Thanks for the thoughtful comment.

I totally value e-content myself–my iPhone has become more and more like my mobile laptop as a way to keep up, do research on the fly, keep up with email, etc.

But I suppose I was thinking of more casual reading–reading Oprah by the pool, for example or flipping through the New York Times while I eat lunch.

There’s something to me about that sort of casual reading and the tactile nature of it.

I read online a tremendous amount, and it’s connectivity is addicting and illuminating.
The ability to connect with authors about their ideas as you mentioned is just tremendous in terms of making texts more interactive, so I see the value in that.

But I guess there is also some value in those solitary ways we read–in those times we can get away from everything and have it just be us and a book or a magazine or a newspaper?

So my vote is for multiple media

I just worry the economic pressures are going to drive out ventures that might otherwise have been around for awhile. And inside, I have a secret hope that someone will design the best of both–revitalize the print sources somehow while retaining their paper-based nature!

Economics sometimes drives innovation in unexpected directions

Thanks for your comments. You did an excellent job of relating the power of digital resources that we sometimes come to take for granted.

I know I am an odd duck, but almost everything I read is exclusively digital on my iPhone. This shift was not the exclusive providence of getting my iPhone last Christmas, I was almost exclusively digital on my MotoQ Global for the last two years ask well. What I find living digitally, print can’t replace. All of my books, blogs, news, (some magazines), documents, video, audio, and applications come with me everywhere… Additionally, I can manipulate them at my will. I use a digital reader that allows me to highlight, annotate,and lookup definations. I use a digital notebook that allows me to “clip” and organize similar and disseparate material for future reference with anytime access. Similar to your “rip out the pages and put them on a bulletin board, but my bulletin board comes with me. I can move information at will as well as corroborate news and information stories as opposed to taking a single source with all the biases that come along with one source reporting. I can forward links to information, complete with my notes and thoughts , and even my notebooks with reference material to collegues or the information (with source) itself.

Print was and is a wonderful medium, however, I feel empowering it digitally allows it freedom to transend audience and original meaning.

As an aside, the only way I could know your thoughts, ideas, and questions are through digital publishing and my reliance on portable reading. RSS brings your voice (and many others) to me regardless of my location (of which I am 2200 miles from home and my laptop) and my iPhone allows me to foster and further conversations instantly. Pretty cool I think!

-Scott