Update: The Power of Print! (As Seen on YouTube)
The “Power of Print” ad blitz enlists YouTube to get its message out, inviting the question: If print isn’t dead, why?
Books As Software — O’Reilly Makes It Happen
O’Reilly launches the “live book,” a way to extend the useful life of a book by turning hardware into software.
E-books Get a Leg Up from CrossRef
CrossRef moves into the reference works area for e-books, with a linking approach and pricing that might just work.
Why the iPad Marks the End of Price Controls for eBooks—and Why Publishers Have Lost
Publishers may have won the pricing war, but the real struggle is now on for users’ attention. Because the iPad is not a dedicated e-book reader there are, unfortunately, many things that users can do with the device other than read books. Unlike the Kindle, where publishers have the device all to themselves iPad users will be able to surf the Web, play games, watch movies, view their photo collections, listen to music, watch TV, send e-mail, work on a presentation, or access over one hundred thousand applications that do any number of distracting things.
Lessons from a Neighboring Industry — Demand Media’s Disruptive Impact on Journalism
Demand Media has created a journalism and custom content platform that disrupting neighboring publishing models. Can we learn something from their approach?
Distribution Doesn’t Matter? Content Vessels Are Irrelevant? Device Makers and Broadband Providers Are Laughing All the Way to the Bank
Information wants to be free? Then why are expenditures for information skyrocketing? Maybe the pendulum has swung back to “information wants to be expensive.”
New Chef: Welcome Alix Vance to the Scholarly Kitchen
We welcome Alix Vance, SSP Board Member and president of Paratext, as the newest chef in the Scholarly Kitchen.
Who Controls Publisher Prices? Amazon Fires the First Shot, Then Forges a Bitter Truce
This weekend Amazon pulled all of MacMillan’s books, both electronic and paper, from their store due to a dispute over eBook pricing policies. Is this the first battle in the war for control of the publishing industry?
Where Is the Money in Custom Publishing? Your Answer Depends on How You Define It
How custom is custom publishing? Will custom publishing ever move fully into the user’s hands?
The iPad: First Impressions of Its Importance to Publishers
Initial impressions of Apple’s new iPad device — how the tech press is missing the meaning, what it might mean for publishers, and a chance to tell us what you think.
Information Subscriptions Continue to Evolve and Thrive — Why Are Publishers Slow to Adapt?
The subscription model is more prevalent than ever, but it’s also different in important ways. What can publishers learn and implement?
Is It Still Disruption When You’ve Done It Yourself?
The fact that scientific publishing hasn’t been disrupted may be a sign of a problem, not an advantage. A future choice may be disruption or irrelevance. Which will we choose?
What Is a Career in Publishing? Recruiting the Talent We Need for the 21st Century
Publishing can’t attract the best and brightest until it markets itself correctly — as being about more than the containers of the past, and being all about the ideas and communication approaches of the future.
Lifelines and Funeral Rites in the Publishing World
A famous publishing course is officially laid to rest, while a renowned publishing mag gets a reprieve. Which decision makes the most sense?
Highlights from This Week’s Comments in the Kitchen
Highlights from this week’s reader comments, pointing the way to dialog you might have otherwise missed. Also, let me know if you like this as a weekly feature.