It's a book…it's a computer…No, it's Amazon's Kindle.
Media theorist Marshall McLuhan coined the term "the medium is the message," indicating that the delivery mechanism for information often effects the way the message is perceived—sometimes to the point where the medium dominates the information and becomes the information itself.
This is still a radical idea, and one that has been interpreted a lot of different ways. It has many important elements to it, especially if you are a writer like me, who must use different media to move information. Writing for print, for example, is different than writing online. Writers must present the information differently because the medium interferes with the message.
Within various print mechanisms, you have a similar problem. Writing for a newspaper is different than writing for a magazine, which is different than writing a book.
So unbeknownst to me, and probably the other McLuhan mavens, a completely new medium has appeared and established itself. I believe it has a profound "the medium is the message" effect.
It's called the Kindle.
I don't think anyone noticed that the Kindle is not just a different way of reading books or other publications. Rather, it is a completely new medium that psychologically changes the way we read.
I noticed this when I sat down with my son's Kindle and began reading P.G. Wodehouse. I could never read P.G. Wodehouse in book form. It was impossible and I am not sure why, but on the Kindle, it's a fantastic read. The guy is hilarious.
Then, I began to find that people who had never been big readers are suddenly enjoying books, but only on the Kindle. Something is up here.
We already see the emergence of 170-page Kindle novels as best sellers. Over the years, the length of what is considered a full novel in print form has increased from 60,000 words to at least 100,000. The Kindle likes the novella length and is very amenable to short stories. Short stories have been dead money for decades.
I should have suspected that something was up with the Kindle when the iPad did not kill the Kindle, as numerous pundits predicted. Sales went up.
In fact, the Kindle is a new medium. I can't say that I know how to write specifically for it and how that would be different, but some books, like those by Wodehouse in particular, seem to have a natural affinity for the thing. I expect this to trigger a reading revolution. Furthermore, I expect this revolution to be credited with all sorts of things, but not to the fact that the Kindle is a completely new medium.
The Kindle is not an iPad, not a computer, and not really a book. When you get a book, it has heft and pages and you know what you are in for as you begin to read it. It can be daunting. The Kindle is one page that is refreshed to another page. That's it. There is no physical reminder that you have a long way to go to finish the book. It eliminates all sorts of psychological aversions from the reading process.
I would also assume there will be variable kinds of comprehension, too. It's got to be different than print and audio books.
Take note, because I predict this formidable device will lead to a renaissance in reading and literacy.
You can Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter @therealdvorak.
More John C. Dvorak:
• Recognizing a New Medium: the Kindle
• The Worst Thing Ever: Retina Display
• Survey: What's Your Operating System Match?
• Will Windows 8 Kill Anything?
• The New Bing is Indeed Great
• more
Go off-topic with John C. Dvorak.
