WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR BOOKS?

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – interest in all things location-related is going to grow and grow as it gets easier and easier to factor it into social networking, media and (our favourite) marketing communications.

Bookcrossing.com is a nice (albeit old in web terms) example of this ever-burgeoning interest in location, in this case centred on books. You remember books, right?

The site is a kind of literary social networking site which hinges on the idea that when you’ve finished a book you should leave it somewhere for someone else to find, read and pass on in a similarly chaotic fashion. All the books involved have an individual code, a bit like an ISBN, which can be used on the site to add location details to the book’s record. You can then see where your book has been, where a book you set free has ended up, and of course who has been reading it and what they thought. For some reason they haven't yet incoporated Google Maps - which would seem like an obvious next step...

As ever, we think there’s some interesting data capture done and insights to be had. All sorts of mysteries can be at once invented and solved. For example:

• What genre of fiction moves fastest: thrillers or romance?

• Can a book which starts out in the inner city slums make a better life for itself in a rich surburb?

• Are there particular authors that everybody wants to read, but no-one want to own?

We’re not sure what writers, publishers, retailers and councils will think though. Not only does Bookcrossing’s ethos suggest that you shouldn’t actually buy any books, it also encourages littering…