Why do people still
buy books that largely contain information one can access online for free?
The same reason
people are willing to:
·
Pay
$35 to park their car at a sporting event.
·
Shell
out $5 for coffee they can make at home for a buck.
·
Spend
$18 to see a movie in a theater.
·
Get
a cab when a bus would do.
·
Send
their laundry out rather than do it at home.
Convenience!
Think about it. How much time does one want to spend
researching everything online, burdened to figure out which site is the most
current and reliable source to follow? A
book neatly packages orders, and edits the information you want, provided
presumably by a qualified expert or a trained writer and researcher who filters
the content being provided.
I say do both – read
a book and consult the Internet.
If authors get smart
about packaging great content and stylistically presenting it with helpful
charts and graphics, and cool images, their books will prove to be useful and
appealing.
Some books have
trouble keeping up with information that changes quickly. But that’s all the more reason to get a book
that can help you put all of these changes into the proper perspective.
For a book to succeed
(non-fiction) it obviously has to be:
·
Well-written.
·
Well-researched.
·
Presented
in an easy-to-use, logical way.
·
Filled
with resources, advice, and relevant ideas.
·
Offering
interesting information w/cogent analysis.
·
Sharing
of stories that are unique and timely – if not timeless.
What separates a book
vs. one scouring the Internet for trusted, comprehensive, accurate, updated,
and relevant material is that a book represents months, if not years, of
researching, writing, and editing, whereas many blog posts or short online
articles are lacking depth. Because a
consumer has to track down and vet dozens of sites – and even then the
information could be incomplete or contradictory because it’s not filtered
through a singular source – one has to side with a book. But then money becomes a factor for some.
Why pay for something
you can get for free, right?
Because you are not
comparing two similar values, you can’t simply accept the free version as good
enough, can you?
Books differ from the
Internet in that online resources tend to give straightforward facts or stats,
things the consumer may specifically be looking for. Nothing wrong there. But without seeing other information that you
don’t know to look for, you miss out, whereas a book presents a more holistic
perspective on the topic it covers.
I admit I don’t buy a
book for every topic that I need information on but I also don’t solely rely on
the Internet to inform me of things that I really want – and need – to know
more about. Really, they can work
hand-in-hand, each supplementing one another in a way to best inform us.
But when push comes
to shove, one should always choose the book over the random searches yielded
online.
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