Creating Communities of Readers: The Role of Open APIs

Leonhard DobuschFreie Universität Berlin – School of Business & Economics

and stiftung neue verantwortung

Frankfurt Digital NightOctober 10, 2012

Publishing as creating community

New tools for creating community

Openness is a feature

Publishing as creating community

„For unto every one that hath shall be given.”

Bild: Raul654, CC-BY-SA, http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:Gutenberg_Bible.jpg

Bild: Raul654, CC-BY-SA, http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:Gutenberg_Bible.jpg

What is popular becomes ever more popular.

Bild: http://media.oregonlive.com/opinion_impact/photo/fifty-shades-of-fan-fiction-20031343jpg-5fa187f91c005f97.jpg

(POTENTIAL)READERS

(POTENTIAL) CONNECTIONS

5 10

10 45

15 105

Bild: Shirky, C. (2008), p. 27

New tools for creating community

1%

99%

Ebook revenue in Germany 2011:€ 38m

„Readmill gets interesting when as many other e-book reading programs and devices as possible feed the Readmill central server with data.“Felix Knoke, Spiegel Online

Openness is a feature

Competition of APIs

Competition of services

API

„Tear down this wall!“

Bild: Reagn White House Phtographs, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:President_Reagan_giving_a_speech_at_the_Berlin_Wall,_Brandenburg_Gate,_Federal_Republic_of_Germany._June_12,_1987.jpg

1%

99%

The market is still out there.

API

New tools create new communities

Open APIs to contain new giants

Publishing is a social network business

Conclusion

Kontakt

E-Mail: Leonhard.Dobusch@fu-berlin.de

Twitter:@leonidobusch

Blogs:www.thebusinessweb.dewww.governancexborders.com