MEGO: My Eyes Glaze Over

Changing the Book Buying Experience

Sep 22, 2007 Books, Social Media

I used to choose books based on a close friend’s recommendation, occasionally a best seller list, or more often through browsing the book shelves at a bookshop. I began thinking about how this has process has changed for me after reading a blog post The Indigo Experience:

“Why is it so hard to find a book?In order to do so you need five pieces of info:

1 – Name of the Book
2 – Author of the Book
3 – Bookstore that has the book
4 – Section in the Bookstore
5 – Knowledge of the sorting mechanism on the shelf “

I realize now, I very rarely “browse” a book store any more, in fact I rarely enter a book store unless I know exactly what I want, and that, that particular location has the book. I used to work at a bookstore, actually – I worked at the book store that Jeff Hiltz writes about in his post. I can recall the crowded front entrance where Indigo attempts to fit every bestseller, every award winning, and every current event book they have.

I worked in book stores before Amazon. This was before there was an easier way to find the perfect book. Bookstores are easy if you know what you want (and they have it). But, if you don’t know exactly what you want – be prepared to browse for awhile. Books are usually only placed in one physical space, when of course too often they could fall into multiple categories. A historical romance novel for example could fall into Romance, Historical or Fiction. Where do you start?

New technology has made finding a book easier. As John Hagel notes on his blog Edge Perspectives:

Converged networks systematically eliminate shelf space constraints, making it easier for customers to access a broader range of products and providers on a global scale. (As an aside, these converged networks paradoxically generate much greater diversity and fragmentation of markets into the myriad niches that populate the Long Tail). These converged networks also provide customers with much greater information about product/service offerings and vendors, including the ability of customers to connect with each other and compare their experiences with products and vendors.

Online a book can have as many categories as necessary. You don’t need to know what you want to read in order to find it. You can look up books you previously enjoyed, and find books that are in the same categories. You can look up Business, then Economics, then Natural Resources – delving deeper into more specific categories. If you find a novel that looks interesting, you can see what other customers bought that are similar. When it is so easy to browse online…why would I go to a bookstore to browse. A bigger selection with an easier way to find what you want- online book shopping is the way I do it now. If I do head to the bookstore, I find what I want online and then make the journey.

Even where I get recommendations has also changed. While I still occasionally hear about books from friends, but increasingly I find them online through Amazon reviews and Lists or through my Facebook Friends on the Visual Bookshelf.

The way I find and buy books has changed due to technology. I wonder what other processes have? What has changed for you?

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