You can’t judge an e-book by its cover. A new form of social proof takes over

An article in the New York Times titled “In E-Book Era, You Can’t Even Judge a Cover” got me thinking.

Social proof is one of the most powerful concepts in psychology and persuasion, but if you can’t tell what someone is reading by the cover, how can you be influenced by it?

Reading a book on the Amazon Kindle

Reading a book on the Amazon Kindle

In terms of books, the rise of E-Readers such as Amazon Kindle and the Apple iPad means that the social proof concept is changing from seeing people with the book on the train, to seeing how many people have downloaded and reviewed the book on Amazon or on Apple iTunes.

In the past I have blogged about human’s desire for touch when it comes to reading, but in spite of this I think it is safe to say that e-books will be here for good and we need to start accepting a new form of social proof.

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Categories: Psychology

Author:Chris Maloney

Chris is a multi-channel marketing strategist and one of Australia's most awarded young marketers.

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