Our Futures in Publishing after the Digital Transition

Last week, James McQuivey, VP and Principal Analyst of Forrester Research, shared results and anecdotes from the Digital Book World/Forrester 2010 Publishing Executive Survey in a video (embedded below). The survey was about the attitudes and opinions of publishing executives regarding the digital shift in publishing. And although it revealed a great deal of enthusiasm for digital, there were some details about the transition that deserve a closer look.

Data: Pushing It Out Is One Thing, but You Also Need to Get It Back

People at Digital Book World 2011 had data on the mind. In just about every session the word came up. And while you’re used to us pushing for better metadata, there are other kinds of data we often overlook. Not the kind you send out, but the kind you gather: consumer information and metrics.