ChiefNode

If you build it, something will come .

At The Commonwealth's Club Should Books Be Free Online? event last Thursday evening, the "Google lawyer" essentially said that Google is building books.google.com now, and is planning that the business model (where Google makes money) will come. Just as the business model emerged for Google, they think that if they prove that they can meet people's information needs in a variety of ways, there will be ways to make money. It's nice to have the cash to make this kind of a bet. Brewster Kahle from the Internet Archive spoke about the OCA, and how they are trying to build systems where people can "bind" on demand, where Google seemed to focus more on directing people to booksellers & libraries -- as both acknowledge that reading online is not yet ideal. Let's get that digital paper here soon!

posted by Dana Bostrom @ 12:10