The Boston Globe's Newspaper In Education Program Launches Digital Pilot
The Boston Globe's longstanding Newspaper In Education (NIE) program is launching a digital pilot program that is putting iPads - as well as digital subscriptions to BostonGlobe.com - into public school classrooms in Boston and Stoneham.
All the Ebook News that's Fit to Print: Digital Book World, Pew, and A Memory of Light
It was a busy month for ebooks, and Ebookworm is taking a look at all the news -- from the Digital Book World Conference to Pew Ereading Report and the controversy over the lack of a digital edition of Robert Jordan's A Memory of Light.
Guy Kawasaki Talks APE and "Artisinal Publishing"
Guy Kawasaki probably needs no introduction, but just for the record, he is the author of 12 books, a former chief evangelist for Apple, and an entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of Alltop.com and a founding partner at Garage Technology Ventures. And now he is an "artisanal publisher." Kawasaki teamed up with Shawn Welch to write and publish APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur. Kawasaki is now a bit of an evangelist for "artisanal publishing" and took the time to answer some of EContent's questions about his book and trends in publishing.
EBSCO Publishing and Ingram Bring eBooks on EBSCOhost to OASIS Library Platform
EBSCO Publishing (EBSCO) and Ingram announced an agreement aimed at benefitting mutual customers of Ingram's OASIS (Online Acquisitions and Selection Information System) and eBooks on EBSCOhost. The agreement will allow libraries to order eBooks on EBSCOhost through OASIS.
Touchalize Spurs 400k Euro Investment in Phonitive
Mobile software developer, Phonitive, has received a first round angel investment of 400k Euros from Toulouse-based seed investors, Capitole Angels, and DP Invest. Confirmed and received in late-December, the potential shown by Phonitive's flagship technology, Touchalize, secured the investment deal.
App Happy: Why Even Small Digital Content Companies Need a Mobile Presence
Any self-respecting electronic publisher knows that content must adapt to the latest technologies and platforms to remain relevant to a fickle public. Today that means making your product available on as many portable devices as possible. "Users are turning to their smartphones and tablets more than ever before to search, play, shop and access the content they love while on the go. That's why it's critical to put your content, brand or business on an app, keeping users engaged and tuned in," says Li-at Karpel Gurwicz, marketing manager for Conduit Mobile. "Consumers want to be informed and entertained at the click of a button, and by putting your content at their fingertips at all times, you'll stay ahead of the competition as you increase brand awareness and build your online community."
Semantico's VLeBooks Now Live
Semantico, the digital publishing solutions company, has launched the new ebook platform, VLeBooks. Semantico developed the online reader using their core product Scolaris, and has provided its SAMS solution to manage student authentication.
Reaching Late Adopters: The Next Big Challenge?
I am a notoriously light packer. This is, in part, because airlines charge an arm and a leg to check bags, but it's also just a personality quirk. I don't like clutter in my home, and I don't like packing a huge suitcase for an overnight business trip. I especially dislike dragging a suitcase into a conference with me, so I've become quite adept at fitting everything I need into one -- admittedly large -- purse. But on my last few trips, my laptop has been posing challenges. It works fine, but it's heavy and by the time I board the train home I have an aching back and sore shoulder.
Elsevier Acquires Knovel
Elsevier, a provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announced the acquisition of Knovel Corp. New York City-based Knovel provides a web-based application that integrates technical information with analytical and search tools to drive innovation and deliver answers engineers can trust.
Barnes & Noble Sells Five Percent of Nook Media to Pearson
Barnes & Noble is kicking off the new year by selling a five percent stake in Nook Media to Person, according to Fierce Content Management. For $89.5 million, Pearson now has the right to publish its education content on the Nook and perhaps even distribute devices.
The Power of Push
This year will go on record as the year that smartphone penetration in the U.S. passed the 50% mark, cementing the importance of mobile apps as a new channel to the customer. For the first time, smartphones and tablets have superseded the browser as the new mainstream platform where content is developed and deployed.
Mobile Monetization Is Now a Critical Imperative
When they are off-mic and off the record, most publishing executives are getting increasingly frank about the mobile conundrum they face. The math just doesn't look good. Oh, the hordes are here. Of that there is no doubt. It is not uncommon for top media brands to report exponential spikes in the share of traffic coming to them from mobile devices in the last year.
The Future of Mobile Marketing: Top Growth Trends for 2013
Mobile phones have come a long way since the original, bulky, featureless models of the eighties. Now, we can do almost anything on our phones and consumers rarely put them down. Cellular networks have noticed over the years and responded by beefing up their data networks to support all the Facebooking, Tweeting, sharing, and emailing today's smartphone is capable of. Marketers have taken notice as well. The smart ones are understanding the need to address not only the mobile experience, but the necessity to find ways to reach the mobile consumer.
The Year of the Ebook: 2012 vs. 2013
Another year in the digital age has come and gone, and ebook sales are still growing at "exponential" rates. All indicators would suggest that we've turned a corner and ebooks have been fully embraced by much of the book-consuming public. It's certainly been a banner year for sales, with record ebook and e-reading device sales. According to a Pew study, Christmas 2011 sales of e-readers and tablets almost doubled all of 2010's ownership rates bringing the market penetration to 20%. You don't have to be a genius to realize Christmas 2012 will likely blow that out of the water. But will those sales turn into long-term ebook growth? You can only sell so many e-reading devices, but there's no limit to ebook sales other than reader demand.
Amazon Launches New A/B Testing Capability for App Developers
Amazon announced the beta launch of a new, free A/B Testing capability for Kindle Fire developers. Developers can now test simultaneous treatments of their apps, receive data about what's worked best, and quickly adjust their apps to take advantage of this customer learning.
Serialization in the Digital Age: A Makeover of the Traditional Novel
It's true that with ebooks, we're no longer restricted by the traditional physical constraints. Rather than using this new found freedom to ramble incessantly, many authors have found that the serialization of a lengthy story actually implants the "hook" in a new reader's gills better than if the novel were to appear as a single narrative.
Kindle Direct Publishing Adds $1.5 Million for KDP Select Authors
Amazon.com, Inc. announced that a bonus of $1.5 million has been added to the KDP Select global fund this holiday season. This is on top of the regular monthly fund during from December-February. Authors worldwide can earn a share of the total global fund every time their book is borrowed from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de and Amazon.fr, and reach more readers than ever before.
A Look at Mobile and Social Ad Revenues
It's the time of year when predictions abound, and in the digital content world, few things are cause for more speculation than mobile revenues. ABI Research data says mobile app revenue will top out at over $30 billion by the end of the year, PCMag reports. That is nearly double what apps raked in last year.
Alfresco Delivers Mobile Productivity with Tasks, Notes, and File Sync Features
Alfresco announced a new version of mobile for iOS that transforms devices into productivity tools for the enterprise. While many mobile apps focus on content creation and productivity, Alfresco Mobile 1.4 ups the ante by integrating three key productivity features that save time and increase efficacy for business users.
New OverDrive App for Windows 8
OverDrive's newest app showcases the best aspects of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system and brings library ebooks to new devices including the Microsoft Surface tablet. Incorporating "action bars" and other dynamic features, OverDrive Media Console (OMC) for Windows 8 enables users to enjoy EPUB ebooks and MP3 audiobooks on computers and mobile devices running Windows 8 and Windows RT.
Mag+ Reader Can Now Be Built into Any App
Mag+ introduced its new Mag+ App SDK (Software Development Kit), which opens the Mag+ engine to publishers, agencies and app developers. Now publishers can choose between using Mag+'s award-winning white-label app or building their own app with the SDK, while still taking advantage of the Mag+ creative toolset and powerful distribution backend.
Monopoly or Go Fish? The Penguin/Random House Merger
Just as New York City publishers were bracing for Hurricane Sandy, in stormed the news that Random House and Penguin, two of the largest publishers in the world, would be merging in the second quarter of 2013. [Insert sound of a needle scratching across a record here.] Larger publishers have been gobbling up smaller imprints since the 80s but this, this is something different.
netizeen Turns Magazines Into Social Networks
netizeen, an application for tablets to unleash the social engagement potential of magazines launched its open beta. With netizeen, users are able to interact around content, creating a shared magazine reading experience. It offers readers the potential for real-time conversation with one another. With netizeen's topic-based social structure, readers have a way to discover, connect, and chat in real time. netizeen's social features reflect the growing trend of forming and facilitating communities around content and similar interests.
Visualead Introduces Visual QR Code
Visualead announced the introduction of the Visual QR Code Generator that automatically converts any part of an image into a QR code, enhancing consumer engagement with brands. Visualead's generator enables users to embed QR codes into any image or advertisement in a user-friendly manner without the need for any graphic design skills.
Can Medium Change the Digital Publishing Paradigm?
First there was Blogger. Then there was Twitter. Now, somewhere in between those concepts is Medium, the ambitious new creation of co-founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams, who are responsible for all three social media online publishing tools.Launched recently by Williams' and Stone's Obvious Corp., Medium offers a fresh take on blogging by combining some of the best features already built into competitor sites such as Tumblr, Pinterest, reddit, and Zeen. Medium's design lets users collaborate on works consisting of words and/or images that are published on the site. After reading a work, users can provide feedback to the author, indicate if they liked it, and supplement it with additional content.