Smart AND simple!
But some of us write and read on computer screens. For that, it still makes sense to have text lines that are not too long for comprehension and to have screens that can show us quite a few lines of text at once. That is, our ideal screen would be something more like the shape of an 8×11 sheet of paper, taller than it is wide.
via Christopher Moore’s History News: HIstory of Technology.
There is much here in a short space, but it’s all worth reading!
That’s why broadcast television is going to die of a certainty, and why print publishing never will. Because physical books have always met the on-demand test. It’s their greatest strength, by far, and always has been.
Reading David’s pieces always brings a fresh perspective. This one is no different.
The sector has never seen a company like Google for using its wealth to pursue opportunity outside of its core markets . From YouTube to Android , from DoubleClick to Aardvark , from Google Earth to Google Energy , the company sometimes seems to be restlessly evading its destiny while remaining 98% tied to advertising for its revenues .
For its destiny is surely now reasonably clear . There will be a decline in search as an apps orientated world moves more fundamentally towards solutions . Already Google is feeling some of this , as well as the continuing movement of advertising markets away from the traditional way of contextualization. There will be continuing pressure within solutions created for professional and business services for search to be customized to need , and good enough for active purposes ( which may be better or more targeted or more rigorously selective or more representative of niche user groups than public search environments ) .
Interesting, non?
Weeks after Amazon.com said that it is now selling more electronic books than hardcovers, a leading book publisher said one of its prominent new titles is generating greater e-book unit sales than hardcover unit sales during its first week on sale.
Laura Lippman’s thriller, “I’d Know You Anywhere,” went on sale Aug. 17, and in its first five days sold 4,739 e-books and 4,000 physical hardcovers, said News Corp.’s HarperCollins Publishers.
via New Thriller Sells More E-Books Than Hardcovers – Digits – WSJ.
Paul Carr is wrong-headed in some places here, just plain wrong in others and generally snide and snarky for little reason (nothing new there I suppose). For all that he makes some valid points.
For all of the reasons above, there are really only two types of person for whom it makes a jot of sense to tear up their book deal and abandon the professionalism, billion-dollar print market, and immeasurable cachet of traditional publishing. The first is highly skilled self-promoter likes Godin who have successfully identified their entire (niche) audience and who know they will only ever sell a certain number of copies of their books to that same audience. Marketers like Godin tend to make the bulk of their money with speaking gigs anyway – books are just a throwaway promotional tool, full of ideas that even they admit will be out of date by this time next week. Might as well take the money and keep running.
The second type of person is more tragic: authors who, for whatever reason, fear they’re about to be dumped by their publisher (or at best paid a tiny advance for their next book) and who want to save face by using innovation as an excuse.
via NSFW: A Modest Proposal For Authors Who Abandon Their Publishers — Give Me A Break.
Eoin Purcell's Blog 