Why audiobooks?
Audiobooks from the visually impaired to everyone.
Translated from Kurdish to English by: Agora Warger
To answer such a question, we have to go back to the beginning of the idea and the invention of something called "audio books". In order to understand its importance, we must also study the value and position of audiobooks.
As they say, need is the mother of innovation. If we look at the idea of audiobooks, we see that it arose from its necessity and absence. Audiobooks initially appeared as an aid to the blind and were developed by the American Institute for the blinds in 1932. In later years, William Shakespeare's plays became one of the earliest written works to be turned into audio recordings.
It is true that necessity leads to innovation, but influence and demand also are strong motivators for growth. Therefore, to better understand the importance of audiobooks, it is not sufficient to look at the invention of the idea alone because as important as its creation and construction are, so is the demand for the idea to develop and stay on the competitive platform. If we look at the original design and style of audiobooks, we see they were originally recorded on cassette tapes. But now, like any advancement in other necessary tools and materials, the design has become more modern and dozens of different forms are available. We see that its position and importance among users have made it remain in the industry and it has seen much progress, changes, and refinement.
Now if we look at the idea of creating audiobooks, we see that both the reason for its creation and the survival and development of the idea is the reason it's still able to maintain its position and strengthen it. Let's take a look at some facts: According to the Voice of American Association in 2016, audiobook sales were $2.1 billion while printed books were about $1.8 billion.
In the end, this article may not be complete without mentioning the effects of audiobooks. We need to talk about the gap it has filled in our lives and the difference between audiobooks and printed books. In a 2013 shareholder meeting, Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos stated that "audiobooks allow you to read when your eyes are busy." In short, audiobooks fell into this busy era of humanity. In humanity's efforts to produce more in less time, audiobooks have filled the gaps, saved us time, and made such a difference.
It is because of the importance and impact of audiobooks that one of the most significant lines of operation of Agora Vision is Agora Deng, the first digital platform for Kurdish audiobooks in the form of mobile applications.
