Google: Advertising supported books?
I have reported and analyzed Google’s targeting of the outdoor advertising and digital signage markets, based on a patent application filed by Google (see “Google vs. Cisco?” and “Google targets $7 billion outdoor ad market”).
I often present, at this Digital Markets Blog, Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s designs on every advertising medium in every sector in every country. I also discuss how Google proudly underscores it “has chosen to ignore conventional wisdom in designing its business.”
What about the book business?
Google has let it be known that its mission to “organize the world’s information” includes Google “organizing” all books in all languages (see"Google vs. Microsoft: Do you want Google to be your ‘librarian’?").
Jens Redmer, director of Google Book Search in Europe, as cited by “The Times":BUT, who decides how, or IF in Google's case, book publishers, and authors, are compensated once the readers “decide how books are read”?We are working on a platform that will let publishers give readers full access to a book online…You may just want to rent a travel guide for the holiday or buy a chapter of a book. Ultimately, it will be the readers who decide how books are read.
WILL Google take the YouTube content promo pitch route and put forth statistics claiming free access to book content drives book sales (see “Google’s fuzzy YouTube logic?”)? OR
WILL Google take the content enhanced by AdSense route and put forth studies claiming Google AdWords pitches are as relevant and useful to readers as books themselves (see Google dependency is risky business?”)? ORWILL Google NOT ignore conventional wisdom and simply sell books the “old-fashioned” online way, similar to the Google Video model? UNLIKELY; Google spent $1.65 billion on a better video “broadcast yourself” model (see “Why Google wants YouTube independent”).
FUTURE GOOGLE BOOKS: Would you like your New York Times bestseller enhanced by AdSense?
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