The Future of Documents

Scribd, the largest Web 2.0 document sharing site (which is the basis for many other great technologies like TwitDoc), is trying to leverage its user base to create a revenue-generating business, by opening an Internet store that will offer new sales opportunities for authors and publishers, and will hopefully spawn new document distribution models.

Whereas access to all scribd material was free until now, the publisher started letting book publishers upload their books with commercial links a couple months ago, and will start charging 20% of the transactions performed through them. Prices should be significantly lower than book stores or even online stores, including Amazon.com.

A few authors have already agreed to posting their books directly on Scribd, and should benefit from a much fewer intermediaries and therefore drive much more direct revenue. Although he priced his new book at only $2, Kemble Scott, one of these authors, anticipates he should get $1.60 back for each copy sold. In comparison, a hardcopy of his previous book sold for an average of $15 in stores – but earned him only $1.12.

So is Scribd likely to become the “iTunes of the document”? Unlikely… but at least its current document and user base should allow it to be much more successful than Lulu.com or other such self-publishing sites, and could generate significant competition for Amazon – by creating new electronic, “fair-trade” document and book distribution channels.