Posts made in December, 2009
Cory Doctorow and the Corporate Destruction of Books
A tall, well-armed Scotsman once told me that people with Scottish blood in their veins only feel two emotions, “Weepin’ and Anger.” I see evidence of this all throughout my family. I am part of a hot-blooded and emotional tribe, and therefore I am prone to hyperbole—both dishing it out (OMG! These pizza Hot Pockets are the best thing ever!) and being taken in by it (Plaid pajamas are the cruelest injustice of our time! AAARGH!). My reaction to such statements is usually to grab my broadsword, paint my face, and charge off to slay all the plaid pajamas in the land…until, of course, it’s time for Hot Pockets. I tell you this to illustrate...
Read MoreApple's iSlate: The Kindle Killer
When it comes to the launch of new and exciting techno-gadgets, I—and perhaps, we all—have been spoiled by Apple. Yes, they’ve gotten it wrong on occasion, but so often, they get it so right. They’ve repeatedly raised the bar, and our expectations. Perhaps that’s why, when I first saw the unauthorized, leaked images of Amazon’s first Kindle on the web all those years ago, I thought surely they were the creation of an internet ne’er-do-well. I laughed, because I thought I got the joke. “Yeah!” I said. “That DOES look like it’s from 1980! Good one, you internet pranksters you.” But so it was. In the days of...
Read MoreThe Official Pronunciation of "Scribd"
Scribd provides an awesome service for sharing and displaying documents. They’ve been hailed as the “YouTube of Documents.” And, for the sake of the good folks who run Scribd, I hope that’s right. I often speak with folks in the publishing industry about Scribd, and the conversation usually begin something like this: “Have you heard of ‘Scriiiibed‘ or ‘Scrib-dee‘ or however they pronounce that…?” I tell them that yes, I had and that I had not a clue how to pronounce it either. We end up settling on a workable pronunciation and continue our discussion of how the service can be of use to publishers. Well, I...
Read MoreTen Tweetable Twitter Tips for Book Publishers
Book Business Magazine recently asked me if I would provide them with a few Twitter tips for book publishers. I was flattered, of course, and happily obliged. I put together the first five tips in the following list for them—which they’ve published here along with other great tips from other Twitter mavens. But I realized after sending off the list, that I had a few more I wish I had included. So I’ve put together this new list of Twitter tips for book publishers, made each tip tweetable, and posted here for all the (publishing) world to enjoy and discuss. Please let me know if you have other Twitter tips for bookish types. (Some of the tips have been...
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