O'Reilly "Tools of Change" Publishing Conference

O’Reilly’s second annual Tools of Change for Publishing conference was held in New York Feb. 11-13th. The conference was sold out with approximately 900 attendees. Publishers and technology vendors used this show to launch new products and services.

David Stack, Senior Manager, Digital Media, shares some of his general impressions below:

I would consider the TOC to have been a success and a value to the publishers attending. What TOC may have lacked in scale and keynote star power, it made up for in focus. You could also give them points for style: Much like O’Reilly publishing, TOC "walked the walked" in terms of technology – free WIFI, live-blogging, web-archiving, electronic scheduling, etc.

What impressed me the most about this conference was the clear sense of purpose (the practical tools) and the strong point of view (the benefits of change). I would add that these qualities are shared by most successful blogs. The many new “tools” of the exhibitors were well-represented and ably demonstrated. While some exhibitors who doubled as keynote speakers leaned a little heavy on the sale pitch, in most cases, the evangelism for “change” was earnest and felt earned.

What the keynote presenters didn’t offer in terms of groundbreaking insight – most were careful to note that we were in a transformative period and could not guess the future – they made up for in passion and enthusiasm for the possibilities of digital publishing. Meanwhile the publisher audience maintained a healthy dose of skepticism throughout so that the TOC was not simply a case of preaching to the choir.

Naturally the attending publishers were all at different stages in their “digital development” – from beginners to advanced – from firmly entrenched to embracing change. For this reason, I would have liked to have seen some smaller breakout discussion sessions. Because the event was held in New York this year, more publishers were able to attend. There were some good networking opportunities, but I think TOC could have moderated some peer-group discussion to great benefit. Based on the audience comments (under their breaths) throughout the presentations, I got the sense that we might have heard some interesting debates, and seen some true colors.

I found the best sessions focused less on the abstract “possibilities” and more on the practical experiences of publishers in the digital space: O’Reilly reported on its experience with free content and new business models; Harlequin offered some case studies of its digital experimentation; and Hearst shared its success with mobile publishing. I would recommend reading these presentations in their entirety. Though DRM has been debated many times before, Kirk Biglione (a popular DRM blogger) presented a succinct and somewhat witty take on the mistakes the music industry made with DRM. I would recommend his presentation as well.

Most of the presentations have been archived at: http://en.oreilly.com/toc2008/public/schedule/proceedings

HarperCollins Publishers Offers Free Promotional Samplings of Book Online

HarperCollins Publishers announced a variety of online promotions to allow consumers exclusive sampling of books on www.HarperCollins.com. In the “Full Access” Program, a select number of titles can be seen in their entirety for a limited time; in the “Sneak Peek” Program, readers will be able to view 20% of many new titles two weeks before their on sale date; and the remaining titles in the digital warehouse are now available for 20% viewing after the on sale date in the “Browse Inside” Program.

In the “Full Access” Program, HarperCollins is working with individual authors to test how free access affects books sales. For a one month period the following books will be available in their entirety on www.HarperCollins.com: Paulo Coelho’s The Witch of Portobello; I Dream in Blue: Life, Death, and the New York Giants by Roger Director; Mark Halperin’s The Undecided Voter's Guide to the Next President: Who the Candidates Are, Where They Come from, and How You Can Choose; Mission: Cook!: My Life, My Recipes, and Making the Impossible Easy by Robert Irvine; and Warriors: Into the Wild, the first volume of the bestselling children’s series by Erin Hunter. In addition, a Neil Gaiman title will also be included. After sampling online, consumers can follow a link to buy the book from any retailer. Additional title promotions will be decided upon on a case-by-case basis moving forward in consultation with authors.

Random House Offers Individual Chapters For Sale Online

Random House announced a pilot project to sell individual chapters of a book online, starting with a single title: Chip Heath and Dan Heath's MADE TO STICK: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. The six chapters and epilogue are being sold for $2.99 each (The hardcover book is listed at $24.95). Buy one and you get the introduction and index free. Consumers who buy a chapter will receive an email with a link for downloading the purchased file, which cannot be shared electronically. Adobe Systems Incorporated is providing the software (Adobe Digital Editions) and service (ADEPT) for fulfillment and copy-protection of these files.

Borders Opens Digital Concept Stores

Borders has opened its first “next generation” digital concept store February 14th, in hometown Ann Arbor. The first of 14 outlets scheduled to open in 2008, the new store offers a refreshed design that emphasizes online interactivity with Borders and its partners via computer kiosks throughout the store. The highlight is a new fully staffed Digital Center that offers onsite music and audiobook downloads, as well as self-publishing kits, customized photobooks and family histories. It caters to contemporary shopping habits, bridging the virtual and bricks-and-mortar retail worlds.

Wiley, Near-Time Build Book-Based Websites

Source: PublishersWeekly Article
Looking for new ways to digitally repurpose its book content, John Wiley has entered a partnership with Near-Time, a small North Carolina technology developer, to use its wiki-based software to easily turn technical books into revenue-producing, interactive online publishing platforms. Near-Time's software allows a publisher to publish book content in multiple digital formats—from content updates, text corrections and message boards to blogs and video content.

Wiki-based software allows publishers to post interconnected content permitting users multiple levels of access to the text itself, along with other digital functionality. Wiley is using Near-Time's technology to launch a pilot program using titles from its programming imprint, Wrox Press. The first title, Beginning Active Server Pages 3.0, has been posted online and is supported by advertising.

MySpace Does Branded Book with HC

HarperCollins and MySpace have teamed to publish a YA book on environmental activism. MySpace/Our Planet: Change Is Possible is slated to be published on April 22, 2008, which is Earth Day. With an announced first printing of 200,000 copies, the book will be printed on 100% recycled paper, and marks the first branded book from the social networking site.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6493884.html?nid=2286&source=link&rid=196146212

IBS survey reveals publishers are not fully prepared to handle digital content

A survey to find out if publishers are prepared for digital change, carried out at the Frankfurt Book Fair by IBS, has found that 23% of publishers answered with a resounding no. A further 64% have only made limited preparation and just 13% say they are fully prepared. The survey also revealed that 31% of publishers have no strategy for providing content in different formats. According to IBS, these survey results demonstrate the publishing industry’s continuing reservations about distributing digital content and the general confusion that exists in this area. http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/z1/view.asp?id=133767

NBC and News Corp. launch joint video venture

For NBC and News Corp. the hook was simple enough. By pooling their content (along with shows from cable channels including Bravo, E!, the SciFi Channel, USA and others) on their own website, they could create a relatively safe haven from piracy while still getting their hottest shows in front of an internet audience. From that central idea, the assembled parties designed Hulu, drawing on the elements that made broadcast television a success -- a closed platform, and regularly updated content and advertising. The most glaring difference between Hulu and its would-be peers is the lack of an upload option. Since the site is a promotional tool for its owners, the focus is entirely on distributing premium content. There's no option for users to upload content, remix it or produce their own mashups. On Hulu, the networks are running the show.

http://www.wired.com/software/softwarereviews/news/2007/10/hulu_review

Harlequin Inks Deal With Audible

Harlequin has worked out an exclusive content deal with Audible to give its customers subscription-based access to its audio content. The Harlequin AudibleListener Plan will allow readers to receive two audio romance titles a month from the publisher’s HarlequinBlaze imprint for $9.95. The deal marks the first such branded audio subscription model that Audible has offered. Audible is also offering an incentive to customers who sign up for a one-year subscription, giving them the option to purchase a Creative Zen V MP3 player at the reduced price of $29.99. Article

Online Book Swapping

The NYT looks at year-and-a-half old book swapping site BookMooch, while admitting it is just one of many such sites (including SwapTree.com, TitleTrader.com, SF-Books.com, and Book Exchange Network). The site claims 40,000 members who trade books with each other. Though site rules encourage the listing of lots of titles--so they claim a database of 750,000 offerings--what "moves well" is popular titles. And for members who don't want to wait for a desired title to become available for free, founder John Buckman says, "We sell about $30,000 worth of books for Amazon every month."NYT

Digitization Seen as Top Industry Challenge

With the Frankfurt Book Fair starting later this week, show organizers have released results of a survey that asked publishing professionals worldwide their views on the biggest challenges and threats facing the industry as well as predictions on the future. More than half of the 1,324 respondents called digitalization the biggest challenge facing the industry, while competition from other media was picked as the major threat to the health of book publishing. The three other major industry threats were overpublishing, piracy and illiteracy. Article