Libraries, Archives, Choice and Red Envelopes: The Growth of Streaming, the Decline of Choice, and the Death of the Red Envelope
The role of libraries and archives as streaming grows, choice declines, and the death of the red envelopes arrives.
Search Is So 2014
As user expectations on digital experiences change, flat-out “search” is no longer good enough. The up-and-coming users of digital content expect you to know what they want and when they want it, without having to ask for it. These thoughts and more from the recent NFAIS Conference are discussed here.
Stick to Your Ribs: Back to School: Rethinking the Textbook
Revisiting Joe Esposito’s 2011 post on the challenges and the strategies for moving textbooks into the digital era.
Everybody Wants a Netflix for Books
There will never be a “Netflix for books” if by that term one means a comprehensive collection. Book aggregations must serve the overarching needs of the publisher to generate revenue and are thus best viewed as simply one channel among many.
Tell Us About the Old Days Grandpa: Video Rental Stores
A nostalgic look back in the wake of the shutdown of Blockbuster Video.
What Consumer Media Can Teach Us About Professional Publishing
Consumer media sets expectations for how professional media will develop. The new production of “House of Cards” is an example of this.
The Qwikflip 780: Netflix Trails Only HP in the New Olympic Sport of Corporate Strategy Flipping
The way Netflix unbundled DVD-by-mail and streaming video services, flipped branding strategies, and made it all a public show created a focus on strategic inflection points and betting for the long-term.
Back to School: Rethinking the Textbook
There are many new companies seeking to disrupt the college textbook model. Here is a taxonomy of the strategies, with some comments on the likelihood of their being adopted.
Letter from Eastern Europe: Some Reflections on the Evolution of Publishing
The growing economies in Eastern Europe are giving rise to a new set of publishing opportunities and also to increased competition on the global stage.
What’s for Sale? Moving from Selling Content to Monetizing Attention
At some point book publishers will begin to copy the Netflix model of selling by subscription. This changes the nature of the business from one where products are sold to one where publishers attempt to monetize readers’ attention.
When Your Core Competency Is No Longer Core to the Business You’re In
Cyber Monday is the footprint of disruption. How did the former disruptors fall? And what can we learn as we shop?
Why the Simple “Me” Beats the Royal “We”
Users are gaining a “me at the center” expectation, but publishers have a “we at the center” world view. Can the wrenching changes be made? David Worlock worries maybe not.
Anchoring Communities and Trust Markets — Advantages Shift to the Users
While losing distribution and production advantages might have hurt our businesses, losing our roles as anchoring and trust centers might cut deeper.
Libraries and Netflix — Questionable Borrowing Practices From People Who Know From Borrowing
Libraries publicize their use of Netflix to save money on acquiring digital video for patrons, opening a potentially costly can of worms.
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.