A few months ago, I gave a brief talk about all the incredible tech tools and communities that have sprouted up in the past few years (or weeks or months) that help readers read more, writers write more, storytellers tell more, book lovers love books more, and give those without access to books a chance to read them so they can learn more.
I'll be kicking off a new blog series in August that will look closely at one of these tools/apps/communities -- the good, the bad, what's working, what's not -- each week.
We talk a lot about how technology has been a challenge for bookstores, publishers and readers, but I'd like to celebrate all that tech is allowing us to do when it comes to reading, writing and sharing our love of the written word.
Some of the tools/sites/communities that were in my brief talk include:
- Online Reading Communities: Goodreads, BookGlutton, Byliner, Shelfari
- Short on Time?: Storyville, Five Chapters, Electric Lit, DailyLit
- Tell Your Story: Broadcastr, Figment, Red Lemonade, BookCountry
There have been new entrants to the game on all levels in the past few months so this is just the limited first blush of all that the new series will cover. As many readers know, I'm also obsessed with the idea of social reading as it relates to geolocation. Anyone who has attended any kind of bookish party with me in the past two years has certainly heard my impassioned cries about it being vital and it being possible. Short of launching my own start-up to address this (never say never), I'll be testing out some tools that are not traditionally viewed as reading-related but that I think could be kick-ass in furthering my vision of social reading via check-in.
I look forward to an ongoing dialogue about the intersection of technology as it relates to how we read, how we write and how we share the books we love. I hope you'll join me.
