Rebuck and Scardino move up the MediaGuardian ranks. The Bookseller reports that Marjorie Scardino and Gail Rebuck - Random House CEO - have both risen up the ranks. Marjorie Scardino has jumped from 49 to 25. The Guardian said of Marjorie: "one of only a handful of female chief executives in charge of a leading UK business, she has overseen a transformation in the fortunes of Pearson":
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/123610-page.html
Despite this, this year's MediaGuardian 100 list contains just 18 women - fewer than in the past 2 years. This article looks at whether the list reflects the industry:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrinder/2010/jul/16/mediaguardian-100-white-blokes
Wired reports that the US lawsuit against document-sharing website Scribd, which claimed its copyright filtering technology is itself a form of copyright infringement, has been abandoned. The suit argued that the copying and insertion of a copyrighted work into a filtering system without compensating the copyright holder, or obtaining their consent, was a violation of the Copyright Act:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/07/copyrightfiltering-scribd/
Publisher's Weekly reports that Kindle Books are now outselling hardcover books on Amazon. According to statistics, in the past three months, for every 100 hardcover books sold, Amazon.com has sold 143 Kindle books. eBook sales have also tripled in the first half of 2010 compared to 2009: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/43899-amazon-s-e-book-sales-tripled-in-first-half-of-2010-.html
The digital revolution in children's publishing: Children's book publishers are pretty confident in the long-term survival of printed books for children - picture books have used artwork as a core part of their storytelling as long as the art form has existed, and the art form is now going interactive. Now children can "literally participate" in a book and publishers have a lot of decisions to make - which devices to embrace, how to handle digital rights (and who has them), and how they can make money with e-products:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/43879-the-digital-revolution-in-children-s-publishing.html
And Penguin USA has teamed up with US cable network Starz to create an enhanced eBook of Ken Follett's novel The Pillars of the Earth, which pulls content from the upcoming TV miniseries based on the book. The eBook includes 34 short videos, artwork and original music from the series (and there is an iPad version too):
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/123656-penguin-teams-up-with-cable-network-to-provide-amplified-follett-e-book.html.rss
Tuesday 20 July 2010
Wednesday 14 July 2010
Penguin Digital Update - July 14th
Bookseller Barnes & Noble is embroiled in a bitter fight to stave off threats from upstart electronic reading devices, discount online retailers and private equity tycoon Ron Burkle (who has a 19% stake in B&N and who is challenging a "poison pill" provision hastily created by the company to halt his advance up its shareholder register):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jul/13/barnes-noble-ron-burkle-court
A group representing British songwriters and composers are calling for the introduction of a levy on broadband providers based on the amount of pirated music they allow to pass through their networks. Will Page, chief economist at PRS for Music, hopes that a piracy fee may better align the financial interests of internet service providers with rights holders at a time when the two industries are at odds over who should bear the costs of online song swapping, however, ISP's argue that they cannot take blame for consumer's behaviour (pls see attached Word doc for full article):
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2876e320-8ec0-11df-8a67-00144feab49a.html
Addicted to the internet: how virtual worlds have trapped 2 million in their web. The Guardian examines how one in 10 online users in South Korea (the most wired nation on Earth) are addicted to the internet. Counselling centres and curfews for children are just some of the measures the government are taking to combat this:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/13/internet-addiction-south-korea
Borders sells stationary arm Paperchase to Primary Capital (a UK-based private equity firm) in a bid to reduce its debt and stay competitive with the likes of Barnes & Noble and Amazon (pls see attached Word doc for full article):
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/financial-reporting/article/43817-borders-sells-paperchase.html?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=37e4d33c65-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email
According to The Telegraph, the Hong Kong Book Fair is going digital as organisers hope to lead the Asian publishing industry into a brave new world. This world may not be too far away as the international market research company DisplaySearch recently claimed that the Chinese market for devices such as the iPad and the Kindle will outsell the US market before 2015:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/hong-kong-book-fair-goes-digital-2025613.html
Ben & Jerry's are cutting their monthly newsletter after receiving feedback from customers suggesting that they'd prefer to be contacted on social media sites. Email marketing has long been established as one of the most effective digital marketing channels but as the digital landscape is changing, so too are the ways that businesses communicate with consumers:
http://www.nma.co.uk/news/ben-and-jerry%E2%80%99s-drops-email-in-favour-of-social-media/3015773.article
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jul/13/barnes-noble-ron-burkle-court
A group representing British songwriters and composers are calling for the introduction of a levy on broadband providers based on the amount of pirated music they allow to pass through their networks. Will Page, chief economist at PRS for Music, hopes that a piracy fee may better align the financial interests of internet service providers with rights holders at a time when the two industries are at odds over who should bear the costs of online song swapping, however, ISP's argue that they cannot take blame for consumer's behaviour (pls see attached Word doc for full article):
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2876e320-8ec0-11df-8a67-00144feab49a.html
Addicted to the internet: how virtual worlds have trapped 2 million in their web. The Guardian examines how one in 10 online users in South Korea (the most wired nation on Earth) are addicted to the internet. Counselling centres and curfews for children are just some of the measures the government are taking to combat this:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/13/internet-addiction-south-korea
Borders sells stationary arm Paperchase to Primary Capital (a UK-based private equity firm) in a bid to reduce its debt and stay competitive with the likes of Barnes & Noble and Amazon (pls see attached Word doc for full article):
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/financial-reporting/article/43817-borders-sells-paperchase.html?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=37e4d33c65-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email
According to The Telegraph, the Hong Kong Book Fair is going digital as organisers hope to lead the Asian publishing industry into a brave new world. This world may not be too far away as the international market research company DisplaySearch recently claimed that the Chinese market for devices such as the iPad and the Kindle will outsell the US market before 2015:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/hong-kong-book-fair-goes-digital-2025613.html
Ben & Jerry's are cutting their monthly newsletter after receiving feedback from customers suggesting that they'd prefer to be contacted on social media sites. Email marketing has long been established as one of the most effective digital marketing channels but as the digital landscape is changing, so too are the ways that businesses communicate with consumers:
http://www.nma.co.uk/news/ben-and-jerry%E2%80%99s-drops-email-in-favour-of-social-media/3015773.article
Penguin Digital Newsround - July 13th
The chair of the Society of Authors, Tom Holland, has hit out at publishers' attempts to seize control over electronic rights, calling eBook deals that lock authors in for the duration of copyright "not remotely fair" and urging authors to push for higher eBook royalties:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jul/12/ebooks-publishing-deals-fair
Google has created a new tool designed to make it possible for anyone, not just developers, to build apps for devices running the Android operating system. Google App Inventor (which is free) allows users to drag and drop blocks of code which contain features common to many apps (GPS, SMS and social network links): http://digitalmedia.strategyeye.com/article/37ADMjLsO1U/2010/07/12/google_launches_do-it-yourself_app_creator/?nsl=Hg3WlUTCr4li
Richard Waters examines the work of "content factories" such as Demand Media who have made a business out of gaming Google's systems. The company, and many others like it, track the queries entered into search engines to find out what users are interested in, then hire freelance writers to rush out articles to meet the need. The problem is, because the content matches Google's search engine formula users are seeing a lot of mediocre content getting a more prominent position than it should do:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ec7cb18c-8dda-11df-9153-00144feab49a.html
Click here for Word doc.
Eileen Gittins, the CEO of bespoke book-publishing firm Blurb, talks e-books (prediction: in 5 years 50% of books will be digital), new publishing models and the iPad:
http://digitalmedia.strategyeye.com/article/xpLt1D7k8hY/2010/07/12/interview_blurb_ceo_on_the_future_of_books/
In the streaming video era, with the publishing industry under relentless threat,The New York Times examines the current success of the book trailer and author video and how technologically upgrading their marketing efforts is now essential to authors:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/fashion/11AuthorVideos.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=the%20author%20takes%20a%20star%20turn&st=cse
Waterstone's is to open a cinema in its Piccadilly branch next year in a move that follows its sister chain HMV: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/122994-waterstones-to-open-cinema-in-piccadilly-branch.html.rss
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jul/12/ebooks-publishing-deals-fair
Google has created a new tool designed to make it possible for anyone, not just developers, to build apps for devices running the Android operating system. Google App Inventor (which is free) allows users to drag and drop blocks of code which contain features common to many apps (GPS, SMS and social network links): http://digitalmedia.strategyeye.com/article/37ADMjLsO1U/2010/07/12/google_launches_do-it-yourself_app_creator/?nsl=Hg3WlUTCr4li
Richard Waters examines the work of "content factories" such as Demand Media who have made a business out of gaming Google's systems. The company, and many others like it, track the queries entered into search engines to find out what users are interested in, then hire freelance writers to rush out articles to meet the need. The problem is, because the content matches Google's search engine formula users are seeing a lot of mediocre content getting a more prominent position than it should do:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ec7cb18c-8dda-11df-9153-00144feab49a.html
Click here for Word doc.
Eileen Gittins, the CEO of bespoke book-publishing firm Blurb, talks e-books (prediction: in 5 years 50% of books will be digital), new publishing models and the iPad:
http://digitalmedia.strategyeye.com/article/xpLt1D7k8hY/2010/07/12/interview_blurb_ceo_on_the_future_of_books/
In the streaming video era, with the publishing industry under relentless threat,The New York Times examines the current success of the book trailer and author video and how technologically upgrading their marketing efforts is now essential to authors:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/fashion/11AuthorVideos.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=the%20author%20takes%20a%20star%20turn&st=cse
Waterstone's is to open a cinema in its Piccadilly branch next year in a move that follows its sister chain HMV: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/122994-waterstones-to-open-cinema-in-piccadilly-branch.html.rss
Penguin Digital Newsround - July 12th
Google has massive power over so many companies on the web. Through the secret algorithm that determines which web pages show up most prominently in its search results, it can bring a flood of traffic to other sites – or cast them into the online equivalent of Siberia. In this article, the FT's Richard Waters examines whether Google's pursuit of the perfect market really works as advertised - Google has so much influence on what we stumble upon, what we read and what we believe, that smaller, less powerful internet companies are becoming resentful:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1a5596c2-8d0f-11df-bad7-00144feab49a.html
Internet entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox (co-founder of lastminute.com and now the UK's Digital Champion) has launched a drive to get every working-age person in Britain using the web by 2012. Around 10 million Britons have never used the internet and Lane Fox believes that getting people online could drive real social change: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iQ09c5QfAYZz4VaHZY-wo9tZZSsQ
"When Internet users become Facebook users they actually do significantly more searches on Google" - Google's CEO Eric Schmidt says he is undaunted by Apple or Facebook. Schmidt was joined by Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin as they addressed a variety of issues at a conference last week: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6682JA20100709?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtechnologyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Technology%29
Interead the company behind the Cool-er eReader has been put into liquidation. Cooler Readers were launched in 2009, but offered nothing new in terms of technical innovation - they were noted only for their colourful packaging: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/122928-company-behind-cool-er-reader-goes-into-liquidation.html.rss
As eight of the top 10 publishers see a drop in sales in 2010, Victoria Barnsley, CEO of HarperCollins, warns that the publishing industry is unlikely to return to pre-recession prosperity and urges publishers to adapt and deliver what consumers want: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/122971-adapt-to-recover-warn-publishing-chiefs.html
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1a5596c2-8d0f-11df-bad7-00144feab49a.html
Internet entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox (co-founder of lastminute.com and now the UK's Digital Champion) has launched a drive to get every working-age person in Britain using the web by 2012. Around 10 million Britons have never used the internet and Lane Fox believes that getting people online could drive real social change: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iQ09c5QfAYZz4VaHZY-wo9tZZSsQ
"When Internet users become Facebook users they actually do significantly more searches on Google" - Google's CEO Eric Schmidt says he is undaunted by Apple or Facebook. Schmidt was joined by Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin as they addressed a variety of issues at a conference last week: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6682JA20100709?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtechnologyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Technology%29
Interead the company behind the Cool-er eReader has been put into liquidation. Cooler Readers were launched in 2009, but offered nothing new in terms of technical innovation - they were noted only for their colourful packaging: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/122928-company-behind-cool-er-reader-goes-into-liquidation.html.rss
As eight of the top 10 publishers see a drop in sales in 2010, Victoria Barnsley, CEO of HarperCollins, warns that the publishing industry is unlikely to return to pre-recession prosperity and urges publishers to adapt and deliver what consumers want: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/122971-adapt-to-recover-warn-publishing-chiefs.html
Tuesday 13 July 2010
Outsell Insight - 2010 The Year of the Digital Platform
2010: the Year of the Digital Platform
by Ned May, Director & Lead Analyst - Boston, Massachusetts
* A series of recent industry moves suggests the end of publisher attempts to create a consumer reading device. These initiatives, so prominently announced in 2009, are now giving way to efforts around digital platforms instead. That's good news for all involved.
Important Details: On June 14, 2010 News Corp announced [1] several moves to capitalize on digital content developments. The company acquired the Skiff digital reader platform - but not the actual device - from the Hearst initiative of the same name, and also announced an investment in Journalism Online, and the appointment of Jon Housman as the president of its Digital Journalism Initiatives.
The following day, Next Issue Media -- a joint venture of News Corp, Hearst, Conde Nast, Meredith and Time Inc that is tasked with, amongst other things, developing a digital reader platform -- announced [2] that it had hired a new CEO to replace the interim CEO John Squires who came to the venture directly from Time. The new CEO, Morgan Guenther, brings an outside-of-publishing background but one that centers around digital media and disruptive devices, including two years as the president of TiVo.
Then, on June 29, LibreDigital acquired [3] the e-commerce platform Symtio from Harper Collins. The technology is described as "a multi-channel digital media platform that enables customers to purchase and access digital media - including eBooks, audiobooks, music, and video - online or through an in-store retail card program." Said another way, it is an all inclusive digital media storefront that is agnostic to walls and containers.
Implications: These announcements signal the end of those short lived efforts by many publishers to build a physical e-reader device. The Skiff announcement says as much about Hearst as it does about News Corp. First, publishers should not be in the business of manufacturing (or sourcing) devices any more than they should be in the business of building printing presses. That's not to say that, at the time, the investments by Hearst and others were not warranted nor wise. They were both made as Amazon's Kindle was emerging as a dominant platform (see Insights 17 September 2007, Amazon's Kindle Device Re-Ignites e-book Interest), tipping the balance of power away from the content producers and toward that retailer instead. But with more competition in the device marketplace, not the least of which is Apple's iPad, Amazon's power has diminished (see Insights 10 September 2008, iPod? Check. Laptop? Check. Kindle? Not So Fast) and the point of competition, and thus investment, has now re-focused around the underlying platforms.
Initial speculation around the News Corp announcement was that it might indicate a lack of commitment by them in the Next Issue Media joint venture, given its outright purchase of the competing platform from Skiff.
But seen in the context of this LibreDigital announcement, the appointment of Guenther to head Next Issue seems as important and strategic as any of the announcements. LibreDigital is putting in place the pieces necessary to sell any media in any locale - be it an online storefront, a big box retailer, or a coffee shop. News Corp is merely hedging its digital initiative bets, given the persistent lack of visibility into future landscape of devices, platforms, and business models.
How unclear is this future? The LibreDigital announcement and Next Issue Media's appointment of Guenther to head a digital content initiative point to how truly meaningless yesterday's media containers may become. Pick up an iPad and you have the option to watch a TV show, a movie, or even a live sports event. You also have the option to read news, a magazine or a book - with or without videos - and you can listen to countless audio feeds - from a live stream from around the world to an archived item from years ago.
Finally, you can also play thousands of games, from digital versions of childhood classics to entirely new ones that incorporate the tactile advantages of the newest digital devices. That breadth of choice means content producers will need to either make their content so compelling that at times it trumps the other experiences available or they will need to make their content so devoid of boundaries that it can be delivered as an element of any other experience outlined above.
The smart money is currently doing both - building out proprietary delivery platforms while also engaging in efforts of cross media and cross company collaboration. We advise all participants in the industry to do the same.
Links contained in this article:
[1] http://www.skiff.com/press-release.html" target="_blank [2] http://nextissuemedia.com/blog/?p=142" target="_blank [3] http://www.libredigital.com/libredigital-acquires-symtio-ecommerce-business-from-harpercollins" target="_blank
Links to Outsell profiles of companies mentioned:
Amazon.com, Inc.:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=4756
Apple, Inc.:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=29254
Conde Nast Publications, Inc.:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=4255
HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=3786
Journalism Online, LLC:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=32335
LibreDigital:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=4323
Meredith Corporation:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=6503
News Corporation, Ltd:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=1744
The Hearst Corporation:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=6534
Time, Inc.:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=4365
TiVo, Inc.:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=6813
Link to this Insights article:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/insights/?p=11232
Email Ned May about this Insight
mailto:nmay@outsellinc.com?subject=Comment%20on%20Outsell%20Insights%20
Join the discussion
https://clients.outsellinc.com/insights/?p=11232#respond
Provide feedback on this Insight
http://www.outsellinc.com/rate/insight/11232
Forward to someone
http://www.outsellinc.com/share/insights/11232
by Ned May, Director & Lead Analyst - Boston, Massachusetts
* A series of recent industry moves suggests the end of publisher attempts to create a consumer reading device. These initiatives, so prominently announced in 2009, are now giving way to efforts around digital platforms instead. That's good news for all involved.
Important Details: On June 14, 2010 News Corp announced [1] several moves to capitalize on digital content developments. The company acquired the Skiff digital reader platform - but not the actual device - from the Hearst initiative of the same name, and also announced an investment in Journalism Online, and the appointment of Jon Housman as the president of its Digital Journalism Initiatives.
The following day, Next Issue Media -- a joint venture of News Corp, Hearst, Conde Nast, Meredith and Time Inc that is tasked with, amongst other things, developing a digital reader platform -- announced [2] that it had hired a new CEO to replace the interim CEO John Squires who came to the venture directly from Time. The new CEO, Morgan Guenther, brings an outside-of-publishing background but one that centers around digital media and disruptive devices, including two years as the president of TiVo.
Then, on June 29, LibreDigital acquired [3] the e-commerce platform Symtio from Harper Collins. The technology is described as "a multi-channel digital media platform that enables customers to purchase and access digital media - including eBooks, audiobooks, music, and video - online or through an in-store retail card program." Said another way, it is an all inclusive digital media storefront that is agnostic to walls and containers.
Implications: These announcements signal the end of those short lived efforts by many publishers to build a physical e-reader device. The Skiff announcement says as much about Hearst as it does about News Corp. First, publishers should not be in the business of manufacturing (or sourcing) devices any more than they should be in the business of building printing presses. That's not to say that, at the time, the investments by Hearst and others were not warranted nor wise. They were both made as Amazon's Kindle was emerging as a dominant platform (see Insights 17 September 2007, Amazon's Kindle Device Re-Ignites e-book Interest), tipping the balance of power away from the content producers and toward that retailer instead. But with more competition in the device marketplace, not the least of which is Apple's iPad, Amazon's power has diminished (see Insights 10 September 2008, iPod? Check. Laptop? Check. Kindle? Not So Fast) and the point of competition, and thus investment, has now re-focused around the underlying platforms.
Initial speculation around the News Corp announcement was that it might indicate a lack of commitment by them in the Next Issue Media joint venture, given its outright purchase of the competing platform from Skiff.
But seen in the context of this LibreDigital announcement, the appointment of Guenther to head Next Issue seems as important and strategic as any of the announcements. LibreDigital is putting in place the pieces necessary to sell any media in any locale - be it an online storefront, a big box retailer, or a coffee shop. News Corp is merely hedging its digital initiative bets, given the persistent lack of visibility into future landscape of devices, platforms, and business models.
How unclear is this future? The LibreDigital announcement and Next Issue Media's appointment of Guenther to head a digital content initiative point to how truly meaningless yesterday's media containers may become. Pick up an iPad and you have the option to watch a TV show, a movie, or even a live sports event. You also have the option to read news, a magazine or a book - with or without videos - and you can listen to countless audio feeds - from a live stream from around the world to an archived item from years ago.
Finally, you can also play thousands of games, from digital versions of childhood classics to entirely new ones that incorporate the tactile advantages of the newest digital devices. That breadth of choice means content producers will need to either make their content so compelling that at times it trumps the other experiences available or they will need to make their content so devoid of boundaries that it can be delivered as an element of any other experience outlined above.
The smart money is currently doing both - building out proprietary delivery platforms while also engaging in efforts of cross media and cross company collaboration. We advise all participants in the industry to do the same.
Links contained in this article:
[1] http://www.skiff.com/press-release.html" target="_blank [2] http://nextissuemedia.com/blog/?p=142" target="_blank [3] http://www.libredigital.com/libredigital-acquires-symtio-ecommerce-business-from-harpercollins" target="_blank
Links to Outsell profiles of companies mentioned:
Amazon.com, Inc.:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=4756
Apple, Inc.:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=29254
Conde Nast Publications, Inc.:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=4255
HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=3786
Journalism Online, LLC:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=32335
LibreDigital:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=4323
Meredith Corporation:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=6503
News Corporation, Ltd:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=1744
The Hearst Corporation:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=6534
Time, Inc.:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=4365
TiVo, Inc.:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/vendormarket/co.php?c=6813
Link to this Insights article:
https://clients.outsellinc.com/insights/?p=11232
Email Ned May about this Insight
mailto:nmay@outsellinc.com?subject=Comment%20on%20Outsell%20Insights%20
Join the discussion
https://clients.outsellinc.com/insights/?p=11232#respond
Provide feedback on this Insight
http://www.outsellinc.com/rate/insight/11232
Forward to someone
http://www.outsellinc.com/share/insights/11232
Thursday 8 July 2010
Penguin - Daily Digital Newsround - 07 July
As a co-founder of Club Penguin, one of the biggest virtual worlds for children, Lane Merrifield has led its management, operations and strategy since it was launched it 2005. Here, he shares his business day with the FT:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d7dfefa0-885d-11df-aade-00144feabdc0.html
Looks like the battle for eReader dominance between Amazon and Barnes & Noble could soon expand beyond the recent spate of price drops and into the courtroom as well, as the USPTO has granted a 2006 Amazon patent on eReaders with secondary LCD displays (like the original Kindle's scroller-navigation panel). One of the claims could cause problems for Barnes & Noble -- it potentially covers any device with both an electronic paper display and a second smaller LCD display next to it: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/06/amazon-kindle-dual-screen-e-reader-patent-granted-barnes-and-nobl/
The Telegraph's Harry Mount asks: What happened to the page-turner novel? He argues that too much modern fiction is dreary, slow-moving and downright boring and that non-fiction is what is attracting all the good writers: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/7873584/What-happened-to-the-page-turner-novel.html
Sony, following suit, cuts price of its e-Reader, shaving as much as $50 off. Steve Haber, President of Sony's digital reading business said, "competitive pricing is healthy and we welcome the chance for our products to be touched and compared side-by-side to our competitors":
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405
2748704178004575351443009042782.html Google and Penguin: Bookending a Revolution - Jeremy Wagstaff, on the Loose Wire Blog, compares the freedom that Google will give digital readers through the Google Editions bookstore (allowing readers to buy any book they want from any online bookseller they want and read it on any kind of device they want) to the freedom Allen Lane gave our forebears back in 1935: http://www.loosewireblog.com/2010/07/google-and-penguin-bookending-a-revolution.html#tp
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d7dfefa0-885d-11df-aade-00144feabdc0.html
Looks like the battle for eReader dominance between Amazon and Barnes & Noble could soon expand beyond the recent spate of price drops and into the courtroom as well, as the USPTO has granted a 2006 Amazon patent on eReaders with secondary LCD displays (like the original Kindle's scroller-navigation panel). One of the claims could cause problems for Barnes & Noble -- it potentially covers any device with both an electronic paper display and a second smaller LCD display next to it: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/06/amazon-kindle-dual-screen-e-reader-patent-granted-barnes-and-nobl/
The Telegraph's Harry Mount asks: What happened to the page-turner novel? He argues that too much modern fiction is dreary, slow-moving and downright boring and that non-fiction is what is attracting all the good writers: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/7873584/What-happened-to-the-page-turner-novel.html
Sony, following suit, cuts price of its e-Reader, shaving as much as $50 off. Steve Haber, President of Sony's digital reading business said, "competitive pricing is healthy and we welcome the chance for our products to be touched and compared side-by-side to our competitors":
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405
2748704178004575351443009042782.html Google and Penguin: Bookending a Revolution - Jeremy Wagstaff, on the Loose Wire Blog, compares the freedom that Google will give digital readers through the Google Editions bookstore (allowing readers to buy any book they want from any online bookseller they want and read it on any kind of device they want) to the freedom Allen Lane gave our forebears back in 1935: http://www.loosewireblog.com/2010/07/google-and-penguin-bookending-a-revolution.html#tp
Tuesday 6 July 2010
Penguin Daily Digital Newsround - July 6th
The Guardian has an interview with Clay Shirky, author of Cognitive Surplus; Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age. Clay talks about the death of newspapers, why paywall will fail and how the internet has brought out our creativity – and generosity:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jul/05/clay-shirky-internet-television-newspapers
Agents raise stakes in e-royalty battle - Andrew Wylie and some other agents are dissatisfied with publisher terms for eBook royalties and are planning to withhold from signing deals for six to 12 months in the belief that the current industry standard royalty rate of 25% could go up to 50% within a year:
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/122527-agents-raise-stakes-in-e-royalty-battle-.html.rss
Disney is making its first foray into the mobile app market with the acquisition of mobile game developer Tapulous. The deal gives Disney a strong foothold in mobile gaming and also provides a basis for app development in other areas:
http://digitalmedia.strategyeye.com/article/cNrUMrLkQ/2010/07/02/disney_buys_mobile_game_maker_tapulous/
According to Publishers Weekly, Wattpad, an online writing community, social network and mobile phone eBook developer, has teamed up with e-book publisher and distributor Smashwords to provide wider distribution and cross promotion opportunities for writers from both online communities:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/43707-wattpad-smashwords-ink-e-book-partnership.html
An Australian restaurant has replaced its menus with iPads, throwing away its physical menus in favour of the MenuPad app for iPads:
http://www.mediabistro.com/ebooknewser/ipad/australian_restaurant_replaces_menus_with_ipads_166562.asp
And Lucy Kellaway's tip for budget cuts in the workplace: Let employees work a four day week! (pls see attached Word doc for full article)
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/94023f12-861f-11df-bc22-00144feabdc0.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jul/05/clay-shirky-internet-television-newspapers
Agents raise stakes in e-royalty battle - Andrew Wylie and some other agents are dissatisfied with publisher terms for eBook royalties and are planning to withhold from signing deals for six to 12 months in the belief that the current industry standard royalty rate of 25% could go up to 50% within a year:
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/122527-agents-raise-stakes-in-e-royalty-battle-.html.rss
Disney is making its first foray into the mobile app market with the acquisition of mobile game developer Tapulous. The deal gives Disney a strong foothold in mobile gaming and also provides a basis for app development in other areas:
http://digitalmedia.strategyeye.com/article/cNrUMrLkQ/2010/07/02/disney_buys_mobile_game_maker_tapulous/
According to Publishers Weekly, Wattpad, an online writing community, social network and mobile phone eBook developer, has teamed up with e-book publisher and distributor Smashwords to provide wider distribution and cross promotion opportunities for writers from both online communities:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/43707-wattpad-smashwords-ink-e-book-partnership.html
An Australian restaurant has replaced its menus with iPads, throwing away its physical menus in favour of the MenuPad app for iPads:
http://www.mediabistro.com/ebooknewser/ipad/australian_restaurant_replaces_menus_with_ipads_166562.asp
And Lucy Kellaway's tip for budget cuts in the workplace: Let employees work a four day week! (pls see attached Word doc for full article)
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/94023f12-861f-11df-bc22-00144feabdc0.html
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