What We Should Learn from the Collapse of Borders
The collapse of Borders should be a wake-up call to publishers that assume that the core infrastructure of their legacy businesses will always be there to provide essential services.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Plagiarist
Is plagiarism of fiction less of a problem for publishers? Another tale of pilfered prose seems to indicate that checking for plagiarism isn’t something book publishers care about . . . yet.
Graphical Displays, Statistics, and Thinking Straight — "Picturing the Uncertain World"
Simplifying the complex isn’t a simple task. A new book by a practiced hand and statistician proves entertaining and enlightening.
Post-Mortem of a Book Empire — Borders, and the Mismanagement of the Future
The demise of Borders is a lesson in management pitfalls. Are STM publishers up to the challenges they’ll be facing soon?
Is Piracy Really the F**king Answer?
A viral book sensation’s obvious story may not be as obvious as some think, harder to replicate, and indicative of a strong counter-trend.
"Beyond Bin Laden" — A Hint at a New Way Forward for Long-form Journalism
A new “instabook” about Bin Laden hit the Kindle store about a week after the events. What might this mean for that space between books and magazines?
Algorithmic Pricing on Amazon — Is a Book About Flies Worth $23,698,655.93 (plus shipping)?
Algorithmic pricing on Amazon creates a book worth millions, and the problem seems to be repeating itself.
The Google Books Settlement: Where Things Stand, and Some Suggestions for What's Next
The Google Books Settlement actually hit its second roadblock this week. Here’s why, and where matter might go from here.
A Self-Publishing Adventure Wraps Up
The self-publishing adventure that began here two years ago winds down. What worked? What didn’t?
One World Publishing, Brought to You by the Internet
The sale of e-books over the Internet will lead to a restructuring of the book business and the evolution of truly global publishers.
Do Students Really Prefer Print Books to E-Books?
Two flawed surveys help to reveal what might really be at stake in the higher ed book market.
The Editorial Fallacy
In a disruptive publishing environment, publishers cannot rely on a purely editorial strategy, as many of the issues now facing them are not editorial in nature.
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).
Teaching the End of Print — Using Books Poised on the Edge of Oblivion
A teacher publishes a syllabus contemplating a print era bounded by two inventions — the printing press and the networked screen. It’s part of a sweep of interesting observations.
The Old Spice Guy Celebrates Libraries and the Words They Contain
The over-preening Old Spice Guy likes libraries, and celebrates them in a short, funny video. Too bad a parody from BYU is even better.