Harley Davidson

Newspapers and book publishers should convert to electronic publishing over paper publishing as their primary product.

Yes and No... Well, make that a maybe.

Depending on the publisher's target audience one could go either way. Any news worthy of a 'Headline' status can be found online if a person has access to a computer. Though, the fact that it's available in electronic form will not do away with the demand for the printed paper. Some people like to have that hard copy to sit down and read. Until very small and cheap gadgets are created that can emulate paper and give us an extremely portable digital solution to a hard copy, it is going to continue to be necessary to print. Logically, because there is a great demand for printed materials, a company would stand to lose a great deal of profits by discontinuing the printed versions. It's hardly comfortable to lie on a beach or curled up by a fireplace with your laptop reading the latest New York Times best seller. Imagine that same book on your blackberry...simply not comfortable. Loss of power, hit the wrong button by accident and one has lost their spot in the story.

On the other hand, if we were to focus on technical articles, educational materials, and professional publications, electronic media is a good choice. As often as these types of publication require versioning to remain up to date, it seems ridiculous to continue to print these forms of publications for the masses. Sure the law books look nice on the shelves and, certainly there was a time when it was impressive to see a wide assortment of technical books across your desk if you are a computer programmer but, who still uses them? With Google and a few key words you can one can identify specific information within seconds.

In conclusion, with the ease of access to information in our digital world growing along with the cost of printed materials rising, and the number of trees in our forests falling, it makes sense to want to shift towards electronic publishing as a primary source of media however; let's remember the scenario of curling up with a laptop to read a good novel.