Joe Konrath is running an experiment concerning ebook piracy. Read “Steal This Ebook” on his blog.
I first heard of Joe Konrath from Mike Masnick’s article on Techdirt. Konrath has written extensively about dealing with ebook piracy here, here and here. Now he’s putting his livelihood on the line.
Not having had a chance yet to read any of his books, I can’t yet recommend them. But I like his attitude and moxy. I purchased the Amazon Kindle edition for my iPhone and downloaded the zip file as well. When you buy a book on Amazon, you’re really only renting it for as long as Amazon doesn’t erase it and continues to support the platform. So I appreciate the zip file.
A $1.99 rented book is cheaper than a rented iTunes movie of which I often partake for those long sleepless red-eye flights. A good book is always better than a mediocre movie.
I wonder if the Netflix model would work with ebooks.