There were projects that came before us, and doubtlessly there will be more to follow. Somewhat surprisingly, while all modern browsers have a native way to read pdfs, no browser currently has a way to read epubs. Epub itself is comprised of open standards-HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript, to name a few-which are the results of immense efforts of individuals and organizations large and small. Reading in the browser is by no means new the browser is the greatest publishing application ever created. Regardless of medium (book, site, etc.), the ability to create and curate and sift through and recombine the layered voices that emerge as a result of (and embedded within) the content as well as each other is what excites me most about all of this work.” Kathleen Miller, my editor, says it nicely: “The potential that the communal dimension of annotation offers for discourse is something that we’ve only perhaps recently begun to see thanks to the web. On the Internet it should always be free to comment, discuss, and learn. At Hypothes.is, we want to see annotation flourish into a healthy web standard, a shared space. A world of “Kindle” annotations existing separately from “iBook” annotations is not a world conducive to collaboration, sharing and open knowledge. Similarly, annotation should not be siloed based on devices or apps. Like paper books, e-books should be open-free for anyone to read at any time-not locked away with proprietary formats or devices. I’m writing this post to announce a new open-source reader using epub.js, which transforms an ebook into an enriching social experience that includes the ability to annotate, share, and-for the author/publisher-engage. My goal this summer was to enable open annotation in ebooks, and with the help of my Berkeley colleagues Fred Chasen, AJ Renold, and the whole Hypothes.is team, we’ve managed to accomplish this. “Exciting” because we are witnessing the dawn of a revolution in communications, and “depressing” because the revolution is too often proprietary.Īt Hypothes.is, we want the revolution to be open. Digital publishing is one of the most exciting and most depressing areas on the web.
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