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Portigal Consulting: Reading Ahead Research Findings
- 5. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 5Reading Ahead Research Findings
Executive Summary
1. Books are more than just pages with words and pictures; they are imbued
with personal history, future aspirations, and signifiers of identity
2. The unabridged reading experience includes crucial events that take place
before and after the elemental moments of eyes-looking-at-words
3. Digital reading privileges access to content while neglecting other essential
aspects of this complete reading experience
4. There are opportunities to enhance digital reading by replicating, referencing,
and replacing social (and other) aspects of traditional book reading
- 11. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 11Reading Ahead Research Findings
Project Overview
• Objective: Explore the evolution of reading and books and
develop product, service, and business opportunities
• Recruited 6 active readers (3 books, 3 Kindle) in the San
Francisco Bay Area
• Photo-diaries: self-documentation of reading and
environments
• In-depth contextual interviews (with participatory design
component)
• Synthesis into findings, recommendations, and
opportunities (this document!)
• Ongoing: dialog with different audiences
- 12. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 12Reading Ahead Research Findings
Lead User Sampling
• Our sample is not representative of the general
population
– Fewer than half of Americans regularly read
literature (NEA, 2004)
– How many read as avidly as our sample?
– 400,000 Kindles sold (TechCrunch estimate)
• This isn’t a statistically valid quantitative study; it’s a
contextual exploration to uncover the issues, which
lead users are especially articulate about
• Market sizing question: what is the shape of the
general population?
0
many
0
many
Disinterested Enthusiast
Disinterested Enthusiast
- 15. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 15Reading Ahead Research Findings
Tracy
• Tracy is a stay-at-home mom and
part-time massage therapist, and is
going back to school in the fall to get
an MA in Occupational Therapy
• Reading is a big part of her family’s
life. She reads every night with her two
sons (including a two-hour Harry
Potter session the night before), and
told us she does different voices for
each character in the stories
• In addition to a regular set of reading
rituals with the kids, Tracy reads on
her own, which she describes as “My
way of getting completely unplugged”
- 16. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 16Reading Ahead Research Findings
Erica
• Erica is 28 and lives by herself in an
apartment in San Francisco
• She described growing up without a lot
of money but in a house where there
were “walls of bookshelves”
• She had been planning to open a
cookbook store, until the recent
economic slump. She’s working now
as an office manager at a software
startup and regrouping
• Erica talked about buying certain
books just because she likes them as
objects: “I love books. I almost like
books more than reading.”
- 17. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 17Reading Ahead Research Findings
Peter
• Peter works in web production and
lives in Vallejo. When describing
himself, he says, "I like gadgets”
• Peter’s had his Kindle for a couple of
years. He says when he first got it (as
a gift from his partner), it “got him”
buying books right away, and he used
it almost exclusively for around a year.
Now he’s back to reading print books
again
• The biggest frustration for Peter is that
he can’t share Kindle books
- 18. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 18Reading Ahead Research Findings
Chris
• Chris is a software engineer in his
early thirties. He lives in an apartment
in Mountain View with his wife and
their small dog. They moved here a
couple of months ago, after returning
from an extended stay in Europe
• When they left the US for Europe, the
couple got rid of many of their
possessions, including their books
• Now that they’ve settled in again,
Chris says he’s still trying to keep from
accumulating too much stuff, and has
been buying fewer books and using
the library more
- 19. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 19Reading Ahead Research Findings
Jeff
• Jeff is a former architect who works in
interaction design for a large Silicon
Valley company
• Jeff is extremely busy, and he likes the
ease and efficiency of the book-buying
experience the Kindle supports
• Jeff uses his Kindle for not only for
personal reading but for work as well,
and sometimes publishes documents
he needs to review to the Kindle. He
and his team have also experimented
with using the Kindle as a platform for
delivering presentations
• He calls the Kindle “One of my favorite
devices”
- 20. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 20Reading Ahead Research Findings
Julie
• Julie and her housemate have an
amazing library in their San Leandro
home, with three walls of alphabetized
floor-to-ceiling bookshelves
• With the bookshelves and quiet
ambiance of the space, being in this
part of their home feels just like being
a library
• While some of the people we met
described the Kindle as less-than-
satisfying compared to a printed book,
Julie has a long history of reading on
electronic devices, and finds the
Kindle a big step forward
• For Julie, reading a book and reading
on the Kindle are both equally positive
experiences
- 22. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 22Reading Ahead Research Findings
Artifacts and behavior
• Although we can conceive of reading and books as separate (verb and noun),
they are tightly coupled
• There is almost no way to talk about them separately: asking a participant a
question about reading quickly leads to a discussion of books, and vice versa
BooksReading
- 24. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 24Reading Ahead Research Findings
People grow up with reading and books
• They are an important part of many
people’s memories and formative
experiences
• Reading is often a life-long,
multigenerational activity
Tracy keeps books from her childhood on her
shelves and shares them with her children
- 25. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 25Reading Ahead Research Findings
Why read?
• People have many motivations for reading
– Sometimes it is a medium
of escape
– Sometimes it’s a way to better
understand yourself
– It can be entertaining
– It can be educational
– It can be a way to pass the time
– Erica: “I’ll read anything.”
Tracy: “Reading is my ‘crack.’
It’s my way of unplugging.”
- 30. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 30Reading Ahead Research Findings
Interstitial
• Takes place on public transit, in waiting
rooms, and during a homemaker’s day
• Books requiring less focus are better
for short bursts and frequent stopping
and starting
• Some books, such as romance novels,
are written specifically for this type of
use
- 37. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 37Reading Ahead Research Findings
Book sharing
• People talk about what they’re reading,
make recommendations, etc., as well
as actually sharing books
• The medium for acquiring a particular
book (print or digital) might be
determined by whether or not it is
going to be shared
• Printed books are easily shared
while Kindle books are not
Peter returned to printed books because he
couldn’t share Kindle books with his coworkers
- 38. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 38Reading Ahead Research Findings
Family reading
• Reading together is a bonding
activity, and provides
entertainment and education
• Tracy and her sons read together
every day. When she reads aloud
to them, she performs different
voices for each character
• As the kids get older, family
reading rituals evolve to include
new ways of sharing the experience
Tracy reading with her son
- 39. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 39Reading Ahead Research Findings
Public places
• Libraries and bookstores are
public places with social functions
• Erica has strong memories from
visiting libraries as a child with her
mother
• For Tracy, weekly library visits
have led to new relationships with
library staff
• Julie: “I love bookstores. That’s
always our, ‘Oh, we have to kill
an hour before the movie’”
Family browsing in a bookstore
- 41. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 41Reading Ahead Research Findings
Outer and inner selves
• A person’s choice of reading and
relationship to books are ways of
communicating identity to others
• People also use what they read
to explore and evolve who they are
Erica’s way of organizing her bookshelf says a
lot about how she sees herself (and wants
others to see her)
- 42. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 42Reading Ahead Research Findings
Books are a medium for expressing values
• Books carry messages about group
membership and values
• Jeff: “There’s a lot of who you are
sort of floating in the choices that
you make”
Tracy’s older son is reading about weaponry.
She’s not happy about this topic, but values his freed
choose his own interests.
- 45. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 45Reading Ahead Research Findings
Books are sensory
• Distinct sensory qualities—texture, weight,
etc.—vary between books, making each
interaction a unique experience
• Jeff: “I used to love the smell of books—
it’s a really weird thing to say, but…there’s
probably some aspect from my childhood”
- 46. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 46Reading Ahead Research Findings
Reading (books) is kinesthetic
• Reading is typically a relatively quiet activity, but with an
important kinesthetic element
• Several people described the significance
of turning pages
– A relaxing gesture
– An innate part of taking in information and moving forward
– Erica: “Even just the act of physically turning the
page and interacting with it…helps me decompress”
- 48. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 48Reading Ahead Research Findings
There are many ways to use a book
Focused
reading
Non-
reading Book interactions
Focused on content,
experience of reading,
or both
• Purposefully seeking
specific information
• “Auditioning” a book
• Comparing information
on non-sequential pages
• Using a book for
reference
Books can be
• Decorative objects
• Objects of
inspiration
• Markers of identity
• Signaling intention
They
can serve these
functions without
being read
- 49. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 49Reading Ahead Research Findings
Books are significant objects
• The physicality of books gives them
unique attributes
– Erica: “In a way, I almost love books
more than reading”
• There are elements of craftsmanship
– Binding
– Typography
– Pictures and illustrations
– Quality of paper, printing, etc.
• They can be objects of art
– Signed copies
– Galley proofs
– Antiquarian books
Erica displays books on her wall
- 50. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 50Reading Ahead Research Findings
Books carry memories
• Marks of age and use (i.e., annotations)
record personal experience
– A favorite “dog-eared” paperback
– An inscribed book given as a gift
– A book from a previous time in
one’s life
This book on Thanksgiving has been in Tracy’s
family for several generations
- 51. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 51Reading Ahead Research Findings
Books are objects of ritual
• Books become props in personal and public rituals
Weekly library visits and living room reading
sessions are family rituals for Tracy and her sons
On Bloomsday in Dublin, fans of James
Joyce relive the events of his novel, Ulysses
- 53. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 53Reading Ahead Research Findings
Books are casual and simple
• They are durable and relatively inexpensive
• Each book is a separate object
• They can be left around the house, tried out with minimal investment, and given
away or traded
Books intermingle with food in Erica’s
kitchen cabinetsTracy’s current bathroom books
- 54. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 54Reading Ahead Research Findings
Books enable unplugging
• For some people books are a refuge:
a way to unplug and get away from
the ubiquity of computers, screens,
and digital information
• In contrast to the scanning and
multi-tasking typical of computer
use, books afford a slower, more
focused experience
• Erica: “I have a very hard time
reading…sustaining it without
doing something else. It’s a
problem I recognize and have
been trying to break. I could be
sitting on the couch and feel this
need to check my email”
Erica’s bedside table
- 56. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 56Reading Ahead Research Findings
How Kindle affects reading
New behaviors
• Kindle introduces the idea of
carrying around a “library”
– Never run out of content
– “Real books” vs. “Kindles”
– “Publish” to the Kindle
Old behaviors
• Kindle supports solitary reading
(with different sensory and
kinesthetic aspects from
print reading)
Old behaviors not enabled?
• Kindle does not easily support sharing
• Not the medium of choice for those who
are not “digital natives”
- 57. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 57Reading Ahead Research Findings
Kindle vs. printed books
• For those who have been using PDAs
or an iPhone for reading, the
Kindle is an improvement
• Julie sees reading a printed book
and reading on the Kindle as
“the same experience”
• Jeff: “If I have a book that I really
like, it has exactly the exact same
experience—I just get lost in the
content—but I’ve always been like
that”
Julie relaxes on the couch with her Kindle
- 58. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 58Reading Ahead Research Findings
Digital devices don’t afford unplugging
• For readers like Tracy and Erica, who
use reading to unplug/disconnect,
digital reading devices like the Kindle
may signify computer, not book
• Computers, with their speed
and hyper-connectedness,
are in opposition to the
desired reading experience
• Erica: “Computer lifestyle has
seeped into my world so deep
that my attention span is the
attention span of a gnat”
Tracy unplugs with some bedtime reading
- 59. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 59Reading Ahead Research Findings
Kindle challenges existing navigation behaviors
• It is difficult to go between non-
sequential pages on the Kindle,
or to go directly to a desired spot
(unless one has thought ahead
and bookmarked it)
• Books easily enable flipping back
and forth, comparing non-sequential
pages, using several books at
once, etc.
• Chris: “It’s a lot easier for me to,
actually, to read (a book), and I
think that’s maybe because I do
jump around a little bit ”
Chris prefers the flexible navigation
with books
- 60. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 60Reading Ahead Research Findings
Kindle provides a different sensory experience
• The Kindle works very well on a functional
level, but some of the more nuanced aspects
of the reading experience are not carried over
• Pressing a button (on the Kindle) is
different from turning the pages of a
printed book
• Peter: “Even though the text on
this Kindle is great…it’s easy on
the eyes, there’s a difference…when
you’re reading paper—the whiteness
of the paper, the black text—there’s
something about that you just can’t
capture”
- 61. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 61Reading Ahead Research Findings
Easy content acquisition is key
• One of the standout features of the Kindle
is the ability to instantly get more content
• Jeff: “It’s super-addic…super easy to
order stuff, and so by reducing the
barrier to purchase, I buy all kinds of
stuff…
…I was listening to NPR, and
Michael Pollan was on and they
mentioned his book…I was at a
stoplight, I bought the book before
the light turned green…”
- 62. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 62Reading Ahead Research Findings
Social aspects of reading are not well-supported
• People purchase differently if they are
planning on sharing
• Julie: “If it’s an author we both like,
then I’ll buy the regular book. So we
both have access to the book”
• Peter: “I came to this job where
there were a bunch of people
passing books around and I realized
I had nothing to contribute…
…and I realized, oh, this is so much
fun, to read a book and then pass it
back and talk about it with other
people. I think that’s part of the
experience”
- 64. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 64Reading Ahead Research Findings
The Gold Standard
• As new technologies emerge, people are willing to give up certain things in
exchange for convenience, price, or to meet a social standard
• The previous technology may still be seen as “the best” – the Gold Standard –
but people’s everyday behaviors reflect the new option
– LPs are better than CDs (or MP3s) for gazing at the cover art
– CDs have more accurate reproduction than MP3s
– Yet, industry experts predict sales of digital music files will equal CD sales by the end
of 2010
• Will it be the same for books?
– Bookstores are best for an exploratory, immersive browsing experience, yet online
shopping has hurt both chain and independent brick-and-mortar book retail
– Will the convenience of carrying 100 books on our digital reader ameliorate the loss
of the sensory pleasures of paper?
– As people grow up with digital books, will people adapt more naturally to the
differences from printed books, and make choices accordingly?
- 65. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 65Reading Ahead Research Findings
Guiding the transition
• Companies can help consumers make a transition to digital by seeking ways to
mitigate what might be lost, offering increased benefits, and helping to make
new behaviors attractive and pleasurable
Apple emphasized tangible benefits (capacity) and emotional benefits (the inner listening
experience)
- 66. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 66Reading Ahead Research Findings
The digital reading experience
• Digital readers let people carry far more reading material than physically
possible with printed books
• Readers can effortlessly acquire new content anytime and almost anywhere
• Currently not providing readers with as rich a total experience as books
- 67. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 67Reading Ahead Research Findings
Different platforms provide different experiences
Post-readingPre-reading Reading
• Awareness
• Anticipation
• Personal history
• Pick book up
and hold
• Waiting to acquire
• Tactile variety
• Turning pages
• Flipping around
• Annotating
• Bookmarking
• Recommend
• Share
• Lend
• Trade
• Discuss
• Awareness
• Instant acquisition
• Recommend
• Discuss
• Tactile uniformity
• Button press
• Electronic notes
& bookmarks
- 68. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 68Reading Ahead Research Findings
Books and digital can coexist
• Both the book reading and the digital reader experience have a place in our
lives
Jeff: I don’t think this thing (Kindle)
replaces my paper books, and I’ll
certainly still, if I’m at a bookstore
and I see a really beautiful book…
I’ll buy it”
- 70. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 70Reading Ahead Research Findings
Has the book been fully explored?
Book designers have used dozens
of techniques to support
navigation or other aspects of the
experience, yet most books do not
make use of those techniques
• Chris: “There’s a lot more that can be
done with this format. I don’t think it
has to go to computers for these
authors to be more creative. They
could take what’s good about books
already…”
Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern
experiments with new approaches to
typography, layout, binding in each issue
- 74. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 74Reading Ahead Research Findings
Put the book back into the device
• Design the digital reading device
with more of the tactile and interactive
aspects of books
While only a conceptual piece and
not an a realistic solution, this
Kindle case offers the touch and
gesture of a hardcover book
- 75. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 75Reading Ahead Research Findings
Give the device its own distinct gesture
• A new gesture (and language that lets people
teach each other about it) helps create acceptance
Texting is immediately recognizable
without seeing the person’s face
or the screen
Gellin’ became a catchphrase to
describe a new behavior layered
on top of the old behavior of
wearing shoes
- 78. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 78Reading Ahead Research Findings
• Peer-to-peer sharing brings social interaction
to device usage and encourages product sales
• Communities build
acceptance for new
products and
behaviors
Bring people together
Zune Social is “an online music community powered by what
you and your friends are listening to”
Apple’s rumored peer-to-peer app sharing leverages
the offline behavior of people comparing iPhones
- 89. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 89Reading Ahead Research Findings
• eBay has created/spawned a
network of products and services
that have made it a powerful player
and grown the auction category
• There are many different ways to engage
with the eBay ecosystem and they serve
as a hub for that extended community
The eBay ecosystem
PayPal solves a specific eBay
problem (how to safely send
and receive money to pay for
online auctions) and becomes a
separate solution to many other
problems around moving money
eBay doesn’t certify third parties that sell on your
behalf, but they make that information available on
their site.
Consignment stores further
expand the ecosystem
- 92. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 92Reading Ahead Research Findings
For Future Work
• Study other “users” in the system
– Authors, publishers, retailers
– Educators
• Explore other issues
– Ownership of digital content
• Consider more platforms and formats
– iPhone, netbook, Google Books, digital library books
• Storyboard/prototype current ideas and conduct further contextual research
- 94. http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead©2009 Portigal Consulting 94Reading Ahead Research Findings
More Portigal Consulting?
We can work with
your team to
explore the specific
implications this
work has for your
business
We can work with your
organization to help you
discover and act on
new
insights across other
categories or customer
segments