Pottermore

The Internet is in a constant state of flux, as everyone is out to try to do their best to commercialize the medium, and make it profitable. One of the more interesting attempts that will be unveiled in the near future is a collaborative effort by J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series of books, and Sony. Rowling is creating a new website called Pottermore (http://www.pottermore.com). It is expected to be open to the public by the end of the year, as right now it is still in a beta phase. Essentially Pottermore is taking every chapter of every Harry Potter book, and letting you explore the chapter through illustrations and more in-depth details by Rowling. Along with the extra details, as you progress through the story chapters, you also unlock different collectibles that you can store in your online 'trunk'. You eventually earn a wand, and learn spells. The purpose of the collectibles is to use in mini-games that you play on the website with other members of the community. You can interact with other members of Pottermore like any other kind of social site, as you have friends lists, message boards, and games you can play with others. You can share pictures and drawings, and talk about all things Harry Potter.

While the page is still in beta, and therefore not open to the public, here are a couple of basic screenshots from my beta account that give an idea of the layout of the page, and the kind of extra details you can find about the books. (Click for larger versions).

 Of course you will also eventually be able to use the site to buy Harry Potter merchandise and for a while will be the exclusive place you will be able to legally get the e-book versions of the Harry Potter books. In all, it is an ambitious endeavor to bring a traditional medium to the internet, and make it something more than just reprinting the pages of the book on a webpage. While it will be sometime before we see what the end result will be, it provides a glimpse to the kinds of things that can be accomplished on the internet in bringing new life to old mediums.