Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Triumph of form over content?

The debate runs and runs on the future of the book. But are publishers too hung up on wondering what the 'killer device' will be that launches a thousand eBooks? Publishers are constantly getting excited about the potential for the ipod to become an eReader, as illustrated by this video. On Peter Brantley's excellent Book 20-1 list there have been heated exchanges over Manolis Kaneidis's 'BlueBook' prototype (a paper book with circuits embedded in each page and with text printed with conductive ink), as reported here. It strikes me that Adam Hodgkin's insights about all this over at the Exact Editions blog are spot on. He suggests that the obsession with the hardware is wrong-headed. I couldn't agree more. Publishers should be focusing on digitising their content and ensuring that it can be accessible via a web-based interface. The Apple iPhone, which does not incorporate specific eReader software but does feature a 'humble familiar web browser', could leapfrog the various eReader device offerings to become the consumer's eReader of choice. Many don't know it yet but I also believe publishers will need to ensure they have the capability in place to deliver content streams via subscription - and not just in the academic and STM sectors in my view. At Macmillan I am glad that we are developing BookStore to enable publishers to deliver on these needs.

On another note entirely, one of the things I like about blogging is the interesting co-blogger contacts that you make. One such is Eric Neu. Eric, who works in e-business for a publisher in Brussels, has posted this 'mini-interview' with me on his blog. It's nice to see my words up in French. They sound so much more interesting.

#    |  Comments [5]  | 
7/3/2007 12:29:44 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
I think this is right - the hardware will keep changing but the content stream must flow consistently. On the web, the aim for content and presentation (coding standards etc.) is device independence.

Business models need to change too, for this stream of content. Micropayments are the way forward.
James
7/3/2007 1:46:02 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
"Publishers should be focusing on digitising their content and ensuring that it can be accessible via a web-based interface." They certainly should be ... and yet most publisher websites are woeful.

Many publishers need to get right back to basics with their digital provision: a decent, simple, searchable website that is kept bang up-to-date, with a full catalogue with covers, being the least that they should have. Very many don't even have this.
Mark Thwaite
7/6/2007 9:25:27 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
"The Apple iPhone, which does not incorporate specific eReader software but does feature a 'humble familiar web browser', could leapfrog the various eReader device offerings to become the consumer's eReader of choice."

Not sure why the iPhone would be any more likely to access digitised books via a web browser than any other mobile phone - pretty much all of which provide the ability to access the Internet in some way.

I agree that digitising content (and making it device-indepentent, as the commenter James mentioned) is important, but I do think that (for fiction) it is the hardware that is going to make all the difference. For non-fiction, however, especially educational publishing, it's here already and eBook Readers aren't really necessary. In non-fiction, device-independence is paramount and there is no real need for a killer device.
Tasha Goddard
7/9/2007 6:42:27 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
Bookstore definitely is the future of publishing, developing digital content delivery format is becoming necessity for publishers. It is intersting to note that Atypon Systems (www.atypon.com) has developed similar system for searching within PDF. MPS (Indian Subsidiary of Macmillan) has other products such as Publisher-stats or scholarly-stats are very similar to some of Atypon's products. I guess Atypon is folowing Macmillan.

Interesting link between Atypon and MPS is Ravi Inder Singh, who used to work for Atypon and now is CEO of MPS.

In fact web has CV's of two Ravi Singh's both MBA's from University of Columbia, while GSB-Columbia lists only one. CV's of both read similar, I was forced to believe both were same person as both have worked for same companies, until I happen to meet the other too. I am puzzled. Charkin help me with this, checkout following links.

http://www.sycamorevc.com/team_ravi_singh.htm

and

http://www.zoominfo.com/Search/PersonDetail.aspx?PersonID=367812

Some mischief?

Further, CFO of MPS, Alok Bhatt, who is a member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, but surprisingly, due to some strange reason his name does not figure in its member list. Checkout the following link

http://220.227.161.82/lom_name.asp


I guess this is a plot from Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors.

Joe
Joe
8/2/2007 6:06:31 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
The profile for the Ravi Singh who is CEO of MPS at http://www.zoominfo.com/Search/PersonDetail.aspx?PersonID=367812 is incorrect. It has him working at Silverline during the same period that he was working at Atypon. Mr. Singh was let go from his position at Atypon in 2004 and subsequently joined MPS.
Sarah