Is Salacious Content Driving E-Book Sales? 215
narramissic writes "Having already abandoned ebooks once, Barnes & Noble is jumping back into ebooks with the purchase this week of ebook seller Fictionwise. Why is the format suddenly hot? Look no further than the top 10 Fictionwise bestsellers, says blogger Peter Smith. Once again it seems like 'porn is blazing a path to a new media format. Of the top 10 bestsellers under the 'Multiformat' category, nine are tagged 'erotica' and the last is 'dark fantasy.' Need more proof that folks (let's take a leap and call them women) who read 'bodice rippers' like the privacy of ebooks? Author Samantha Lucas (who writes for publishers like Cobblestone Press and Siren Publishing) tells Smith that she sells almost all of her novels in ebook format."
privacy of ebooks? (Score:3, Insightful)
I supposed it depends on how big a town you live in.
Is porn driving uptake of the web? (Score:5, Insightful)
People have evolved to be interested in sex. Those that aren't die out. So of course if the web provides a means to look at boobies, it's going to get more popular...and if an ebook reader allows you to read about people having sex, those who are interested might turn to it. It's a hell of a lot more discrete to use an ebook reader than have a sexually explicit book open. You don't have to hide it behind something else to avoid attracting attention or getting into trouble.
Re:Selective memory (Score:2, Insightful)
I think it's more along the lines of "if you build it, they will have sex on it". Porn doesn't drive innovation, it adapts to it.
Re:Selective memory (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm not sure that Blu-ray has won against, well nothing at this point. HD-DVD has been dead for a year and Blu-ray is still not taking off as a format.
Thats because porn is the one thing you don't want to see in hi-def.
Re:I just ask my daughter (Score:5, Insightful)
Like, why are you not totally rejecting this and not talking to her about her porn habits?
Maybe ... because she's twenty years old? As in, old enough (by a couple of years) to vote, get married, buy a house, or get pieces of herself blown off in Iraq -- but apparently not old enough to read about guys getting it on, at least in your book.
Or maybe he feels that his daughter is an independent, thinking human being and he doesn't get to tell her what to read.
Of course, maybe it's that she's twenty years old.
Possibly it's because he doesn't have the same visceral reaction to guy-guy porn that you do. Something tells me that if OP had mentioned that he had a son (particularly a grown son) who's into girl-girl porn, you wouldn't have a problem with it.
Also, did I mention that she's twenty years old?
Someone needs some serious help here, and you know, it's not OP or his daughter.
Re:privacy of ebooks? (Score:5, Insightful)
Why is everyone so excited about porn... (Score:5, Insightful)
... this is clearly a privacy issue, not a pornography issue. If it were common for me to read in public places, like at work on my lunch break, a e-book would be far better than a typical paperback. Why, because then no one could learn what I am reading unless I tell them.
I don't read anything to be embarrassed about, but I can imagine it is awkward for women into those trash romance novels to hold a lewd covered book when sitting across the aisle from their boss.
Or what about people reading the Bible, Koran, or other religious manuscript. I have seen the way people look at folks reading such material on subways.
E-Books are great for everyone concerned about others judging them by what they read. Hell, in some cities you can be judged by which news paper you read... god forbid your conservative boss sees you reading the New York Times. I know I would hate to have a perfectly good working relationship ruined because I think homosexuals should be allowed to marry and raise children.
I am all for personal privacy in all things personal. I am not a conspiracy theorist that thinks the government or big business is spying and gonna use information against me... but I don't want my reading material, music tastes, or social/political beliefs to be an issue with those I wouldn't readily discuss such things with. A good ebook reader and some head phones allow me to consume media privately, if for no other reason than that.
Re:Amazon does not bear this out (Score:3, Insightful)
And the New York Times intentionally leaves genres off its best-seller list, otherwise LOTR, the Bible, and various sci-fi novels would routinely top the list.
Hell, they created a children's best-seller list specifically because of Harry Potter.
Re:Dear Moderators (Score:2, Insightful)
Flamebait is flamebait, regardless of whether or not it is actually what you believe. What matters is what everyone else believes. Even if you were right, it would still be flamebait. That you posted anonymously just adds fuel for those who wish to flame you.
Next time, try to find support for your beliefs. (Non-flamebait posts have evidence if they disagree with the majority.) Maybe, when you don't find any support, you can post something else.
No, when it's what you actually believe it's discussion. When you post it for the sole purpose of pissing off or offending other people with no regard for whether you actually believe it or not, it's Flamebait. For example, I would not be the least bit surprised if most of the racist jokes I see on here are from people who are not actually racist but enjoy the strong reactions most others have to such highly offensive jokes.
I posted anonymously precisely because of responses like yours, to be very honest with you. You are capable of open acceptance, even of things you dislike or don't understand, but I am not getting that from you at all. Instead I am getting somebody pontificating to me about how I should express myself, as though that were for you to determine. Somebody who, I might add, complains that I posted anonymously while doing the same thing himself.
Also, I refuse to take on any additional burden of proof that someone who conforms to the majority would not be expected to deal with. That's because every human being is equal and popularity does not determine truth, so I reject the notion that some extra standard should apply to me because of the content of what I believe. One more thing, I don't need to "find any support" because I did what I set out to do, which was to express how I felt and to respect that other people are free to love it or hate it as they see fit. I would defend your right to do the same, in fact. It is only that you presume to tell me how I should express myself and what I should say and don't seem to see anything wrong with your actions that I object to, and rightfully so.
Also remember that talking about moderation is always off topic.
Just as soon as there is another way other than follow-up posts to critique the moderators, I'll use it. In the meanwhile, I accept that valuable discussion can occur where you least expect it, including those posts that you might be quick to dismiss. Therefore I think it's best to evaluate each on a case-by-case basis, which is after all why we have human moderators who are expected to use their judgment.
Re:Nothing New (Score:5, Insightful)
That's because porn doesn't have to be good in order to sell. It will sell on novelty alone, at least for a little while. So it is an ideal early adopter for new media.
Re:I just ask my daughter (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm wondering why the people who responded to you assumed that the Anonymous Coward was male. Wanna bet she was talking about her daughter? Mothers and daughters discuss subjects that males, especially males related to each other, practically never discuss, unless roaring drunk.
But aside from that, I think all of your respondents deserve a big *woooosh*. That sounded like sarcasm to me.
Re:Dear Moderators (Score:3, Insightful)
Sounds like the post is just factually true.
Except that what it is implying is that the 'glass ceiling' is imaginary, that gender-based discrimination does not exist. Even in our 'enlightened' society, where the role of women has been significantly balanced, it remains ignorant to say that women only get worse pay because they do not work such long hours. In addition, the number of women who do work long hours and do not spend excessive time on childcare is certainly not insignificant, nor (as parent^4 seems to think) worth dismissing.
Also, it seems to me that women are mentioned here purely for comic effect, not because Amazon sees them as more apt to consume.
Re:Dear Moderators (Score:3, Insightful)
You got modded flame-bait because... well, you WERE flame-bait. The only time that women take off more than men is when they give birth. Other than that, they work at least the exact same hours. I say at least, because there's a lot of perception that women just aren't as good as men.... and to disprove that convincingly requires overtime.
Here's what I would suggest: talk to top-flight women. Women who are Director level and above. See what they say about their working hours, and how much time they take off for children. You'll find that a lot actually don't have children for precisely the reason that it would hamper their career.
Barnes and Noble bought Fictionwise?!? (Score:3, Insightful)
Oh, damn, I hope they don't kill the DRM-free side of the store.
Re:Dear Moderators (Score:5, Insightful)
"No one thinks women should be discriminated against but I do think that as a group that working women take more hours off than working men. Period."
If you don't count time off die to child birth, that discrepancy almost completely vanishes. If you also take into account that men generally make more money for the same work, the notion that women take more time off starts looking like a self fulfilling prophecy (ie. given the choice between a family losing $x when a woman takes the day off or losing $1.5x whena man takes the day off, the most rational choice is clearly for the woman to take the day off), not to mention that there is a cultural norm that mothers are expected to take time off to deal with children (meaning that schools are more likely to call mothers in an emergency than fathers, and that employers are far more likely to permit time off to deal with children for mothers than fathers). Even assuming that your statement of "fact" really is, there are some very clear factors making it far more likely than the alternative which, frankly, have almost nothing to do with the quality or quantity of work done by women and everything to do with social norms and economic conditions.
"So that means they work less hours. Less on the production side. Also as a group women make more of the buying decisions in a family than the men do. More on the consuming side."
I doubt this very much. I work in retail, and while I certainly see women buying more items, I also men buying more expensive items... VASTLY more expensive.
"Sounds like the post is just factually true."
No, it sounds like the post is stating a common and highly controversial assumption that is factually ambiguous but reinforces what many people already believe subconsciously and is possibly a major factor in making or keeping it true. It is rationalization for sexism, not a valid explanation in its own right.
Re:Why is everyone so excited about porn... (Score:5, Insightful)
While I agree with this in principal I can't help but feel there may be a deeper cultural issue at work regarding "privacy".
This may be slightly off topic, but since we are talking about porn, which is fairly cultural, here goes:
I know that I have picked up a book or two because some stranger was reading it on the train or in a cafe. Sometimes I have conversations with strangers on the street due to something that happens or a weird coincidence. These instances are one way that culture can spread, move people, and create a community.
We seem to be heading into an era where people are very cut off from others. Ear buds in our ears, reading our Kindle, oblivious to anything in the outside world. Just our little bubble. One could even go so far as to say "it helps block out meaningful thought by keeping many of us entertained 24/7.
While I think your privacy concern is valid (I had a situation arise years ago where I am fairly certain i was fired due to the fact that I am a Buddhist, while my employer was very Christian) I sometimes wonder if the very things which we profess to keep us safe are in fact making our own worlds smaller and even conceited. While we see mountains of data and electronic communication that profess to enhance and enlarge our experience, is it at the cost of true involvement in day to day life? Maybe it's just the shifting of culture to a digitally defined reality. Either way it oftens feels cold and detached. This comes across more and more in personal interaction (IMHO) which seems like cause for concern.
To be a bit dramatic: Is it really privacy we desire, or is technology slowly giving us what some want: Emotional and social laziness?
Also, is there a time and place for porn? Should we be reading it while our boss is sitting across from us? If it's ok to do that, it seems like it could usher in a different day-to-day mindset if people are less obliged to pay attention to their business meeting than their hootie-hoo (or whatever you call it).
Re:alt.stories.erotica (Score:4, Insightful)
Honestly, now that I have the technology to get all the pictures and video I want, I don't much care for text anymore.
Poppycock (Score:3, Insightful)
Ages ago I was reading one of the hitchhikers books, just released, in the train. Was completly lost in the book to the point that the conductor apparently had to call me several times and eventually touch my shoulder to get my attention. Much to the amusement of my fellow travelers.
After showing my ticket, the passenger across from me asked what I had been reading, I told him and turns out he had read the previous books as well but had not heard about the new one yet. We talked a little about the series (learned that there is a LP version as well that is different from the radio broadcast) and then parted ways as we arrived at the station.
This was before MP3's and kindles and what not. People have always been able to loose themselves in their own world and we survived just fine. Stop being an alarmist.