*openmargin dialogue

Farewell of a book

Mon, 02 May 2011 12:46:38 +0200

When I reach the end of a book, I begin to plan when I will read the last pages. Sometimes I cannot say farewell to a story and the characters, so I delay the moment of ending my beloved book. Because I know, when I end the book, the relationship between me and my book is over. Then the book will swarm around in my thoughts and before I know it I am already up in another world in the next book.

In the Dutch television show ‘Benalie boekt’ the Dutch writer Tommy Wieringa speaks of recreating life on paper. And the life that rises from the paper. The interview is located at a chapel and he speaks to God and says he himself is more powerful. This is a real strength; the ability to conceive lives that only exist on paper and are lived by the author’s imagination. This image also made me think of the film ‘Ober’ by Alex van Warmerdam, in which the characters are rebellious to the author during the writing of the script.

The creator of the stories raise semi-lives which are connected to me. With each book I finish, I say goodbye to people who are not there. Not only the characters but also the environment and timeframe. One consolation; I have locked all these elements into my bookcase and I can wake them up whenever I want. These are the magical powers of the reader that I possess.

when stories come alive

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 15:24:07 +0200

‘The assault’ was waiting for me in my bookcase. I tried to read the book when I was around the age of fourteen, but it simply could not reach me. I had put away the book and it wasn’t since last week that I took it into my hands again. Now the book took me to my imagination in the short period of two evenings. The short but beautiful trip through the book made me realize that I, for this book, was not a suitable reader when I was fourteen. Ten years later my internal reading voice was ready to speak up.

Centuries ago it was normal for authors to read out their own books to an test audience. Meetings ranged from several hours to several days. The listeners were expected to use their critical opinion on the story. Based on this criticism the writer improved his text. The read out was drenched by the interpretation of the author. Not the tone of the reader, but the tone of the author brought the book to life.

Nowadays the book is drenched by the interpretation of the reader and together with the author’s text, they form a living story. If the internal voice and imagination is ready to handle the content, the commitment to the book can get as strong as can be. I tried to read ‘The assault’ to early and the book waited for me to be ready.

Last-minute call for thought-provoking books

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 14:30:19 +0200

We’re launching *openmargin, the community in the margin of your book, on the famous The Next Web conference in Amsterdam. We’ll present our iPad app on-stage during the finals of the startup-rally, on April 28th.

For the launch we’re working together with authors and publishers who are ahead of the curve. By adding an *openmargin to their ebooks they turn readers into contributors and promotors.

Are you an author who embraces technology to connect to your readers? Do you want to be a pioneer within this movement? Contact me and we’ll do our best to get you on the platform on time.

Side note: the book has to be thought-provoking.
Side note 2: the book has to be free. We believe in karma.

we welcome a new generation of authors

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 11:33:46 +0200

We see a new generation of authors is on the rise. They connect with their readers through blogs, twitter and self-publishing platforms.

If you’re one of these authors, consider adding an *openmargin to your work. *openmargin is an open space within a digital book where readers share their thoughts. The original book stays as it is, but the margin turns into a place for dialogue. *openmargin unites your book and your community.

This means:

Growth. By adding notes, readers continiously add value to the original book. Books will stay fresh overtime and older books can liven up.

Connection. As an author, you’re the host of the *openmargin. From this position you’re able to connect directly with your most loyal and active followers.

Spreading. The webplatform enables readers to share their notes. They will weave your book into the fabrics of the social web. Your fans are your best promotors.

If you are an interested author or publisher, contact me.

nevver: It’s a real page turner

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:49:04 +0200

nevver:

It’s a real page turner

Books are our master

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:11:00 +0200

The books on top of my bookcase are the ones I still have to read. Some books are ready to be taken on vacation, others are asking to be read before bedtime. ‘Animal stories for every party’ invites me to read a couple of short stories, after this I fall asleep with fantastic inspirations. ‘Made to stick’ asks me to get a chair and to take place at my desk. Its cover, chapters and letters seduce me to grab a pen and paper. Every single book has its own character with unique manners.

Every book demands a different posture of its reader. The image of a student with a book in a train was passing in my thoughts; the drop down table on the chair before him is pulled down and a pen and paper lay on the side. Frequently I see the hand of the student supporting his forehead, the elbow resting on the shelf while the spine is bend. Obviously this is a book that asks for a study position.

When the tablet was making its entry in our homes, it was the form of the object that made me move around it. My hands are too small to hold the tablet in one hand. It asks me to sit down on the couch and clamp it between one hand and my leg and is then ready to control. Not the content but the form forces me to take this position. Compare this with a very thick book that is simply not appropriate to be read in bed. I am very pleased when the biggest mass is resting on the bed and you can read one whole page in peace. Only then comes the next page and all of the mass have to lie on its side. It’s a delight when I may turn to the next page again. ‘The half brother’ forced me to sit upright in bed while reading my book.

The paper and also the screen are asking us to take place and devour the content. The book in both form and content moves our thoughts, but also desires physical adjustments. I am wondering which books you can read while standing upright? Which content requires a standing position?

With this tool by Google Labs you can make graphs from their...

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 13:57:16 +0100

With this tool by Google Labs you can make graphs from their book-data. Cool stuff to experiment with.

I mapped digital books and iPad. According to the medium itself, digital books are here to stay. And the 4th uprising of the iPad is stable since the 70s. Good news!

Linotype: the film. About an out-dated, but beautiful,...

Tue, 09 Nov 2010 23:30:28 +0100

Linotype: the film. About an out-dated, but beautiful, typecasting machine.

*openmargin presentation

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 22:34:00 +0100

Here’s the presentation we gave at the State of Social Media Summit in Amsterdam, on October 29th. It was an intimate setting, so we could discuss our main questions with the public. Like, how do we grow a mindful community on our openmargin platform?

Enjoy the presentation!

Presentation *openmargin

Looking for the good stuff?

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 16:15:49 +0200

If you came here by reference of James Bridle’s talk or article on Open Bookmarks you might be wondering where to learn more about the *openmargin platform and how to join the beta.

For more information we recommend to read through this page and if that sounds interesting sign up for the beta-list.

If you want to speak to us personally you can email Joep, one of the co-founders, at joep AT openmargin DOT com

Open Bookmarks

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 15:23:24 +0200

Open Bookmarks:

James Bridle on his initiative Open Bookmarks. (Includes a sneak peak of the *openmargin beta).

Kindle for the Web: How Amazon will leverage eReader's built-in browsers as a perfect backdoor.

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:36:00 +0200

Kindle for the Web: How Amazon will leverage eReader's built-in browsers as a perfect backdoor.:

Amazon just introduced Kindle for the Web. The service, which is labeled as ‘in beta’, allows anyone to embed ‘sample chapters’ of the Kindle book into their website.

The name ‘Kindle for the Web’ might suggest we can expect a full-fledged webbased ereader soon, turning any device with a web-browser into an eReader with access to Amazon’s giant eBook catalog. Seeing as most modern eReaders have a built-in browser, this could strengthen Amazon’s market position even more.

Kindle for the Web: http://www.amazon.com/kindlefortheweb

open writers

Sat, 25 Sep 2010 18:22:44 +0200

“For sale: baby shoes, never worn”

- Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American author known for his economical writing style. He committed suicide with his favorite gun.

This is a 6-word story. Hemingway called it his best work. It may be short, but it’s definitely not simple. As a reader you can sense the world in-between these words. Depending on who’s reading it when, this world will be different. The gaps are mirroring the reader and the context.
This story is like good teacher who gives his students a direction, but no solution. He acknowledges the different realities and allows students to walk their own path.

When the margin of a text is opened (soon), every reader can write his thoughts between the gaps. The purpose is not to fill in the gaps, but to open them even further with new gaps. When participants build possibility on possibility the text will be ever-expanding and the perspective on the subject will become broad, very broad.

openmargin has different incarnations. One is a tool, which gives you the possibility to publish your notes within a public margin. Another incarnation is the ‘way of writing’. Writing with an openmargin in mind means raising questions, leaving gaps and expressing half-baked ideas. The tool has no use without the mindset.

We're pitching at PICNIC Pitch Night!

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 19:49:00 +0200

We have been selected as one of the ten start-ups to pitch our business during the PICNIC Pitch Night! Considering PICNIC is one of the coolest European conferences this is pretty epic.

We’ll be pitching *openmargin at September 22nd to the PICNIC audience and the following impressive jury:

Andrea Vogel, Ernst & Young, Partner
Menno van Leeuwen, ABN AMRO, Sector Banker Media & Technology
Alexander Ribbink, Prime Technology Ventures, Partner
Willem Sijthoff, Media entrepreneur

So if you’re attending PICNIC, be sure to watch us and the other 9 companies present our businesses and of course, come say hi afterwards!

Event details:
Location: PICNIC (Specials 1)
Date: Thursday, September 22nd (aka Day 1) from 18:00 ‘till 20:00

You can find all the details right here.

We hope to see you there!

Update: Thanks everybody who attended! Unfortunately we didn’t win (they were looking for established companies), but we met some awesome people.

Kom je ook?: We won the audience award!

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 22:28:00 +0200

Yesterday we pitched *openmargin at ‘Kom je ook?’. A conference with an honest theme: mistakes.

We were one of the seven participants who got two minutes to tell about their product or service. And we’re proud to tell you we won the audience award. Thanks to all the lovely people who placed their RFID badge under our umbrella (great set-up from the mediamatic people).

Now we have an appointment with Stichting DOEN. Looking forward to it!

Come see our presentation at 'Kom je ook'

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 21:04:26 +0200

We’re proud to announce we’ve been nominated to present *openmargin this thursday at the ‘Kom je ook‘-event organized by Mediamatic.

More information can be found on the event’s website (in Dutch). We’ll be presenting between 14:45h and 15:15h.

Event details:
Location: Kloveniersburgwal 50, Amsterdam
Date: Thursday, September 9th
Entrance fee: €99 (ex VAT), if you’re lucky you can get a free ticket though (see site for details)

If you’re able to make it, please come and say hello! Otherwise, you can read our pitch right here: http://www.mediamatic.net/page/159654/nl (again, in Dutch)

Compensate your attention footprint

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:53:52 +0200

We’re all locked inside our own body. Which is a shame of-course. Wouldn’t it be nice to be a spirit, traveling around the world and staying in different bodies? Hearing what they hear, seeing what they see.

Unfortunately there’s not yet a travel-agency for spirits (if you start one, I’ll be the first customer), but there’s another possibility: listening. By listening to another human being, nature or art, we lose ourselves and experience the other. Our mind becomes wiser and our heart more empathic.

But listening is not very popular nowadays. ‘Everyone is a producer’ is the promise of the interactive media. And after a century of radio and television, this is a welcome message. But while the speaker is celebrated, the listener is neglected. Passivity and silence seem to be bad things. If you don’t tweet, you don’t exist.

But what if everyone is speaking and no one is listening? What’s the use then?

Consider your attention footprint for a moment. Are your speaking and listening in balance? Your reading and writing? If you need to compensate, try one of these:

Read a text with your full attention. Don’t skip.
Ask for clarification. Really try to understand the author’s opinion.
Ask an open question. You know, the one where the answer is not build in already.

Announcing the Beta

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:47:17 +0200

The last couple of months we have been steadily developing the *openmargin platform. A space where readers of the same book can share their perspective inside the margin to initiate a dialogue with like-minded people.

Today we invite you to take the very first version for a test ride. It’s still an early beta with a lot of known and unknown bugs, so the road will be bumpy, but nevertheless we want to hear YOUR perspective so we can decide which direction to take in the ongoing development.

Requirements
To take part in the beta test you’ll need an iPad with internet access, either 3G or wifi. For the web platform we recommend the Safari browser, while we’re working out some kinks in Firefox.

The book
To encourage an active dialogue we’ve decided to start off with one book only, namely Content by Cory Doctorow. It’s a collection of Doctorow’s essays on technology, creativity, copyright and ‘the future of the future’.

How to take part
Everything is explained on this page.

Other things you should know:
If you need help, found a (major) bug, or just want to talk to us go here: http://beta-info.openmargin.com/feedback.html

We hope to see you in the margin!

Joep, Ruth & Marc
Founders of *openmargin

Looking for iPad eReader developers

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:12:00 +0200

We’re currently putting the finishing touches on the first version of openmargin. Part of this is the API, which will allow developers of eReaders to incorporate openmargin-functionality into their existing app. Although we’re currently developing our own basic openmargin-enabled eReader app on the iPad, we’d like to start talking with external developers as well to see how we can help eachother.

So if you are, or know someone that is, developing an eReader and am/is open for a new way to approach books, get in contact! marc@openmargin.com

A history lesson about the future

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:01:00 +0100

The very first newspaper was ‘Publick Occurrences’. It was four pages long, with one page left blank intentionally. People were encouraged to write on it, be part of the conversation and pass it along to someone else.

Overtime news became big business. People were shut out of this conversation.

Nick Bilton on Poptech