Is Amazon Still Man’s Best Friend?
Peter Brantley has written an insightful piece on some of the implications of Amazon’s much-vaunted high royalty payments to authors who publish directly with them (that is, with Amazon).
Is CAPTCHA Vulnerable to Economics?
CAPTCHA is viewed as a technology solution to bolster access controls. But by involving humans as solvers, it’s been opened up to a labor market solution.
It’s the End of the Book As We Know It — and I Feel Fine
As bookstores and books in general meet the fate of physical media everywhere, maybe we should celebrate.
Letting The Inmates Run the Asylum: Are Blogging Networks Compatible with Publishing Business Plans?
Open blogging networks may be impossible to commercialize, for a host of reasons.
Pubget Continues to Puzzle and Diversify
Pubget still seems like a technology in search of a problem or a solution in search of a viable business model.
The Mismeasurement of Public Libraries — via FedEx, Netflix, Starbucks, and VISA
A recent infographic from OCLC shifts the value considerations for libraries into a potentially risky realm, a mismeasure of value that’s just not necessary.
Leading Your Content to the Money — A New Equation for Selling Content to Consumers
Consumers have demonstrated a willingness to pay for targeted, virtual goods and services. Why are publishers still trying to foist low-value generalized content off to them?
Delusions, Illusions, and the True Costs of Digital Publishing
The models we use to describe the publishing business need to change, and we can learn from software companies and digital distributors.
Is Print an Elite Medium? Or a Medium for Elitists?
College journalists are more motivated about getting into print, editors are missing huge opportunities, and Harry Potter’s owners are in no hurry to go digital. What gives?
Regulating Google to Help the New York Times
The New York Times wants federal regulation of Google’s editorial objectivity.
Stage Five Book Publishing — How to Go Beyond “Sustainability” and Into “Viability”
Book publishing is evolving in stages, and when we get to Stage Five, where books are sold on a subscription basis, the fortunes of scholarly publishers will improve dramatically.
Apple’s iPhone 4 and iOS4: What Do They Mean for Publishers?
Apple announces a new model iPhone and an updated operating system for all iPhones/iPads/iPod Touch devices. What impact will these new technologies have on publishers?
A Weapon of Mass Instruction: The Bookmobile Meets the Batmobile
Giving books away for free, with panache!
Kahle: Distributed Services a Solution to Monopoly Control
“Scholarly publishing is too important to be monopolized!” Solution to digitization is decentralized commerce.
Trade Publishing and Ebooks: W(h)ither the Supply Chain?
The supply chain around trade publishing is “broken,” according to publishers. But are they what has broken?