To me means technology bringing people with similar interests together, such as the popular social network facebook, or make life a little easier with new innovations that have the potential to transform someone's life. I'm naturally a skeptical person, so I took a look at some articles about connecting through facebook and e-books to see if I could be swayed to what possibilities (or downfalls) this has with the literary world.
   
     The Best Damn Creative Blog recently posted an article that surprised and discouraged me about facebook status' becoming a source of reading material. The percentages presented were astounding. Why would comments suffice as reading? Or better yet, what 15% of parent would find this suitable? Who is teaching "39% of children" that "the information that [they] find online is always correct"?! It's also saddening to think that 33% children would be more engaged in reading if they had an electronic device like an e-book (which I'll get to later). Children and adults for that matter shouldn't rely on technology to make reading more interesting. I believe a story should be able to stand on its own merit without having to partner with e-books just to get a little more recognition. Parents should encourage their children to explore the world of literature instead of the world web. I also think that facebook will only teach children incorrect ways to form sentences and spell. And oh how I hate text lingo.

     The urbanmusewriter took a different approach to facebook and the literary world with her article "5 Ways Facebook can Boost Your Freelance Biz" This article presents some interesting ideas on how writers can use Facebook to their advantage such as promoting articles, searching for possible publication sources, or just easing the isolation that hermit crab writers feel during the day.

     But there's another circulating technological topic that has the publishing community and writers sweating and that is e-books. On the best damn creative writing blog, Chelsea Yarbo discussed her view of e-books and how she believes "it's just the tip of the iceburg." Overall, Yarbo thinks it's difficult to tell what the publishing world and books themselves will be like in the next 20 years or so, but that print books will still have a home but bookstores and libraries may have to adapt to the new changes with downloadable content.

     Fiction Writers Review also addressed the future of the book and argued that alternative book forms offer a new way to tell a story and offer readers "something beyond pure novelty." Like Yarbo, this article believes that the innovation of print books may offer a new experience for readers.

    Personally, I don't know how I feel about e-books since I have never used one. But it seems to disassociate the bond between a print book and a reader. An e-book is a piece of technology, therefore it can malfunction whereas with a book the only way one would not be able to read it is if the pages got a bit smudged from water (guilty). Also, I don't think an e-book would have the same sentimentality as a book. Think about it. Books have a scent, graphics, a weight to them that lets you know when you're oh so close to the end. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but a real book engages the senses and the mind more than something you can just download on a thin, plastic device. Either way, the future of books is changing and this is something readers can accept with open arms, or cling to their shelves of books like I do.