I read on a Kindle and buy digital books. The Kindle is a closed system and this post does a wonderful job articulating that. Here are some notable bits...
As a consumer of digital books I feel delighted, but as a reader, I feel crestfallen. All of the consumption parts of the Kindle experience are pitch-perfect: a boundless catalogue, instant distribution, reasonable prices (perhaps once too reasonable, now less so with recently updated contracts). But after a book has made its way through the plumbing and onto the devices, the once-fresh experience now feels neglected.
From 2009 to 2013, every book I read, I read on a screen. And then I stopped. When media is too locked down, too rigid, when it’s too much like a room with most of the air sucked out of it, stale and exhausting, the exploration stops.
It reminds me of how I've been on Flickr for years and then within a week on Instagram I had double the audience. Flickr is closed and unconnected, existing only to itself, where Instagram connects to other things.
There's an in-the-know-type-thing of a more closed system. You're there with people similar to you in some way. You've all *found* something and enjoy it. But, in general, having the ability to be open and connected, when it's wanted, certainly fosters more exploration, and probably long-term use.