Kindlegraph Allows Authors to Digitally Sign E-Books

A service called Kindlegraph aims to bridge the gap between the convenience of e-books and the singular physical nature of real books. TechCrunch reports that with Kindlegraph, your favorite author can sign your favorite book, even if you bought an e-reader version. The service uses Docusign’s technology to allow authors to digitally sign their works, and the signature (and any accompanying message) is forwarded as a file to the reader’s Kindle.

Of course, the Kindlegraph is not a complete substitution for a real life signing of a real life book—the process occurs digitally, and thus doesn’t require the reader and author to be in the same room for the signing to happen, and can easily be done by someone hired by the author without the reader’s knowledge. Yes, digitally signing e-books saves paper and saves the expense of organizing a book tour. But for me, signings (with authors or musicians) has always been about actually meeting someone I admire and thanking that person for his or her work. Borders closing-induced sadness aside, Kindlegraph is a great innovation. I would love to see Kindlegraph become popular at book signings, because it gives e-book readers an opportunity to enjoy something that was previously only available with physical books.

Kindlegraph was created by former Amazon developer Evan Jacobs.

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