Book publisher HarperCollins is toying with a new media format – the ‘Video Book’.  Jeff Jarvis the author of ‘What would Google do?” is the first to have a book turned into the new v-book format. (See a clip from that v-book above)

Here’s how it works:
1. Find an author who has written anything that might remotely lend itself  to a short form video synopsis.
2. Get the author to read that synopsis in front of a camera and coach them to present with the same flair with which they write.
3. Edit, upload to iTunes and charge people $9.99 to watch the book (so to speak).

I can see the cash-rich VC’s lining up to get a piece of this action!

Okay, that said, I can imagine some authors - Seth Godin as an example, who might do well in this format. His books are generally short, they emphasize and explain a few key concepts, he is a very compelling speaker and he has a huge following. But beyond a few niche applications I can’t imagine this experiment going too far. My guess is that this will end up being a great way to promote books rather than a good way to re-purpose books.

I can’t wait for the v-book version of Tolstoy’s Napoleonic era classic – War and Peace,  presented by Patrick Stewart (if Tolstoy isn’t available).