Several times this year, I used Scribd to post my presentations on the web. It was extremely easy to use. Moreover, there were some helpful metrics (that is, the number of viewers), sharing tools and publishing options (such as PDFs, PowerPoints, etc).

Well, as should be no surprise, Scribd is getting lots of traction, attracting about 60 million unique visitors.

In fact, this week the website announced a deal with Simon & Schuster -- a division of CBS (NYSE: CBS) -- to sell roughly 5,000 digital e-books. Some of the authors include Stephen King and Mary Higgins Clark.

Amazon.com's (NASDAQ: AMZN) Kindle shows that there is a clear business opportunity in the e-book market. And Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is taking notice.

According to the New York Times, the search-engine giant indicated at the BookExpo convention that it wants to make a grab for this market.

OK, Google won't launch a handheld device. Instead, the company wants to make it easy to sell e-books via its own website. With Google's current infrastructure, it should be relatively easy to pull this off. In fact, over the years the company has been scanning millions of books (although, this has raised concerns with the U.S. Justice Department).

This post is part of AOL Money & Finance's Best & Worst in Money 2008 feature.

The digital revolution? The frugalista movement? Social networking? Or As-seen-on-TV products? 2008 has changed the landscape of how we recreate, communicate, shop, and dream. What product would you consider the Best Breakout Product of 2008?

Amazon Kindle

Amazon's (NASDAQ: AMZN) Kindle is not the first attempt to replace the paper book with an electronic reader, but it has succeeded (and how -- even now, over a year since its launch, the wait time for a new unit is a couple of months) where others failed for several reasons. The first is the reading experience. The Kindle's cutting-edge electronic paper technology provides crisp, clean print in any light conditions. The device is thin and light enough to carry anywhere, and can store hundreds of books at your fingertips.

The second reason for its success is the access to a huge library of literature, which can be accessed via a built-in wireless link (no computer needed) through the Sprint cell phone system. Virtually all new books are available in Kindle format, and many, many others (190,000 and counting). Top newspapers such as the New York Times also offer Kindle subscriptions, and schools are beginning to adopt it as the platform for electronic versions of textbooks. In the race to lead the transition to electronic books, Amazon's Kindle has broken free of the pack.

Since the announcement on Oprah's television program that Suze Orman's financial advice book Money & Women would be available for free as an e-book from Oprah.com, more than a million copies in English have been downloaded, as well as an additional 19,000 in Spanish, according to a statement released Saturday. This puts it the same league as such other free download sensations as the 9-11 Commission Report and Stephen King's "Riding the Bullet."

Yet, the offer hasn't kept people from buying the version of Money & Women published by a division of Random House last year. The book was ranked number 6 on Amazon on Saturday, behind Oprah Book Club selection A New Earth and just ahead of Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope. The 9-11 Commission Report remained a bestseller for months despite its availability for free online.

The big publishers remain skeptical about providing content for free online. While some see it as a valuable marketing tool, others suspect that it harms sales of traditional books. But the tide may be turning, albeit in baby steps. HarperCollins has announced plans to make available free electronic versions of some of its books, or portions thereof, the New York Times reported last week. They will not be downloadable, however.

Providing some free content is "like taking the shrink wrap off a book," said a spokesperson for HarperCollins, which will allow consumers to sample the content. "I didn't grow up buying every book I read," added fantasy novelist Neil Gaiman, author of some of the free content. "I read books at libraries, I read books at friend's houses, I read books that I found on people's window sills."

Suze Orman suggests that sales are a secondary concern for her in the Oprah offer. "This was not about getting people to buy the book, but getting them to read it, and that was the intention behind this offer."

On September 7, Tom Barlow reported that Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) would be manufacturing an e-book reader, reportedly tagged the Kindle (perhaps to "rekindle" interest in this technology that hasn't quite caught on?). It competes with the Sony (NYSE: SNE) reader in that it presents the e-book text in a new, crisp format, without reliance on backlighting that can be unfriendly to a bookworm's eyes.

On Monday, AMZN evidently plans to introduce the Kindle, and those in e-book publishing hope the device's launch will lift interest in the format. Arthur Klebanoff, co-founder and CEO of e-book publisher Rosetta Books LLC told The Wall Street Journal that e-book sales in the U.S. likely range between $15 million and $25 million. "By any scenario it's very small," he noted, "but Amazon's entrance is very significant ... this is about trying to change consumer habits."

According to an article on CNET, the device is expected to be priced in the $400 to $500 range and will have the ability to wirelessly connect to an e-book store on Amazon.com. Perfect for when you're on vacation and run out of reading material.

Amazon already sells digital downloads through its music and movies store; the company hopes that introducing its own e-reader could spur interest in downloadable books. In effect, the new product represents an effort from Amazon to return to its roots; books, after all, were the first thing AMZN ever sold.

For years, tech pundits have pointed to the inefficiencies of the printed book and the inevitability of their obsolescence in favor of e-books. The transition depends, however, on an appealing reading platform to host the content. So far, there has been a vast disinterest in products companies including Sony (NYSE: SNE) have put on the market. Now, according to the New York Times, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), the 500-lb. gorilla of the book business, is jumping into the foray with its own e-book reader, the Kindle.

Like the Sony Reader, the Kindle uses a new type of display to offer the reader crisp text, without depending on eye-wearying backlighting. It will probably be the size and shape of a trade paperback, and priced in the neighborhood of the iPhone (the new price). The Kindle will also reportedly be capable of wireless syncing, allowing the user to download products from the mother ship.

Amazon may just have the clout to convince the publishing world to sell their newest, hottest titles in electronic version for reading on the Kindle. If so, the product has a chance, I'd guess. While I'm in general skeptical of the future of stand-alone products, the Kindle or one of its ilk could find a market for those of us who like to curl up with a good book. Laptops are too clumsy in bed, and our iPhone screens rather small for the purpose.

While I enjoy the tactile pleasure derived from a paper book, if the Kindle can save a few trees and save me a few bucks, I'm willing to give it a go.