How many ways are there to enjoy a novel or a text of fiction? Most of you may be thinking about the paperback or to the ebook and maybe someone to the audiobook , but if I told you that there is a new format, more practical, cheaper and that combines all experiences in one product?
That’s right. Web book is born, and we talk about it with the guys from ZoneCreative, the Italian communication agency that was the first to put this new form of reading and entertainment on the market.
Soeliok was born with the idea of being an innovative project.
“Something was needed that distinguished it not only from a narrative point of view, but also in terms of its use”.
So says Daniele, artistic director of ZoneCreative and author of the novel.
“We tried to approach the project as a creative agency and not as a publishing house. This allowed us to have a broader vision of the product and immediately think of it as something fluid and modelable for every type of market. Our intent was that. to combine the publishing world with the playful one, looking for a product that embraces multimodality without giving up a good story. For this reason we have invested heavily in the production of the audio book. We wanted anyone who came across Soeliok to have a perception of care and quality in the production.
“No expense is spared here!” would have said the old John Hammond of Jurassic Park and the cinematic reference is not limited to the intentions, but seems to fit perfectly with the spectacular images of the film and the engaging column sound by John Williams in full 90s style.
“The audiobook project has given a big push in this direction.” Daniele continues.
“The choice of Carlo Valli (Italian voice of Robin Williams) and the soundtrack with original soundtrack and stage noises like in the cinema, have certainly positioned Soeliok as a quality product. But that wasn’t enough to make it truly groundbreaking. We needed a simple idea that was able to enhance all the efforts made to make it multimodal and accessible in its use “.
My kingdom for an idea!
We explored an endless amount of options in these two years of production: interactive texts, animated illustrations and even real-time connections with the editorial staff, but none lived up to the initial requests … until we were faced to the first draft of our web book .
We navigated it for a while, first individually and then all together and we immediately realized that we had found what we were looking for. An idea of extreme simplicity that is described in two lines (like all good ideas).
A novel that can be read and listened to, directly on the site, without downloading anything.
The technology, internet and high-speed connections of this last period have bombarded us with stimuli, accelerating all forms of communication and multiplying the possibility of creating networks and assimilating information. Accessibility to various forms of entertainment has also changed a lot in recent years, just think of platforms such as Netflix, Amazon, Spotify, Audible, iBooks, etc.
The birth of on demand services has created a real revolution in the world of entertainment. The ability to choose which content to use and especially when it gave us that sense of absolute freedom that television, cinema, radio could no longer offer.
Unfortunately, reading has suffered greatly from this condition because it is perceived as an old, slow, and tiring activity when compared to the more agile and dynamic options such as movies, video games, apps.
Publishing has undergone a profound crisis and reading a good book has remained a pleasure dedicated to a few nostalgics.
But over time, even on demand services have been invaded by the relentless wave of the market. Each platform had to scramble to gain exposure, offering lower and lower prices, better services and lots and lots of advertising.
The result was a second wave of media bombardment, aimed at promoting individual content through every available medium: social networks, google, email, etc.
From zapping to browsing
All this convenience in finding our sources of entertainment has led us to be more lazy and passively rely on the proposals of the large companies that sell entertainment. And here is that wonderful sense of freedom (perhaps a little ephemeral) brought by technology, has turned into hours spent browsing the previews offered by the home pages of the various platforms.
Fortunately, the human being has a strong spirit of adaptation. Proof of this is the fact that for a large part of the public, this situation is no longer satisfactory. It is as if we are realizing that the pleasure of searching and discovering our favorite content is also part of the fun.
But then,
Have you ever thought about it? among all the forms of entertainment with which we grew up: the film on videotape, the music cd or the vinyl, the storytellers, … the book is the only one that has never disappeared and has survived the most formidable rivals .
So perhaps this ancient slow and tiring source of fun isn’t as outdated as we think?
The book is one of the oldest forms of entertainment "on demand" and we have always had it under our eyes.
It only needed a little help to make it more in line with the needs of today’s public, but nothing that would upset its nature.
We thought about this when we created the web book.
We dusted off the good old classic book and dressed it up in a trendy shirt and a pair of sneakers. Nothing more.
We have taken those concepts of comfort, on demand and multimedia that we are so used to and we have transferred them to the most ancient and intimate form of entertainment: history .
Yes ok, but in the end what is a web book?
The web book is a digital text that can be read and listened to (even at the same time) directly from the website. It is the union of an ebook with an audiobook , but with the advantage of not having to download any apps and files.
Just go to soeliok.com under web book and enjoy the novel, always available and without the need for an ebook reader or subscriptions to external platforms.
