Comments on: Interview by Net Geners in Germany

By: Camila

Camila — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:30:33 +0000

I'm a digital native, 20 year-old college student. Though I'm fascinated with social networks, tweet all the time, log on to Facebook at home, at work, several times a day, I still value books a lot. And I’m not talking about literature, to which I’m truly addicted since the age of 5. I mean argumentative, academic books.
Whether the book is printed or and eBook, it does not matter. If, when you say books will get to and end in the near future you mean printed books, I totally agree. However, books themselves should be in the picture for a long time. At least for Human Sciences (I’m studying to get a B.A. in Social Sciences), reading a book, or at least a full chapter of a book is an important exercise. Following an argument from beginning to end is important, even if the class that follows the reading is a collaborative one. Having read the arguments of an author – and not a review quickly read on the internet – enables students to discuss the class topic, to contribute smartly to what is being said. And one can easily tell who has read it and who hasn’t. Reading summaries is interesting, sharing summaries and notes with classmates helps a lot, as well as group studying. But it doesn’t substitute books. And it shouldn’t. Otherwise, there will be no scholars in the future.

By: Thomas Lee

Thomas Lee — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:13:05 +0000

At some point would you comment at length on Wikipedia? I use it often, but with a great deal of wariness. The articles are poorly written, scarcely edited at all, and often of dubious accuracy. The main reason I use it is because of its millions of entries; I can quickly find something about anything.

By: Thomas Lee

Thomas Lee — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:09:08 +0000

I'm a big fan of social media, but even I am not so sure about your prognostication of the disappearance of books. My daughter, who is 23 and extremely digital (she built her own computer from scratch when she was 14), cannot go more than a day without reading one of the several books she always has going. She likes the tactile as well as the intellectual experience of reading books. And even among non-fiction books, not every subject is even amenable to frequent updating or integration with other media.

By: Terry Busch

Terry Busch — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:25:36 +0000

While books may indeed be history in 50 years, for the present they remain a big part of my professional growth and practice. Which brings me to your latest effort “Grown Up Digital” which I am certainly glad you wrote. I just finished reading it and thought it was terrific; a truly important contribution to the conversation regarding managing, parenting, teaching, etc the net generation. I am a management consultant and I facilitate numerous management Workshops and seminars for line, middle, and executive-level managers. As you can imagine, I hear frequent discussions, especially among older managers, concerning the trials and tribulations of managing the net generation.

I recently launched my own blog — Http://bit.ly/1iEiOC — aimed primarily at managers, and I dedicated my last post to praise for the book and the important research work done by you and staff. I have added the book to my Workshop reading list and will strongly encourage its acquisition henceforth. I just wanted to add my own voice to the long list of accolades “Grown Up Digital” — in book form — has already received. Cheers. Terry Busch

By: Web Design Lexington

Web Design Lexington — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:40:32 +0000

Time rapidly change and you are right in saying that books will be a thing of the past for the next few years of its existence. But somehow, it will never fade because books are proof of our existence and the internet is just another avenue to prove it.