3 ms·

We find it very fascinating that people either love Hiptype or are profoundly disturbed. What we're doing is not different than what occurs on the websites and

We find it very fascinating that people either love Hiptype or are profoundly disturbed. What we're doing is not different than what occurs on the websites and mobile apps you already use, so the difference is one of culture. What I'm most curious about is the extent to which these cultural norms will shift as it becomes more common for books to contain analytics like ours.

tseabrooks 14y ago
Preface: I hadn't considered technical books and all comments are about stories, both fiction and non fiction. As someone who has grown up on the internet for the last two decades there is something decidedly different between a website, a blog, and a mobile app when compared to a book. It's something ephemeral I can't put my finger on. There is magic in books. From a child's earliest days books provide a window to other worlds and realities. Some of these worlds show us glimpses of greatness and happiness others show us the darkest depths of human sadness and despair. We are given characters to love and hate along side characters to use as reflections of ourselves. In all of this there is a certain magic to books. They provide judgement free escapes for the outcasts and loners; Later in life they provide the community for those very same outcasts and loners to come together. I realize I sound naive and possibly unrealistic. Also, I acknowledge that this community in particular tends towards efficiency and has a tenuous relationship with the humanities. However, all that aside, this feels like it cheapens the reading experience. I hope this doesn't become the norm for authors telling stories. While perhaps a bit more hyperbolic than necessary this all feels akin to A/B testing The Sistine Chapel. Let's not go around letting MBAs and Middle Managers fuck with art.

3 ms·

We find it very fascinating that people either love Hiptype or are profoundly disturbed. What we're doing is not different than what occurs on the websites and

by jameslevy 14y ago

tseabrooks 14y ago
Preface: I hadn't considered technical books and all comments are about stories, both fiction and non fiction. As someone who has grown up on the internet for the last two decades there is something decidedly different between a website, a blog, and a mobile app when compared to a book. It's something ephemeral I can't put my finger on. There is magic in books. From a child's earliest days books provide a window to other worlds and realities. Some of these worlds show us glimpses of greatness and happiness others show us the darkest depths of human sadness and despair. We are given characters to love and hate along side characters to use as reflections of ourselves. In all of this there is a certain magic to books. They provide judgement free escapes for the outcasts and loners; Later in life they provide the community for those very same outcasts and loners to come together. I realize I sound naive and possibly unrealistic. Also, I acknowledge that this community in particular tends towards efficiency and has a tenuous relationship with the humanities. However, all that aside, this feels like it cheapens the reading experience. I hope this doesn't become the norm for authors telling stories. While perhaps a bit more hyperbolic than necessary this all feels akin to A/B testing The Sistine Chapel. Let's not go around letting MBAs and Middle Managers fuck with art.