Imagine reading a book and wishing to share a really great sentence with other readers of the book. Kindle grants that wish with the social networking feature. Highlight a section, share it, and other users can see what was marked. Posts on Facebook and Twitter link back to Amazon, but there is a setting to allow readers to see what parts of books other people find meaningful, funny, and exciting. The Kindle is a portable book club; everyone can share the moments of books while reading them.
Which Kindles Have Facebook and Twitter Sharing?
None of these features exist for Kindle 1 users. Only the Kindles that had the 2.5 firmware upgrade can experience the social networking features. Kindle 2 and Kindle DX has the social networking features if they upgraded to 2.5. Kindle 1 users can take comfort in the now extinct SD card slot, but that is one of the remaining enviable features compared to what Kindle 3 promises.
This does not mean that Kindle 1 users are unable to take part in the Kindle sharing. Amazon stores all the marked passages on Kindle Highlights, where users can see that 73 Wolf Hall readers highlighted Thomas Cromwell's philosophy, "You don’t get on by being original. You don’t get on by being bright. You don’t get on by being strong. You get on by being a subtle crook." However, Kindle 1 users will not see the highlights while reading, and they won't be able to make the Facebook or Twitter connections of passages unless they use the now archaic method of actually typing the words into an update box.
How to Manage Kindle Facebook and Twitter Features
Only Kindle books downloaded from Amazon can be shared with social networking sites. This is a good reason to download free public domain books from Amazon rather than converting files from Google books and transferring them, because converted books will not appear in the popular highlights, even if a reader highlighted them. The actual passage of the book is not posted. Rather, a link back to the Amazon site is posted, where people can read the passages and see the book on Amazon.
This means that the 20 readers who highlighted "Perhaps for all of us there is a moment that epitomizes our lives—a moment when you’re more yourself than at any other time, an instant of absolute self-realization. " in Russell Brand's Booky Wook are only going to find one another and have an online Booky Wook club by managing their social network settings properly. To manage settings:
- Go to the Kindle menu and choose "Manage Social Networks."
- Link the Amazon Kindle account and the Facebook and Twitter accounts.
- Press continue reading.
- Highlight passages, make comments, and press share.
Kindle Facebook and Twitter Privacy
Make sure the sharing feature is set to whatever privacy level is personally comfortable on Facebook and Twitter. It might be wise to make a separate Facebook account that is just for an Amazon Kindle book club account, because people can then set the Facebook page to be open and be cautious about sharing personal details.
Comments shared will appear on Facebook and Twitter; the passages will be shared through the highlights while reading the Kindle ebook and through the passage link to Amazon. If getting other people's highlights is annoying, the feature can be turned off or limited through the Kindle menu. The Kindle Highlights site allows users to keep review notes and highlights, and there is an option to see everyone's highlights or just personal highlights.
The ability to connect and discuss with others using a Kindle as a starting point might be valuable for people who feel they are the only people who have discovered The Man Who Outshone the Sun King, which Amazon's highlight note sadly explains, "There isn't enough highlighting in this book to show Popular Highlights." As the use of the Kindle social networking features grow, readers will be able to find one another.
Sources
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel was published by Henry Holt in October 2009, and the US Kindle book was produced by MacMillian. The ASIN is B002UZ5K4Y.
My Booky Wook: A Memoir of Sex, Drugs, and Scandal by Russell Brand was produced for Kindle in March 2009 by Harper Collins. The ASIN is B001NLKXYI.
The Man Who Outshone the Sun King: A Life of Gleaming Opulence and Wretched Reversal in the Reign of Louis XIV was by Charles Drazin. It was produced for Kindle by Amazon Digital Services for Da Capo Books in September, 2008. The ASIN is B001JEPKVU.
Alex Sharp - Alex Sharp is a teacher who has been keeping Suite101 readers up to date with the latest in audio- and e-book gadgetry since 2008.
