Each storybook package includes both a digital and print component––the digital being a highly illustrated App for iOS devices to coincide with each theme, and the print component being a playwright for children/students to interact and play with (Munro, 2014). The design and aesthetic in itself is simple, original, and easy to use; however, more importantly, is the initiative K.I.W.I has created either with intention or unbeknownst to their product, in how the combination of both digital and analogue in this way exhibits how developing media literacies are the future of publishing. Vicki Cobb (2014) from Publishing Perspectives labels the storybooks ‘the versatile hybrid of art, sound, technology, and language’ of which ‘is the portal to a children’s own imaginative play and learning.’ The K.I.W.I. Storybooks iOS App correlating with each theme feature scavenger hunts, interactive sounds, language learning, jigsaw puzzles, and even the ability to record a short film. These are initiated through barcodes on the storyboards themselves, of which are then scanned electronically through the App (Munro, 2014). The playwright on the other hand, features a 4-person skit and 2-act play for 17 characters. Munro (2014) explains this as the ‘explore & learn’ component––transforming illustrations into content and content into education. These interactive worlds have the potential to reshape curriculum in schools, story hour in children’s bookshops, and even the children’s corner in libraries. Nonetheless, these life-size storybooks furthermore encourage media education as it is the culture enveloping the younger generations (Buckingham, 2007). Publishing of this sort can be interpreted as ‘Transmedia storytelling’, meaning an integration of many different platforms to create a experience around the narrative (Jenkins, et al., 2007). This could therefore be, the beginnings of a framework redefining literacy as ‘not based on alphabetical text, but on a mixture of texts, images, and sounds’ (Kress, 2003; 2010). With new technologies taking further precedence over the publishing industry each year, the goal amongst publishers it seems, is to find this perfect coalescence between digital and print––using augmented reality and media experiences to enhance, yet not dominate a narrative work. The creative team at K.I.W.I. Storybooks is proving this ability to develop and better the amalgamation of the two, whilst maintaining the same relationship between the narrative and the reader. Bibliography 1. Buckingham, D. (2007). Selling childhood? Children and consumer culture. Journal of Children and Media, [online] 1(1), pp.15--24. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482790601005017 [Accessed 18 Oct. 2014]. 2. Cobb, V. (2014). Entering a Children's Picture Book, Literally and Digitally - Publishing Perspectives. [online] Publishing Perspectives. Available at: http://publishingperspectives.com/2014/09/entering-a-childrens-picture-book-literally-and-digitally/ [Accessed 17 Oct. 2014]. 3. Jenkins, H., Purushotma, R., Weigel, M., et al. (2006), Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Reports on Digital Media and Learning. 4. Kiwistorybooks.com, (2014). Walk in Storybooks sized for Kids - gigantic storybooks illustrated by Roxie Munro | Kiwi Storybooks. [online] Available at: http://www.kiwistorybooks.com/index.html [Accessed 17 Oct. 2014]. 5. Kress, G. (2003). Literacy in the new media age. London: Routledge. 6. Kress, G. (2010). Multimodality. London: Routledge. 7. Micheli, M. (2013). New media literacies in after-school settings: Three curricula from the program 'Explore Locally, Excel Digitally' at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles. Journal of Media Practice, [online] 14(4), pp.331-350. Available at: http://search.ebscohost.com.oxfordbrookes.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=92005085&site=ehost-live [Accessed 18 Oct. 2014]. 8. Munro, R. (2014). KidLit TV's Sneak Peak | Roxie Munro Interview with Rocco Staino. 9. Rosen, L. (2014). Augmented Reality and the Future of Publishing - Publishing Perspectives. [online] Publishing Perspectives. Available at: http://publishingperspectives.com/2014/08/augmented-reality-and-the-future-of-publishing/ [Accessed 17 Oct. 2014]. |
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Changing perceptions of what creates a narrative Steller, an app designed for iOS devices seamlessly welds together short stories, visual art, and self-publishing, all at the swipe of one’s fingertips. A social media platform for photographers, writers, and adventurers alike – and as well, built by both Google and Microsoft veterans, Steller is a developing framework creating a global community of visual storytellers (Perez, 2014). Here, the traditional occupation of the ‘Author’ is divided into many as the 20-something year old backpacker documenting her travels across South America through photos and snippets of thoughts along the way, is as much an ‘Author’ as the health food blogger curating short recipe magazine-like publications to share amongst her following base. Digital technology developments as Steller, further prove the shift from conventional publishing and other media platforms to a modern era of social networking where there is no longer a distinction between the consumer and producer (Rettberg, 2008). The app works as such: authors have the freedom to format their stories as they wish, given a wide variety of easy-to-use templates, fonts, and photo/text placement to play around with. Stories can be written solely through film, text, photos, or any combination of the three, with the use of ‘story’ translated out of conventional terms in order to accommodate any medium that tells a narrative, whether that be through words or visuals. The finished publications of these print-for-tablet stories are sleek in design and emphasize the visual character of the narrative, bringing focus to the photographs and film clips of which accompany the text itself. Authors curate their stories into ‘collections’ and create a network amongst others through the use of #hashtags and @mentions. The ‘Reader’ and ‘Author’ operate in an indistinguishable sphere as both participants and audience members; the two likewise have the ability to republish their own stories as well as republish other’s into their own ‘collections’ – creating a ‘digital’ short-list. As author of Digital Art Christiane Paul describes, ‘while the individual stories may be of varying quality or interest, they become a more complex social memory through the relational filters and lenses’ (Paul, 2006). This global community of which Steller is part of the infrastructure for, is an opportunistic proposal for publishers looking for new ways to emulate what social media networks like Facebook and Instagram have achieved whilst still maintaining the cultural values and standards of print – and that is worldwide recognition and user friendliness. The reshaping of the industry to accommodate these social norms is part of the ‘Post-Gutenberg Parenthesis’ as Rettberg (2008) adapts from Tom Pettitt in his keynote during the 2008 Media in Transition conference. The ‘Gutenberg Parenthesis’ is the end of an era where print is ‘composed once and passively reproduced by readers and creatives alike’ (Rettberg, 2008). As the consumers and producers are both part of the dialogue and storytelling process, Steller’s growing community of creatives could change the way we perceive what constitutes a narrative. WC: 483
Bibliography 1. Blog.steller.co, (2014). Steller Blog. [online] Available at: http://blog.steller.co/ [Accessed 12 Oct. 2014]. 2. Paul, C. (2006). Digital Art/Public Art: Governance and Agency in the Networked Commons. First Monday, [online] 0(Special Issue 7). Available at: http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1616/1531#p4 [Accessed 13 Oct. 2014]. 3. Perez, S. (2014). Storytelling App Steller Becomes More Of A Social Network | TechCrunch. [online] TechCrunch. Available at: http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/21/storytelling-app-steller-becomes-more-of-a-social-network/ [Accessed 9 Oct. 2014]. 4. Rettberg, J. (2008). Blogs, Literacies, and the Collapse of Private and Public. Leonardo Electronic Almanac, [online] 16(2-3). Available at: http://jilltxt.net/txt/Blogs--Literacy%20-and-the-Collapse-of-Private-and-Public.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2014]. 5. Vliet, H. and Hekman, E. (2012). Enhancing user involvement with digital cultural heritage: The usage of social tagging and storytelling. First Monday, [online] 17(5). Available at: http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3922/3203 [Accessed 12 Oct. 2014]. ‘Bookfuturism’, a moniker stolen from Tim Carmody, who in fact adapted the term from others before him in his micro-essay A Bookfuturist Manifesto, describes a world where publishers are neither dedicated to preserving a physical library of hardbacks and shelves to dust––however, nor are they conformed to a world where digital format takes sole precedence over the value and historical commodity, of which the printed word is (Carmody, 2010). As a society, and furthermore industry trailing alongside both technological and structural developments in just about every format imaginable, there is always the question of how these changes will affect relationships––not only between publishers and booksellers, but publishers and authors, authors and readers, and as well, readers directly back to the publishers. As these relationships develop and grow, and ‘delivery costs become much smaller with network sales and electronic delivery, the changing economics will mean greater profits to publishers or electronic retailers, larger royalty shares to authors, and even reduced prices to consumers’ (Lynch, 2001). Mintel (2014) reports that in the 12 months prior to April 2014, 29 per cent of women and 22 per cent of men had purchased an eBook. The study as well illustrates that only 12 per cent of all consumers (2000 internet users 16+) exclusively read digital, as opposed to 41 per cent who only read print (Mintel, 2014). Gradual as it may be, digital growth is apparent in the market, and both publishers and booksellers should take more initiative to monopolise on this fact and furthermore, work ahead of the curve ultimately bridging the gap between a past of analogue and a future of tech. As workflow shifts to accommodate digital in a virtual marketplace, publishers are able to bypass the conventional supplementary costs of printing, shipping, distributing and storing stock by printing on demand. These savings equate to higher profit margins and more flexibility for publishers; however, bookfuturists maintain concern for the role of booksellers in the future of digital––with network-based booksellers as Amazon leading the market, bookshops are challenged with how to compete for the same consumer recognition and competitive pricing models (Carmody, 2010). Industry workflows and economic structures, as they continue to grow and develop to adapt for digital formats, platforms and networks, present publishers with opportunities to directly interact with their readership: tracking interests, purchases, and market trends (Lynch, 2001). Likewise, digital creates a new outlet for publishers to grow revenue by digitising backlists and experimenting with digital-first. The aim of merging these two cultures together is ultimately, to find the balance between print as a tangible, cultural commodity of the past––and print as it is redefined for changing consumer expectations and technological capabilities (Lynch, 2001). Digital is not a domain publishers should feel pressured to conform to, but instead a challenge to seamlessly combine, reshape and revive text for new platforms, whilst still maintaining the power and integrity of which the printed word carries. WC: 476 Bibliography
1. Carmody, T. (2010). A Bookfuturist Manifesto. [online] The Atlantic. Available at: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/08/a-bookfuturist-manifesto/61231/ [Accessed 4 Oct. 2014]. 2. Lynch, C. (2001). The battle to define the future of the book in the digital world. First Monday, [online] 6(6). Available at: http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/864/773 [Accessed 5 Oct. 2014]. 3. Mintel, (2014). Books and e-books - UK - September 2014. Mintel. |