Clever, clever, and oh so worth watching through to the end:
Discussion
10 Thoughts on "The Future of Publishing: Do We Have It All Backwards?"
A very smart ad from a publisher that has sorely disappointed me with its next-generation products (e.g., iPhone apps) to date.
Rather a defeatist tone – it is not incompatible to like ‘big’ ideas and the latest trends, to be interested in history and pop etc. That may be the final point of this reel, but we know that making it a necessary, energising and innovating part of our every days lives by integrating content in the ways we now act, will mean that information and entertainment that we always found through publishing will survive and prosper. By reminding people that printed books are ‘dead’, by dragging us further into the ‘or’ argument, we will consign content to the fringes. I don’t feel quite as excited by DK’s little reel as you do.
That ending really surprised me considering DK is one of the publishers I feel has patronised readers the most in recent years.
I wonder if this was created before or after this one: http://www.birdsontheblog.co.uk/weird-wonderful-words-to-inspire-the-next-generation/ I would guess after.
Although I like the sentiment of this advert, I’d say the “Words to inspire” is infinitely better. It’s offers a more convincing and smooth transition between words both forwards and backwards. To me, this one seems clunky and a little laboured. Some of the concepts feel laboured in the first half, just because they need to work backwards in the second half.
i find this piece cute in its construction but fundamentally inaccurate in both directions. young people are not as vacuous as portrayed in the “forward” direction. “reverse” however is much worse as it suggests that no real cultural change is underway. frankly i see it as a dream constructed to reassure middle-aged intellectuals that the seismic shifts which are upending life as we know it are not really happening.
It’s not an original ad…but then it is effective. Not sure I agree with bob stein in that technology will replace books. Maybe in a hundred years or so, but then again, maybe not.
Books don’t need a battery or power source. They don’t strain the eyes and you can focus on a good story. Sometimes we like our content to be linear rather than the non-linear of the Web.