Word count: 547
Bibliography:
Bates, J. (1992) The Oz Project [Online]. Available at: http://studioforcreativeinquiry.org/projects/the-oz-project (Accessed: 10 October).
Cocozza, P (2013). Are iPads and tablets bad for young children? The Guardian [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jan/08/are-tablet-computers-bad-young-children (Accessed: 13 October 2014).
Dredge, S (2014). Tablets in schools: coding, creativity and the importance of the teachers. The Guardian [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/27/tablets-schools-coding-kids-education-ipad (Accessed: 13 October 2014)
Habash, G (2012). There’s an App Developer for That. Publishers Weekly [Online]. Available at: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/Apps/article/50405-there-s-an-app-developer-for-that.html (Accessed: 13 October 2014).
Leonard, D (2013). The iPad Goes to School. Businesseek [Online]. Available at: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-24/the-ipad-goes-to-school-the-rise-of-educational-tablets (Accessed: 10 October 2014).
Mance, H. (2014) How to get British kids reading [Online]. Available at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/0e82701c-b50c-11e3-a746-00144feabdc0.html#axzz33Z9wNhfj (Accessed: 10 October).
Reid, C. (2012). Skyreader Media Launches Self-publishing Interactive Authoring Tool. Publishers Weekly [Online]. Available at: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/Apps/article/54766-skyreader-media-launches-self-publishing-interactive-authoring-tool.html (Accessed: 10 October 2014).
Robots Rule Books (2014) Robots Rule! [Online]. Available at: http://www.robotsrulebooks.com/index.php (Accessed: 10 October).
Skyreader Media (2014) skyreader.ca [Online]. Available at: http://skyreader.ca/ (Accessed: 10 October 2014)