In the rush to tap into new digital revenue streams, a tidal wave of app development has ensued, promising new ways for publishers to connect with customers. But instead of jumping into the app fray, a vocal contingent are suggesting you instead optimize your website for mobile. Let’s have a look.
Should Indies Sell E-Books?
Chris Tabor, Michael Neill, and Christoph Kapp entertained an audience of about 40 on Monday at the Store2012 conference. I had the pleasure of moderating this opinionated panel and I think—bias well in place—that it was a very good panel discussion on how independent retailers can participate in the conversation around digital books.
Mind-Control, Conscious Consumption, and Big Data: Caught in the mesh 2012 Conference
The mesh conference is a must-attend conference for tech people in the GTA who don’t have the budget to attend the TED conferences. mesh looks to provide a platform for people to explore the latest trends in society, technology, and emerging business models across a number of disciplines. The audience is as diverse the presenters. Here are some of the highlights and the whirlwind of ideas from day one.
Turning a Paywall into a Bridge: Is It the Right Time to Sell Content Online?
The book industry’s digital toolbox is still relatively underused, and there are some truly powerful gizmos in there. At Tech Forum 2012 we heard how eager readers tweeted favourite chapters of PressBooks’ Book: A Futurist’s Manifesto. At the most recent CMPTO we learned how Small Demons is changing browsing forever by hooking books into the web of things. And that’s just to name two. With more and more readers carrying tablets and smartphones around with ever-improving data plans, maybe the time ia ripe to look at new models for selling books in browsers.
CMPTO: A Bookish Vision of the Future (A Newbie’s Account)
If you’re like me and my publishing pals, nothing incites more tech titillation than an evening with other bookish folk chatting about technology and publishing. Enter CMPTO (Code Meet Print Toronto), a gathering of print people and tech people in an unholy union to talk about innovations, challenges, and everything in between. Basically, throw a bunch of writers, publishers, and tech geeks in one room, add a few interesting speakers, sprinkle with drinks and snacks, then let simmer.
This week’s event was my first foray into the CMPTO meet-ups, so here’s a recap from the virgin eyes of a CMPTO newbie.
Data (Big and Meta) at MIP
Yesterday, a few of us attended BISG’s Making Information Pay 2012, a half-day conference in New York with a tightly focused program packed with excellent speakers. This year, MIP turned its attention to data, big and meta. Naturally, this piqued our curiosity. Here’s a recap.
The Future Is Now #CMPTO
Imagining the future of books and literate culture is a great pastime these days. Can we picture books as being anything other than what they are? Even though we see the disruption of digital all around us we still wear blinders and imagine e-readers as analogs for paper books. But really the book and its attributes have been under constant reimagination from the beginning. Which begs the question: where to next?
I Leave You with This Graph
Day 241: The End.
I started my internship with an interview, sweating in a blazer in Noah’s office with 35-degree weather outside. Must. Look. Professional. Must. Stop. Sweating. Noah was reclining comfortably, dressed in a blue polo shirt asking me about my history. They’d heard talk of my battles with the demon king. They’d read stories and heard from references about my competency with swords and magicka in defeating and conquering this beast known as… Excel.
Thinking B2C: Is Scaling Back Imprints Enough?
In a post on Monday, Mike Shatzkin advised publishers to reconsider the number of imprints they currently have as they shift focus from B2B branding to B2C branding. Shatzkin reminds us that imprints were originally used to brand titles to buyers, librarians and media—not consumers. Having an established imprint helped a book get its foot in the door and increase the chances of wider media coverage and stocking.
It seems that somewhere along the way some of us forgot this.
It seems that somewhere along the way some of us forgot this.
So what are the branding opportunities and challenges presented by imprints, and what are the implications for publishers?
BISAC Codes: Aboriginal Fiction
Book Industry Standards and Communications (BISAC) Subject Headings are the North American standard for classifying subject information for your books. Your books + BISAC subjects codes = glorious discoverability. This evolving standard is based on the work done by the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) Subject Codes Committee of which BNC is a member. And we represent you so there’s room for your involvement.
The purpose of my post today is to give you some insight on how a Subject Heading is created and how you can help us create one.
