Bitcoin could be used to create a silkroad for books

[J180]

It could work like this:

1. People go to the library, take some books home, and scan them in.
2. People who support the project donate some anonymous bitcoins.
3. The system automatically divides the bitcoins to each person taking part in the project each month. The more pages you upload, the bigger your share of the donations.
4. Continue until every book existing in the world is uploaded, for free, without any restrictions, in one amazing library for every person on the planet to access.

[1713872092]

1713872092

[bitplane]

This already exists and doesn't need bitcoin. See alt.binaries.e-book and the book channels on Undernet (if they're still going, it's been years since I checked)

[Phinnaeus Gage]

It could work like this:

1. People go to the library, take some books home, and scan them in.
2. People who support the project donate some anonymous bitcoins.
3. The system automatically divides the bitcoins to each person taking part in the project each month. The more pages you upload, the bigger your share of the donations.
4. Continue until every book existing in the world is uploaded, for free, without any restrictions, in one amazing library for every person on the planet to access.

That might be doable but with the proliferation of PDF books, torrents and the Kindle reaching critical mass the price of physical books is sliding towards zero.  Since I realized this I am selling my books on amazon and it is a losing battle to be the lowest priced seller.  

I have over 150 books (mostly old) valued at over $10K (last checked little over year ago). I knew there was a race to the bottom then, but now, after reading your post, Andrew, I guess it's time to unload them. I'm thinking of doing that with either Alibris or another site to sell them for Bitcoin at a price point that would leave some $/B on the table for the buyer to enjoy or for the end user to get a nice deal, enabling him/her to augment his/her collect.

Come to think of it, some are rather rare and limited editions, therefore they'll would be perfect candidates for your SRB idea.

(this is not an image of the books I own--at least I don't think so)



Bitcoin: An Idea Worth Spending

[J180]

Often when debating strangers on the internet, it requires checking a book to see if the quote was true or in context. That's what I would use this for, since there's not always a PDF on rapidshare or something.

[BitcoinBabe]

It could work like this:

1. People go to the library, take some books home, and scan them in.
2. People who support the project donate some anonymous bitcoins.
3. The system automatically divides the bitcoins to each person taking part in the project each month. The more pages you upload, the bigger your share of the donations.
4. Continue until every book existing in the world is uploaded, for free, without any restrictions, in one amazing library for every person on the planet to access.

That might be doable but with the proliferation of PDF books, torrents and the Kindle reaching critical mass the price of physical books is sliding towards zero.  Since I realized this I am selling my books on amazon and it is a losing battle to be the lowest priced seller. 

Too true. Unless listed for a penny, books just seem to languish on Amazon gathering cyberdust (and real dust, in the real world).

However, I'm finding that any books on finance - particularly on improving your finances, investing and trading on the markets - sell within days of being listed, and they aren't listed for just a penny either!

Now of there was a book (not an ebook) on beating or curcumventing the financial system by investing in bitcoin...

[indio007]

Now of there was a book (not an ebook) on beating or curcumventing the financial system by investing in bitcoin...

that doesn't take a book. Simply stop valuing your Bitcoins in US $. Done.

[BitcoinBabe]

Now of there was a book (not an ebook) on beating or curcumventing the financial system by investing in bitcoin...

that doesn't take a book. Simply stop valuing your Bitcoins in US $. Done.

Well, duh, of course! But in the context of selling books on amazon...

[KenJackson]

...
4. Continue until every book existing in the world is uploaded, for free, without any restrictions, in one amazing library for every person on the planet to access.

Does ethics play any role at all in your thinking?

I have an idea!  I'll go to your house and take the stuff I want for free.

While I'm sure you agree with me that DRM is evil, I oppose it because it wrongfully restricts my use of products which I paid for (archiving, copying to other devices in other formats, etc). 

But if a person spends a year or more pouring his heart, soul and wealth into writing a book that I want, it's very wrong to deny the author the price he asks.  If he asks too much, I just won't buy it.  So if he wants to make maximum profit, he's got to sell it at a price that lots of people are willing to pay.  If enough people steal his work, he just won't write any more, and we all lose because future products are not available.

[J180]

...
4. Continue until every book existing in the world is uploaded, for free, without any restrictions, in one amazing library for every person on the planet to access.

Does ethics play any role at all in your thinking?

I have an idea!  I'll go to your house and take the stuff I want for free.

While I'm sure you agree with me that DRM is evil, I oppose it because it wrongfully restricts my use of products which I paid for (archiving, copying to other devices in other formats, etc). 

But if a person spends a year or more pouring his heart, soul and wealth into writing a book that I want, it's very wrong to deny the author the price he asks.  If he asks too much, I just won't buy it.  So if he wants to make maximum profit, he's got to sell it at a price that lots of people are willing to pay.  If enough people steal his work, he just won't write any more, and we all lose because future products are not available.

It did, but there's so many millions of people on either side that I don't think ethical questions will stop it happening. Just like drugs, tax-avoidance and so on.

[J180]

I had another idea, it could be used for academic journals (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/29/academic-publishers-murdoch-socialist)