The digital world has changed the way we read in so many ways, but perhaps the most profound is our instantaneous access to supportive services that augment the reading experience. Our entire life is footnoted and annotated, and the Web provides quick access to reams of data that have the potential to enrich our reading experience or distract the hell out of us. And with the introduction of multi-purpose reading devices like the iPad the boundary between data and the reading experience will become even thinner. So the challenge is this...in a society where information moves quicker than we can grasp how will we adapt to this thinner boundary between content and supportive information? For example, I am reading an old favorite The Count of Monte Christo in the traditional format. As publishers evolve the reading experience, my current footnotes on the various histories of France, which I can barely grasp or care to, will turn into multidimensional voyages, giving me an opportunity to become an expert on important things like Elba. So an item I once may have glossed over in the past now has the capability of consuming my interest.
We're at a crossroads. When technology first launched it was all about quantity, how much information can you absorb how many friends/fans do you have, how many blogs do you subscribe to etc. We are now approaching the point of enrichment. How do you make my experience better, how do I get more out of the information that you're giving me, who are the quality friends/fans. It's the murmuring of a retaliation against the information onslaught. The question is are we ready for more quality? Or are we satisfied with chewing the information cud like we have been?
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