[EN] Murray Suid (Palo Alto, California)
#Writer, works for EDVantage Software, an Internet company specialized in
educational software
Murray Suid lives in Palo Alto (California), in the heart of the Silicon Valley.
He writes educational books (e.g., Ten-Minute Grammar Grabbers), books for kids
(e.g., The Kids' How to Do Almost Everything Guide), multimedia scripts (e.g.,
The Writing Trek), and screenplays (e.g., Summer of the Flying Saucer -- to be
produced by Magma Films, Ireland).
[Interview 03/08/1998 // Interview 07/09/1999 // Interview 11/10/2000]
*Interview of September 7, 1998
= How did using the Internet change your professional life?
Professionally, the Internet has become my major research tool, largely -- but
not entirely -- replacing the traditional library and even replacing
person-to-person research. Now, instead of phoning people or interviewing them
face to face, I do it via e-mail. Because of speed, it has also enabled me to
collaborate with people at a distance, particularly on screenplays. (I've worked
with two producers in Germany.) Also, digital correspondence is so easy to store
and organize, I find that I have easy access to information exchanged this way.
Thus, e-mailing facilitates keeping track of ideas and materials.
The Internet has increased my correspondence dramatically. Like most people, I
find that e-mail works better than snail mail. My geographic range of
correspondents has also increased -- extending mainly to Europe. In the old
days, I hardly ever did transatlantic pen-palling. I also find that e-mailing is
so easy, I am able to find more time to assist other writers with their work --
a kind of a virtual writing group. This isn't merely altruistic. I gain a lot
when I give feedback. But before the Internet, doing so was more of an effort.
= How do you see the relationship between the print media and the Internet?
For one thing, the Internet serves other print media. My recently published
book, The Kids' How to Do (Almost) Everything Guide, would probably not have
been done prior to the invention of e-mail because it would have cost too much
in money/time to locate the experts. So the Internet is a powerful research tool
for writers of books, articles, etc.
Also, in a time of great change, many "facts" don't stay factual for long. In
other words, many books go quickly out of date. But if a book can be web
extended (living partly in cyberspace), then an author can easily update and
correct it, whereas otherwise the author would have to wait a long time for the
next edition, if indeed a next edition ever came out.
Also, in terms of marketing, the Web seems crucial, especially for small
publishers that can't afford to place ads in major magazines and on the radio.
Although large companies continue to have an advantage, in cyberspace small
publishers can put up very competitive marketing efforts.
We think that paper books will be around for a while, because using them is
habitual. Many readers like the feel of paper, and the heft of a book held in
the hands or carried in a purse or backpack. I haven't yet used a digital book,
and I think I might prefer one -- because of ease of search, because of color,
because of sound, etc. Obviously, multimedia books can be easily downloaded from
the Web, and such books probably will dominate publishing in the future. Not yet
though.
= How do you see the future?
I'm not very state-of-the-art so I'm not sure. I would like to have direct
access to text -- digitally read books in the Library of Congress, for example,
just as now I can read back issues of many newspapers. Currently, while I can
find out about books on-line, I need to get the books into my hands to use them.
I would rather access them on-line and copy sections that I need for my work,
whereas today I either have to photocopy relevant pages, or scan them in, etc.
I expect that soon I will use the Internet for video telephoning, and that will
be a happy development.
I do not know if I will publish books on the Web -- as opposed to publishing
paper books. Probably that will happen when books become multimedia. (I
currently am helping develop multimedia learning materials, and it's a form of
teaching that I like a lot -- blending text, movies, audio, graphics, and --
when possible -- interactivity).
*Interview of August 3, 1999
= What has happened since our 1998 interview?
In addition to "web extending" books, we are now web-extending our multimedia
(CD-ROM) products -- to update and enrich them.
= What do you think of the debate about copyright on the Web? What practical
solutions do you have?
The secret, I think, is to create information packages that cannot be
economically stolen. In other words, the product being sold needs to have more
value than a copy. For example, it's currently easier and cheaper for someone to
buy one of our books than to photocopy a book -- in its entirety. So we try to
design our books in a way that makes all the pages valuable, and not just a few
pages.
We would like to sell our books online -- in PDF format -- but have not
investigated ways to keep buyers from re-distributing the files. Maybe this is
possible through encryption. But we don't know how to do it.
= What is your best experience with the Internet?
Meeting experts and authors who have contributed to our publishing ventures.
= And your worst experience?
Being insulted by a stranger -- someone who assumed that I was bad without
knowing anything about me.
*Interview of October 10, 2000
= What has happened since our last interview?
Our company -- EDVantage Software -- has become an Internet company instead of a
multimedia (CD-ROM) company. We deliver educational material online to students
and teachers.
= How much do you still work with paper?
Very little, though of course there are printouts, especially for meetings when
we review manuscripts.
= Will there still be a place for paper in the future?