A presentation about my research into the concept of ebook enhancement.

2. Ebook enhancement
Kosie Eloff
Department of Information Science (UP)

4. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
A small, thin, flexible lap computer
encased in a sturdy plastic cover with the
words "Don't Panic" inscribed on it in
large, friendly letters.
— Adams (1979)

10. What is ebook
enhancement?

11. LITERATURE: “ENHANCED EBOOK”

12. Literature review
1. Formal
- CS/IS journals (ACM, Springer, Sage…)
2. Trade
- Advertised as “enhanced ebooks”
- Commercialized research
- Industry articles / reviews

13. 1. Formal

19. 2. Trade

23. Augmented Reality Book

24. “Magic elixir publishers are injecting into
ebooks in hopes they will entice people to
pay higher prices”
“Little more than marketing attempts”
(Krozser, 2010)

25. “*Hardly] anyone will buy interactive
multimedia books, just as they didn’t in the
1990s.”
(Cramer, 2011)

27. So…what is a book?

28. Noam Chomsky
Concrete:
The book weighs five pounds.
Abstract:
He wrote the book in his head, but then
forgot about it.

29. And … what is an ebook?

30. Oxford Dictionary
An electronic version of a printed book
which can be read on a computer or a
specifically designed handheld device.

31. Oxford Dictionary
An electronic version of a printed book
which can be read on a computer or a
specifically designed handheld device.

32. “McGuire’s Model”
An ebook is a discrete, internally
complete collection of information
that is transmitted to readers.

33. What is enhancement?

34. Keywords
To (heighten, increase, improve, intensify) the
(value, quality, desirability, attractiveness, amou
nt, strength, extent) of something.

35. Ebook enhancement
Improving the value, quality and extent of
an ebook.
However…

36. “*Hardly] anyone will buy interactive
multimedia books, just as they didn’t in the
1990s.”
(Cramer, 2011)

38. Especially : to increase or improve in value

39. Ebook enhancement:
improving the interactivity of an
ebook.

40. Digital Book World

41. Possible enhancements
1. Collapsible table of contents
2. Hidden searchable text
3. Internal linking
4. External linking
5. Audio
6. Video
(Digital Book World, 2012)

43. Possible enhancements
1. Collapsible table of contents
2. Hidden searchable text
3. Internal linking
4. External linking
5. Audio
6. Video
(Digital Book World, 2012)

45. Possible enhancements
1. Collapsible table of contents
2. Hidden searchable text
3. Internal linking
4. External linking
5. Audio
6. Video
(Digital Book World, 2012)

47. Possible enhancements
1. Collapsible table of contents
2. Hidden searchable text
3. Internal linking
4. External linking
5. Audio
6. Video
(Digital Book World, 2012)

50. Possible enhancements
1. Collapsible table of contents
2. Hidden searchable text
3. Internal linking
4. External linking
5. Audio (narration, music, sound effects)
6. Video
(Digital Book World, 2012)

51. Enhancement or necessity?
1. Collapsible table of contents
2. Hidden searchable text
3. Internal linking
4. External linking
5. Audio
6. Video
7. Annotations
8. Bookmarks
9. …

52. 1. Collapsible table of contents
2. Hidden searchable text
3. Internal linking
4. External linking
5. Audio
6. Video
7. Annotations
8. Bookmarks
9. …
Interactivity…?
(Digital Book World, 2012)

53. Interactivity
Of, relating to, or being a two-way electronic
communication system that involves a user's
orders or responses.

54. Ebook enhancement:
improving the interactivity* of an ebook.
* exchange of information; communication of information

55. Questions ?
@kosieeloff

57. PRINCIPAL FORMATS:
PDF, KINDLE, EPUB

58. KINDLE CREATION TOOLS
To create one of Amazon’s Kindle formats (.mobi, .kf8)

60. EPUB CREATION TOOLS
For instance, InDesign supports EPUB export

61. Epub creation tools
• Adobe InDesign
• Calibre
• iBooks Author
• oXygen XML Editor
• Pages
• Sigil
• Word (manual labour required…)

62. APPS VS. EBOOKS
(APPLICATION - A TYPE OF ENHANCED EBOOK)

63. Enhanced ebooks vs. apps
- Easier to develop
- Less expensive
- Interoperability ✓
- Limited features
- Requires expertise
- More expensive
- Interoperability ×
- Feature-rich

64. .epub might become
the .doc of the WWW

65. More questions ?

66. Workshop: HTML

68. @kosieeloff

70. My web/print/ebook

71. Bibliography
Bonura, L. (2010). eBooks vs. Apps: The Pros, Cons and Possibilities -
Webinar Notes. [Online]. Larry Bonura's Blog. Available:
<http://lbonura.wordpress.com/2010/07/29/ebooks-vs-apps-the-pros-
cons-and-possibilities-webinar-notes>. [Accessed 25 January 2012].
Bush, V. (1945). As We May Think. [Online]. The Atlantic. Available:
<http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-
think/3881>. [Accessed 25 January 2012]

72. Bibliography
Connaway, L., Wicht, H. (2007). What Happened to the E-book
Revolution? The Journal of Electronic Publishing. [Online] Available:
<http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-
idx?c=jep;view=text;rgn=main;idno=3336451.0010.302>. [Accessed 10
January 2012 ]
Chomsky, N. (2000). New horizons in the study of language and mind.
Cambridge: CUP. 19-45.

73. Bibliography
Digital Book World. (2010). The Enhanced Ebook University. [Online]
Available: <http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2010/enhanced-ebook-
university-e2bu>. [Accessed 12 January 2012].
Krozser, K. (2010). What are enhanced ebooks?. [Online]. Booksquare.
Available: <http://booksquare.com/what-are-enhanced-
ebooks>. [Accessed 18 December 2011].
Lynch, C. (2001). The battle to define the future of the book in the
digital world. [Online]. First Monday, 6(6). Available:
<http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/vi
ew/864/773>

74. Bibliography
McGuire, H. (2011). The beauty of web-first workflows. In: O'Reilly
Media, Books in Browsers Conference. New York, 13-15 February 2012.
[Online]. Available: <http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/11/web-first-
workflows-publishers.html>
Wilson, S. (2011). Do “enhanced” eBooks really enhance the reading
experience. [Online]. Tech Blorg. Available:
<http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2011/07/23/do-enhanced-
ebooks-really-enhance-the-reading-experience>. [Accessed 19 January
2012].