2007年Amazon致股東信：移除實體書的所有元素後，Kindle還剩下什麼？｜見識之旅

​導讀

這封信是2007年Amazon的第11封致股東信。

這一年，Amazon推出消費型電子產品Kindle，一種專為長篇閱讀而生的工具，試圖幫助人們對抗碎片化閱讀。

從線上書籍零售起家的Amazon，開始做起電子書閱讀器。跨界，也跨得合理。

這封致股東信除了告訴股東Kindle的功能強大之處，也分享了Kindle團隊一路走來的思考。

書籍自古騰堡發明印刷術以來，就長得差不多，沒有多大的變化。不是人們不改進書籍，而是書籍能被改進的空間極小。

這樣的一種媒介，Kindle團隊要優化它之前得好好思考－什麼是書籍的本質。

Amazon得到的答案是「這本書中讓我們相信的事物」。於是，Kindle移除了實體書的所有元素，包括紙、墨和膠水和裝訂。一切都消失，只剩下作者要展示給我們看的世界。

把握這一點，團隊圍繞著「怎麼把作者的世界更好地展示給讀者」進行設計開發。他們沒有複製實體書的所有功能，而是增加那些實體書永遠無法做到的功能。

最後，這個世界出現了一種電子墨水閱讀器－Kindle。

好了，導讀結束，以下致股東信正文開始。

正文

To our shareowners:

致我們的股東：

November 19, 2007, was a special day. After three years of work, we introduced Amazon Kindle to our customers.

2007年11月19日是一個特別的日子，在投入3年之後，我們終於可以向消費者正式介紹Amazon Kindle。

Many of you may already know something of Kindle — we’re fortunate (and grateful) that it has been broadly written and talked about. Briefly, Kindle is a purpose-built reading device with wireless access to more than 110,000 books, blogs, magazines, and newspapers. The wireless connectivity isn’t WiFi — instead it uses the same wireless network as advanced cell phones, which means it works when you’re at home in bed or out and moving around. You can buy a book directly from the device, and the whole book will be downloaded wirelessly, ready for reading, in less than 60 seconds. There is no “wireless plan,” no year-long contract you must commit to, and no monthly service fee. It has a paper-like electronic-ink display that’s easy to read even in bright daylight. Folks who see the display for the first time do a double-take. It’s thinner and lighter than a paperback, and can hold 200 books. Take a look at the Kindle detail page on Amazon.com to see what customers think — Kindle has already been reviewed more than 2,000 times.

關於Kindle，你們也許知道一些事情。幸運的是Kindle早已被人們談論，我們對此感到很感激。簡而言之，Kindle是一個專用的電子書閱讀器，可以使用無線網路存取超過11萬本書、部落格、雜誌和新聞。必須仔細說明的是，這裡提到的無線網路指的並不是WiFi，而是跟手機一樣的數據網路。意即，無論你待在家裡還是出門在外，你都可以正常使用Kindle。你可以在一個裝置中直接購買一本書，整本書從下載到閱讀，整個過程不用60秒。沒有商業上所謂的「無線方案」，也沒有年約要求你遵守，更沒有所謂的月費。Kindle擁有類似紙的螢幕，閱讀起來十分舒適，甚至在大白天也能正常使用。第一次看到這個顯示螢幕的人，往往會特別喜歡它。Kindle比平裝書更輕、更薄，而且它能裝載200本書。到Amazon官網上的Kindle頁面，查看其他用戶的想法吧！Kindle已經被評論超過2000次了！

As you might expect after three years of work, we had sincere hopes that Kindle would be well received, but we did not expect the level of demand that actually materialized. We sold out in the first 5 1⁄2 hours, and our supply chain and manufacturing teams have had to scramble to increase production capacity.

經過3年的努力，我們的確希望Kindle是一款正如你們所期待的產品，並且在消費者市場中受歡迎。然而，人們對Kindle的需求，遠超我們的想像。第一批Kindle在5個半小時內就銷售一空，因此我們的供應鏈和製造團隊不得不增加產能。

We started by setting ourselves the admittedly audacious goal of improving upon the physical book. We did not choose that goal lightly. Anything that has persisted in roughly the same form and resisted change for 500 years is unlikely to be improved easily. At the beginning of our design process, we identified what we believe is the book’s most important feature. It disappears. When you read a book, you don’t notice the paper and the ink and the glue and the stitching. All of that dissolves, and what remains is the author’s world.

我們首先制定了一個公認十分大膽的目標，就是對實體書進行改造。我們並非隨意選擇這個目標。實體書以同一形式存在於世上500年都沒有什麼變化，這樣的東西是很難輕易改進的。設計之初我們認知到一本書最重要的東西，是「這本書中讓我們相信的事物」。於是，Kindle移除了實體書的幾乎所有元素，無需紙、墨和膠水，也不需要裝訂。這一切都消失了，剩下的只有作者的世界。

We knew Kindle would have to get out of the way, just like a physical book, so readers could become engrossed in the words and forget they’re reading on a device. We also knew we shouldn’t try to copy every last feature of a book — we could never out-book the book. We’d have to add new capabilities — ones that could never be possible with a traditional book.

我們知道，Kindle這樣的閱讀裝置，可能會讓讀者把注意力都放在單一的字詞上，而非書的整體內容。我們必須要擺脫這樣的困境。我們也知道，我們不應該試圖複製實體書的每一項功能，因為我們無法用像實體書一樣的東西去超越實體書。我們必須增加新功能，增加那些實體書永遠無法做到的功能。

The early days of Amazon.com provide an analog. It was tempting back then to believe that an online bookstore should have all the features of a physical bookstore. I was asked about a particular feature dozens of times: “How are you going to do electronic book signings?” Thirteen years later, we still haven’t figured that one out! Instead of trying to duplicate physical bookstores, we’ve been inspired by them and worked to find things we could do in the new medium that could never be done in the old one. We don’t have electronic book signings, and similarly we can’t provide a comfortable spot to sip coffee and relax. However, we can offer literally millions of titles, help with purchase decisions through customer reviews, and provide discovery features like “customers who bought this item also bought.” The list of useful things that can be done only in the new medium is a long one.

Amazon早期做過一個類似實體書的東西。當時，人們認為線上書店需要具備實體書店所有特點。我曾不斷被問到這個問題：「如何在電子書上簽名？」然而，13年以後，這個問題還是沒被解決。我們沒有試圖複製實體書店，而是受實體書店啟發，並努力透過網路這個新媒介，達成實體書店做不到的事。我們的確沒有辦法讓用戶在電子書上簽名，同樣的，我們也無法提供舒適的空間給用戶喝咖啡放鬆。然而，相對應的是，我們能做到實體書店做不到的事。我們可以提供數百萬種品項，透過商品評論幫助用戶進行購買決策，提供探索功能如「購買這件商品的消費者也購買了那個」。如果表列那些只有線上書店能做到的事，我想這個清單會很長。

I’ll highlight a few of the useful features we built into Kindle that go beyond what you could ever do with a physical book. If you come across a word you don’t recognize, you can look it up easily. You can search your books. Your margin notes and underlinings are stored on the server-side in the “cloud,” where they can’t be lost. Kindle keeps your place in each of the books you’re reading, automatically. If your eyes are tired, you can change the font size. Most important is the seamless, simple ability to find a book and have it in 60 seconds. When I’ve watched people do this for the first time, it’s clear the capability has a profound effect on them. Our vision for Kindle is every book ever printed in any language, all available in less than 60 seconds.

我將重點介紹一些Kindle的特色功能，這些功能不是實體書可以做到的。如果你遇到一個不認得的字，你可以很輕易地查找。你可以在你擁有的書籍中搜索。你的註解筆記和劃線重點，將被儲存在雲端的伺服器中，不會遺失。Kindle會自動記錄你的閱讀進度。如果你的眼睛很痠，你可以調整字體大小。最重要的是，從尋找一本書到擁有一本書，只需要花費60秒。當我看到其他人第一次使用Kindle時，我確信Kindle這樣的閱讀器，能對用戶產生很深遠的影響。我們的願景是，在Kindle上找任何語言的書籍，都能在60秒之內完成。

Publishers — including all the major publishers — have embraced Kindle, and we’re thankful for that. From a publisher’s point of view, there are a lot of advantages to Kindle. Books never go out of print, and they never go out of stock. Nor is there ever waste from over-printing. Most important, Kindle makes it more convenient for readers to buy more books. Anytime you make something simpler and lower friction, you get more of it.

出版商們，包括很多大型出版商，都積極擁抱Kindle，我們對此感到很感激。從出版商的角度來說，Kindle具備很多優勢。書籍永遠不會絕版，也永遠不會缺貨，更不會有印多了滯銷的問題。最重要的是，Kindle讓用戶可以更方便地購買書籍。一個行為的複雜度越低，用戶就越容易做這個行為。

We humans co-evolve with our tools. We change our tools, and then our tools change us. Writing, invented thousands of years ago, is a grand whopper of a tool, and I have no doubt that it changed us dramatically. Five hundred years ago, Gutenberg’s invention led to a significant step-change in the cost of books. Physical books ushered in a new way of collaborating and learning. Lately, networked tools such as desktop computers, laptops, cell phones and PDAs have changed us too. They’ve shifted us more toward information snacking, and I would argue toward shorter attention spans. I value my BlackBerry — I’m convinced it makes me more productive — but I don’t want to read a three-hundred-page document on it. Nor do I want to read something hundreds of pages long on my desktop computer or my laptop. As I’ve already mentioned in this letter, people do more of what’s convenient and friction-free. If our tools make information snacking easier, we’ll shift more toward information snacking and away from long-form reading. Kindle is purpose-built for long-form reading. We hope Kindle and its successors may gradually and incrementally move us over years into a world with longer spans of attention, providing a counterbalance to the recent proliferation of info-snacking tools. I realize my tone here tends toward the missionary, and I can assure you it’s heartfelt. It’s also not unique to me but is shared by a large group of folks here. I’m glad about that because missionaries build better products. I’ll also point out that, while I’m convinced books are on the verge of being improved upon, Amazon has no sinecure as that agent. It will happen, but if we don’t execute well, it will be done by others.

工具和我們人類一起發展。過程中，我們改變了工具，工具改變了我們。數千年前，人們發明了寫作這件事，它大大改變了我們。五百年前，古騰堡（Gutenberg）發明了活字印刷術，導致書籍的成本大幅下降。實體書開創了一種新的協作與學習的方式。近年來，桌機、筆電、手機、PDA這樣的聯網工具，也對我們人類有深刻的影響。他們促使我們把注意力不斷放在碎片化資訊上，而我認為這使人的注意力碎片化。我很喜歡我的黑莓機，我相信它能使我的生產力更高。然而，我不想在黑莓機上閱讀長達300頁的文件，也不想在電腦上閱讀上百頁的文件。正如我在這封信前面說到的，一個行為的複雜度越低，用戶就越容易做這個行為。如果攝取碎片化資訊比較容易，那麼人們就傾向於攝取碎片化資訊，而不是長篇閱讀。Kindle專為長篇閱讀設計，我們希望Kindle與其之後的產品，能幫助用戶進行長篇閱讀，減緩資訊碎片化的趨勢，將我們帶入一個擁有更長注意力的世界。我知道自己講話像個傳教士，但我跟你保證，我所說的話都發自內心。在Amazon，我這樣的想法並不是特例，很多人都擁有這樣的信念。對此我感到非常開心，因為傳教士總能打造出更好的產品。我還要指出，我認為書籍被改進的趨勢是必然會發生的，如果我們的Kindle做的不夠好，也會有別人來完成。

Your team of missionaries here is fervent about driving free cash flow per share and returns on capital. We know we can do that by putting customers first. I guarantee you there is more innovation ahead of us than behind us, and we do not expect the road to be an easy one. We’re hopeful, and I’d even say optimistic, that Kindle, true to its name, will “start a fire” and improve the world of reading.

我們，也就是你的傳教士團隊，熱衷於推動每股現金流和資本回報。我們知道如何做到這件事，那就是把客戶放在第一位。我跟你保證，雖然我們已經做了很多創新，但我們未來將做的創新一定比過去多，因此我們不會預期未來的路很輕鬆。我們對於Kindle的表現充滿希望，甚至可以說是樂觀。我們相信Kindle會正如其名「點燃火焰」，改善閱讀世界。

As always, I attach our 1997 letter to shareholders. You’ll see that Kindle exemplifies our philosophy and longterm investment approach as discussed in that letter. Happy reading and many thanks!

如同往常，我把我們在1997年寫的致股東信附在文末。在那封信裡，你會看到Kindle體現了我們的價值觀與長期投資策略。祝你閱讀愉快，非常感謝！

Jeffrey P. Bezos

Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Amazon.com, Inc.

April 2008

傑夫·貝佐斯

Amazon創始人暨CEO

2008年4月

以上就是2007年Amazon致股東信。

想看隔年的Amazon致股東信，請至《2008年Amazon致股東信：三大業務支柱初現，巨大飛輪開始轉動》。

想看全系列導讀目錄，請至《Amazon 1997–2019年致股東信導讀目錄》。