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Tags > publishing
What happens when an old law is updated for the digital age? - Attorney Dana Newman discusses a proposed update to the '80s-era Video Privacy Protection Act.
December 21, 2011
The '80s-era Video Privacy Protection Act had the unintended consequence of inhibiting consensual sharing of video viewing habits. Attorney Dana Newman weighs in on updated legislation.
Quid pro quo will define the author-publisher relationship - Peter Meyers on HTML5, ebook formats and the evolution of publishers and authors.
December 20, 2011
In this video interview, author and digital book producer Peter Meyers addresses the state of ebooks and book apps and weighs in on the changing relationship between authors and publishers.
Publishing News: "Hating Amazon is not a strategy" - Pragmatic responses to Amazon's Price Check, Consumer Reports hits the digital sweet spot and the Kindle Fire can be shelved.
December 16, 2011
Cooler heads respond to Amazon's latest move, Consumer Reports becomes the envy of news orgs everywhere and Peter Meyers chimes in for a New York Times Kindle Fire evaluation.
Publishing News: One publishing experiment ends, another begins - Seth Godin ends The Domino Project, Marc Herman blazes a journalism trail, and authors get personal on tour.
December 2, 2011
The Domino Project published its final book. Elsewhere, Marc Herman took his long-form journalism straight to a Kindle Single and the WSJ looked at the changing roles of authors on book tours.
Visualization of the Week: Amazon book recommendations - Christopher Warnow's viz app reveals the network of recommendations surrounding a book.
December 2, 2011
A new tool takes a link from a book on Amazon and creates the network surrounding it. It shows up to 100 recommendations associated with the title.
Four short links: 1 December 2011 - DRM Good for Amazon, Arduino Updated, Open Source Foundations, Distributed Search
By Nat TorkingtonDecember 1, 2011
Cutting Their Own Throats (Charlie Stross) -- DRM on ebooks gives Amazon a great tool for locking ebook customers into the Kindle platform. This essay is gold and so very true. Read, believe. v1.0 of Arduino Out -- this is the dev environment, with language additions and lots of features in the libraries. Glad to see the 1.0 stamp...
Sometimes one screen isn't enough - A look at 10 multi-screen projects and experiments.
November 29, 2011
Peter Meyers rounds up 10 content projects that span multiple screens. Some involve separate physical displays while others use different virtual windows.
Keeping Safari Books on top - Andrew Savikas on how Safari Books is evolving to meet customers' needs.
November 28, 2011
Safari Books Online CEO Andrew Savikas talks about Safari Books' success and how it's incorporating mobile technologies into its business model.
How Twitter helps a small bookstore thrive - Omnivore Books follows a simple Twitter rule: 1/3 personal, 2/3 professional.
November 28, 2011
Learn how Omnivore Books, a cookbook store in San Francisco, uses Twitter to solidify relationships with customers and break through the publisher blockade.
Why publishers should build direct sales channels - Allen Noren on ebook sales success and competing in a global market.
November 23, 2011
In this TOC video podcast, Allen Noren, the head of O'Reilly's online and marketing groups, addresses questions about how to succeed in the digital market, dealing with "Walmart world" deep discounts, and learning from fixed-price territories.
Intellectual Property Strategy: a book, a panel, and a movement
By Andy OramNovember 23, 2011
The speakers, who included household names of the free culture movement such as Lawrence Lessig and Eric von Hippel, emphasized the culture shift that is breaking the seemingly iron grip of current policies that favor wealthy companies with portfolios of patents and copyrights. But I think even these speakers failed to convey how huge a sea change in underway.
Ebook refunds and absolute satisfaction - Why no-questions-asked ebook refund policies work.
By Joe WikertNovember 23, 2011
Joe Wikert says if you trust your customers with a generous ebook returns policy, they'll pay you back with loyalty and future business.
EPUB 3: Building a standard on unstable ground - Matt Garrish on the work behind the EPUB 3 specification.
November 22, 2011
"What is EPUB 3?" author Matt Garrish explains how EPUB 3 is shaped by web standards and how it addresses accessibility. He also shares his thoughts on Amazon's KF8 and why EPUB will stay one step ahead of the competition.
Congress considers anti-piracy bills that could cripple Internet industries - SOPA and PROTECT IP would harm innovation.
November 22, 2011
In a time when the American economy needs to catalyze innovation to compete in a global marketplace, members of the United States Congress have advanced legislation that could cripple the Internet industry, damage cybersecurity and harm freedom of expression online.
Exposing content via APIs - Fluidinfo's Terry Jones on the role of APIs in the future of publishing.
November 21, 2011
APIs enable developers to work with your content like a box of Legos, building solutions you may never have dreamed of. In this TOC podcast, Fluidinfo CEO Terry Jones says the real world is "writable" and describes how APIs can offer powerful publishing solutions.
Publishing News: Tech patent wars spill into the book world - B&N takes issue with Microsoft's patents, Congress held a SOPA hearing, and authors decry Amazon's Lending Library.
November 18, 2011
B&N's position against Microsoft was made public, causing quite a dust-up. Also, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) hearing was as controversial as the Act itself, and the Authors Guild says the Kindle Owner's Lending Library breaches contracts.
What we could do with really big touchscreens - Ten-inch tablets are just the start of the touchscreen publishing revolution.
November 17, 2011
If we could combine the touchscreen's ability to signal our layout wishes with the large displays and workspaces that many of us enjoy at our work desks, wouldn't that change the kinds of documents we create?
Why we needed EPUB 3 - New reading devices, multimedia storytelling and accessibility needs made EPUB3 a necessity.
November 17, 2011
EPUB3 is more than just bug fixes and tweaks from the last version. It represents a major change in what an ebook can be. (This is an excerpt from the Tools of Change for Publishing report, "What is EPUB3
Publishers need broader and broader shoulders - From HTML5 to metadata to managing rights, increasingly complex content management issues fall squarely on publishers.
November 16, 2011
It's more challenging than ever to handle all aspects of content management internally. In this podcast, Firebrand Technologies founder and president Fran Toolan addresses a myriad of content management issues.
HTML5 for publishers: Drawing on the screen - Add a painting tool to a book with HTML5's Canvas.
November 15, 2011
This excerpt from "HTML5 for Publishers" shows how a simple finger painting canvas can be added to an HTML5-based children's book
Civic media competition attracts a new generation of change agents - A global conversation with finalists in Ashoka's civic media innovation competition.
November 14, 2011
Finalists in the Ashoka Foundation's civic media competition offered honest and perceptive observations about the role of civic media in the expanding information ecosystem.
Not a self-publisher, far from a traditional publisher - Jesse Potash on how he's approaching the publishing model differently with Pubslush Press.
November 14, 2011
In this podcast, Jesse Potash, founder of Pubslush Press, talks about how his company differs from self-publishing platforms — and from Kickstarter — and how he's using it to help eradicate global illiteracy.
Publishing News: The standards of aggregation - Jim Romenesko quits after his attribution standards are questioned, Rakuten buys Kobo, and readers will wait for ebooks.
November 11, 2011
Jim Romenesko's departure raises questions about aggregation standards. Also, Japanese e-retailer Rakuten buys Kobo, and a new BISG study shows readers are embracing digital formats.
Visualization of the Week: 138 Years of Popular Science - Data artist Jer Thorp visualized the Popular Science archive.
November 11, 2011
This week's visualization shows how data artist Jer Thorp depicted more than a century's worth of content from Popular Science.
Access or ownership: Which will be the default? - The ease of access and the desire to own appear to be on a collision course.
November 10, 2011
Business, media, publishing, data, education — these are all areas where access vs. ownership has organically popped up in Radar's coverage. But which model will win out in the long term?
Links on the side - A simple solution for including hyperlinks without undermining focus.
November 8, 2011
Digital documents that help readers focus are the ones that we're most likely to remember. Those that send us scampering around the web will be more easily forgotten.
Thoughts on ebooks triggered by the appointment of Andrew Savikas as CEO of Safari Books Online
November 8, 2011
Subscription is the right model for heavy users, pay-per-view works for occasional users, ad-supported appears to be the best way to fund fast-changing current content, and of course, some content is better rendered as an app than a book.
Do agent-publishers carry a conflict of interest? - How agent-publishers came to be, and what they mean for the publishing world.
November 7, 2011
Booksquare's Kassia Krozser discusses the emerging agent-publisher role, and why she's concerned about a conflict of interest.
Publishing News: Early response to the Kindle Lending Library - Amazon launched its Kindle Lending Library, and a publisher goes after BitTorrent users.
November 4, 2011
Amazon Prime became even more pervasive with the Kindle Lending Library, the publishing industry joined the piracy lawsuit fray, and presentation videos from the Books in Browsers conference are now available.
The problem with Amazon's Kindle Owners' Lending Library - The Kindle Lending Library needs a pay-for-performance model, not a flat fee.
November 4, 2011
For Amazon's new lending program to be mutually beneficial, the flat-fee compensation model needs to be replaced by a usage spectrum: The more a title is borrowed, the higher the fee to the publisher and author.
How I automated my writing career - A former author uses data and software to take the tedium out of some kinds of writing.
November 3, 2011
You scale content businesses by increasing the number of people who create the content ... or so conventional wisdom says. Learn how a former author is using software to simulate and expand human-quality writing.
Five ways to improve publishing conferences - Conferences get stuck in ruts because we treat them like conferences.
November 2, 2011
Keynotes and panel discussions may not be the best way to program conferences. What if organizers instead structured events more like a great curriculum?
Top Stories: October 24-28, 2011 - 10/30/11 is Dennis Ritchie Day, post-PC and the new tech revolution, publishing's fundamental shift.
October 28, 2011
This week on O'Reilly: Tim O'Reilly called for a Dennis Ritchie Day to honor the computing pioneer, Mark Sigal examined the players and products in the post-PC revolution, and Hugh McGuire discussed the seismic shifts that are reshaping the publishing industry.
Sensors, data, UI and the future of publishing - Tweets and related information from Tim O'Reilly's Silverchair Strategies 2011 presentation.
By Mac SlocumOctober 28, 2011
In a recent keynote address, Tim O'Reilly looked at how sensors, data and interfaces will shape information delivery.
Publishing News: Amazon's Kindle Format 8 dashes hopes for EPUB3 compatibility - Amazon launches KF8, The Guardian becomes more engaging, and tablet users don't discriminate between print and digital.
October 28, 2011
Any hopes of EPUB3 becoming an across-the-board publishing format standard were dashed by Amazon's new KF8 format. Also, The Guardian launched two new features and a Pew study looked at tablet user behavior.
Publishing's tech and edit worlds converge - The Books in Browsers conference is underway.
October 27, 2011
The Books in Browsers conference kicked off this morning. Keynotes, interviews and presentations are being livestreamed today and tomorrow.
Four short links: 27 October 2011 - Javascript Coverage, Cheap Tablets, Open Archive, ACTA vs TPP
By Nat TorkingtonOctober 27, 2011
ScriptCover -- open source Javascript coverage tool. Using the $35 Tablet from India (VentureBeat) -- nice description of the tablet and what it's like to use. What makes the Aakash tablet different is that its creators didn't strive for perfection. Instead, the emphasis was on getting the product into the market quickly so it could be adopted, tinkered with,...
Agile content models better address audience wants and needs - Kristen McLean on Bookigee and why agile is a better model.
October 26, 2011
Agile isn't just for software developers — content developers can benefit from the agile model as well. In this podcast, Bookigee's founder and CEO Kristen McLean talks about why agile is the way to go.
We're in the midst of a restructuring of the publishing universe (don't panic) - Hugh McGuire says the disruption publishing has endured is a mere hint of what's to come.
October 26, 2011
Hugh McGuire, co-author of "Book: A Futurist's Manifesto," explains why publishing's digital transformation goes way beyond format shifts. He also reveals nine ways the publishing industry will change over the next five years.
The more you engage, the better the advice - Patrick Brown on the Goodreads recommendation engine and fine-tuning discoverability.
October 24, 2011
The Goodreads recommendation engine has been in development for six years. In this podcast, Patrick Brown, community manager at Goodreads, talks about that development process and how the algorithm works.
FLOSS Manuals books published after three-day sprint
By Andy OramOctober 21, 2011
Joining the pilgrimage that all institutions are making toward wider data use, FLOSS Manuals is exposing more and more of the writing process.
Wrap-up from FLOSS Manuals book sprint at Google
By Andy OramOctober 21, 2011
Mixtures of grassroots content generation and unique expertise have existed, and more models will be found. Understanding the points of commonality between the systems will help us develop such models.
Publishing News: The news is free but the API will cost you - New revenue streams for news orgs, Amazon gnaws away at the publishing industry, and Kobo launches Vox.
October 21, 2011
News organizations look to commercial endeavors for unorthodox revenue. Also, Amazon continues to extend its reach into publishing and Kobo jumps on the tablet bandwagon.
Building books for platforms, from the ground up - Jon Feldman on "Speakeasy Cocktails" and a new approach to content development.
October 19, 2011
In this interview, Open Air Publishing's Jon Feldman says publishers aren't truly embracing digital and are simply pushing out flat electronic versions of print books. He talks about the development of "Speakeasy Cocktails" and how it embraces the rich ebook experience.
Day one of FLOSS Manuals book sprint at Google Summer of Code summit
By Andy OramOctober 19, 2011
Four teams at Google launched into endeavors that will lead, less than 72 hours from now, to complete books on four open source projects.
Six ways to think about an "infinite canvas" - How would content look, feel and act in an unlimited space?
October 18, 2011
Imagine a canvas that's elastic and infinite. Now consider the content that could exist in this domain. How would it work? How would you interact with it? Pete Meyers considers these questions and more.
Data journalism and "Don Draper moments" - Alastair Dant on how tech, data and narrative come together at The Guardian.
October 18, 2011
The Guardian's Alastair Dant discusses the organization's interactive stories, including its World Cup Twitter replay, along with the steps his team takes when starting a new data project.
FLOSS Manuals sprint starts at Google Summer of Code summit
By Andy OramOctober 18, 2011
Four free software projects have each sent three to five volunteers to write books about the projects this week. Along the way we'll all learn about the group writing process and the particular use of book sprints to make documentation for free software.
Inside the German ebook market - Max Franke offers an insider's perspective.
October 17, 2011
In this podcast, Max Franke of epubli sat down with Joe Wikert to discuss the ebook market in Germany. He says though the German digital publishing market is still small compared to the US, he expects it to grow as more tablets and ereaders enter the market.
Publishing News: Amazon fires up B&N and BAM - An Amazon deal starts a bookseller war, content tidbits from conferences, and the application of Wikipedia's success.
October 14, 2011
In this week's publishing news: B&N and BAM pulled DC Comics graphic novels off the shelves in a huff. Also, interesting data points surface at book conferences, and what newspapers can learn from Wikipedia.
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