I bought version 2 of the Kindle when it first came out in early 2009. I loved it. At the time I called it my favorite electronic device. It increased the joy of reading for me immensely. I could read anytime. I could have all my books at my fingertips. I never lost my place. The device was aesthetically pleasing in its anonymous white and chrome and it so light that I could easily hold it for long periods in one hand (btw, something not true of the larger Kindle DX). But most important, I found it easier to lose myself in the narrative than with a paper book. Because the physical form of the book was gone and standardized, I could entirely focus on the content. I would be happy to never buy another book again. But I began to realize that some books didn't work on the Kindle. Certainly works that are pure narrative is perfect. These books are written without thought to their containers, to their form. These are "Formless Content" books, as articulated by Craig Mod in his must-read piece on the future of books,
Books in the Age of the iPad. But what Craig Mod calls "Definite Content" books, books that are designed so their layout and design elements--pictures, charts etc.--are an integral part of the book, don't work with devices like the Kindle. They need either the current paper form of the book or can be adapted to the new form that is the opportunity represented by the iPad.
I'm hopeful that the iPad or devices like it can allow me to keep both my formless and definite content out in the cloud. But what about the rest of life? Once we've freed ourselves of the need to maintain physical ownership of books, what else can we free ourselves from? What else do we not need to physically possess? Here are a few examples:
1. Cars. Certainly within an urban environment, you don't need to own a car. But a car is still an object that we covet, much like some of us covet physical books. The "Kindle of cars" seems to be Zipcar, the company that provides when you want it cars to its members. But cars are such an integral part of the identify of so many people, just like rare, beautiful books are for some and clothes are for others that Zipcar-like services can only go so far.
2. Food. Community Supported Agriculture farms (CSA's), like Zipcar, allows you to experience farming without the physical ownership of land. The farmers do most of the work but your membership provides them a guaranteed income and you get to engage in both the community of farming and the edible results.
3. Office space. Like Zipcar, co-working spaces allow you to get away from owning your office and instead give you flexible, as you need it work and meeting space. Certainly this works for knowledge workers. But even for businesses that require physical equipment, there are some shared services, such as commercial kitchens that rent space and equipment to small-scale food producers.
4. Vacation properties. Funded by some of the same investors as Zipcar, Exclusive Resorts is a high end example of shared vacation ownership in which people own a share of the company that makes available hundreds of properties around the world for vacations.
5. Housing. Co-housing communities have spread across the country. Sort of a mashup of a commune and a condo, it allows members to own their own houses but participate in the larger community and its resources (such as community meeting spaces and kitchens) as much or as little as they want.
What other analogs to Kindles and iPads are out there in the physical world? And what still needs to be owned and personally, physically retained? Clothing for the most part. One's own personal electronic devices, to some extent. Spouses? Maybe not but I'm not going there!
