Comment E-books let kids choose the books they want (Score 1) 570
I can't let this question go by without talking about the social enterprise I've founded called Worldreader (www.worldreader.org.) We use e-readers to get local and international books to children in Africa. What we find-- and we measure this obsessively-- is that the kids read far more (I've met girls who have 90 books in a year!) and better (as measured by standardized tests vs. control schools) as a result. In a way, it's not surprising: what I learned as an Amazon guy is that when you make things easier and less expensive, people do more of it. See also: cell phones in the developing world.
As for the efficiency question, I can only say that we're super-focused on keeping costs low, but maybe not in the way you think. We get donations from everyone from international publishers (Random House, Penguin, etc.), hardware partners (mEdge donates the cases that protect the e-readers), software partners (Dropbox gives us free licenses), and even local African publishers who let us use their books for nearly no cost. Heck, the hotel where we stay in Accra, Ghana, even gives us lots of nights for free. But at the same time, I do pay many of our employees a salary-- after all, this is their full-time job, and they've got to make money somehow. I volunteer all of my time, but not everyone is in a position to do so. And beyond that, we take trips (flying coach!) to countries like Ghana and Kenya to train the teachers, work with the students, and generally make sure things are going well. Are these costs worth it? You bet: there're the only way we can have the impact we have.
Speaking of impact, if you have 90 seconds and think reading is important, take a look at some of the kids in our program in Africa as they talk about what they're getting out of reading, and how they want to become a doctor or soccer player as a result: http://youtu.be/uhAuD65WYnk (We have lots more video at youtube.com/worldreaders if you enjoy seeing kids and teachers reading and improving their lives.) Or visit Worldreader.org to find out more.
OK, I know this is an ad, but that's part of what running a social enterprise means: believing in your cause enough to tell other about it... and doing it in a way that doesn't cost money! Thanks, Slashdot!
As for the efficiency question, I can only say that we're super-focused on keeping costs low, but maybe not in the way you think. We get donations from everyone from international publishers (Random House, Penguin, etc.), hardware partners (mEdge donates the cases that protect the e-readers), software partners (Dropbox gives us free licenses), and even local African publishers who let us use their books for nearly no cost. Heck, the hotel where we stay in Accra, Ghana, even gives us lots of nights for free. But at the same time, I do pay many of our employees a salary-- after all, this is their full-time job, and they've got to make money somehow. I volunteer all of my time, but not everyone is in a position to do so. And beyond that, we take trips (flying coach!) to countries like Ghana and Kenya to train the teachers, work with the students, and generally make sure things are going well. Are these costs worth it? You bet: there're the only way we can have the impact we have.
Speaking of impact, if you have 90 seconds and think reading is important, take a look at some of the kids in our program in Africa as they talk about what they're getting out of reading, and how they want to become a doctor or soccer player as a result: http://youtu.be/uhAuD65WYnk (We have lots more video at youtube.com/worldreaders if you enjoy seeing kids and teachers reading and improving their lives.) Or visit Worldreader.org to find out more.
OK, I know this is an ad, but that's part of what running a social enterprise means: believing in your cause enough to tell other about it... and doing it in a way that doesn't cost money! Thanks, Slashdot!
