

Open eBook

Reading is enrichment, interacting with a book is creating. Now imagine to convert the old practice of book-crossing into a digital version: it becomes eBooks crossing.

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Written by DeletedUser

Inspired by this service that allows people to label their book and then track it all around the world, ( ) I decided to come up with the idea of a eBook-crossing to enable young people to interact more with the contents inside the body copy. 

Then there is another brilliant project: "B ookmarks in all their forms: as underlining, dogears, annotations, notes and references, User-generated tags and footnotes [...] What is valuable is what we can lend to our friends and pass onto our children is not copies of books but originals of our own experiences, associated with those singular works of art". (Frankfurt book fair 2010 ).

Why just reading a book, recording notes to store somewhere and then pass it on?
Why don't make of an eBook a powerful enabler for young people to nurture their creative commitment and they pleasure in sharing something with the community?
I imagine an open-ended narration, a game-book (completely new or a remake of traditional novel) where reader can choose between different paths. Then Bookmarks are available as well, they can remain attached to the eBook or shared through a social platform. Furthermore free writing and illustrations (to be made directly on the eBook) can be added by the kids to improve the story during the reading.

In the end the reader can store the eBook in a dedicated platform. The text can be passed on, from hand to hand taking something special and personal from everybody.

In this challenge, we want to create ideas with young people, not for them. Outline how you’re planning to involve young people or other end-users (parents, teachers, etc) in designing, iterating or testing your idea during the Ideas phase.

In developing this concept I would ask young people (between 9 and 14 years old) which kind of content they would add to a common eBook, what is an important souvenir that makes a book special (annotations, underling)?. And how much space do they want to dedicate to their own contributions (illustration, videos, voice recordings)? Teachers could be actively involved in developing these stories, adding their own contributions and reviews. In the and the eBook could be a class artwork or part of a schooll-to-school challenge.

How might you envision your idea spreading across geographies or cultures so that it inspires young people around the world to cultivate their creative confidence?

I envision something tangible to leave throughout the city (and beyond), a QR code (that replace the physical crossing book) that young people can photograph and download from the platform. After reading and creating his/her own new text he/she will upload it again and print a new QR code to leave somewhere to the next kid.

What skills, input or guidance would you like to receive from the OpenIDEO community to help you build out or refine your idea further?

I really need input regarding the structure of these gamebooks, a graphic interface that allows the reader to easy contribute, draw, write, annotate, as well as a good fruition of the social platform.


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great idea :)

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