| |
| |
|
Mahavir Information |
| ||||||||
|
Future of Electronic Publishing
UNESCO's somewhat arbitrary definition of "book" is: "Non-periodical printed publication of at least 49 pages excluding covers". The emergence of electronic publishing was supposed to change all that. Yet a bloodbath of unusual proportions has taken place in the last few months. Time Warner's iPublish and MightyWords (partly owned by Barnes and Noble) were the last in a string of resounding failures which cast in doubt the business model underlying digital content. Everything seemed to have gone wrong: the dot.coms dot bombed, venture capital dried up, competing standards fractured an already fragile marketplace, the hardware (e-book readers) was clunky and awkward, the software unwieldy, the e-books badly written or already in the public domain. Terrified by the inexorable process of disintermediation (the establishment of direct contact between author and readers, excluding publishers and bookstores) and by the ease with which digital content can be replicated - publishers resorted to draconian copyright protection measures (euphemistically known as "digital rights management"). This further alienated the few potential readers left. The opposite model of "viral" or "buzz" marketing (by encouraging the dissemination of free copies of the promoted book) was only marginally more successful. Moreover, e-publishing's delivery platform, the Internet, has been transformed beyond recognition since March 2000. From an open, somewhat anarchic, web of networked computers - it has evolved into a territorial, commercial, corporate extension of "brick and mortar" giants, subject to government regulation. It is less friendly towards independent (small) publishers, the backbone of e-publishing. Increasingly, it is expropriated by publishing and media behemoths. It is treated as a medium for cross promotion, supply chain management, and customer relations management. It offers only some minor synergies with non-cyberspace, real world, franchises and media properties. The likes of Disney and Bertelsmann have swung a full circle from considering the Internet to be the next big thing in New Media delivery - to frantic efforts to contain the red ink it oozed all over their otherwise impeccable balance sheets. But were the now silent pundits right all the same? Is the future of publishing (and other media industries) inextricably intertwined with the Internet? The answer depends on whether an old habit dies hard. Internet surfers are used to free content. They are very reluctant to pay for information (with precious few exceptions, like the "Wall Street Journal"'s electronic edition). Moreover, the Internet, with 3 billion pages listed in the Google search engine (and another 15 billion in "invisible" databases), provides many free substitutes to every information product, no matter how superior. Web based media companies (such as Salon and Britannica.com) have been experimenting with payment and pricing models. But this is besides the point. Whether in the form of subscription (Britannica), pay per view (Questia), pay to print (Fathom), sample and pay to buy the physical product (RealRead), or micropayments (Amazon) - the public refuses to cough up. Moreover, the advertising-subsidized free content Web site has died together with Web advertising. Geocities - a community of free hosted, ad-supported, Web sites purchased by Yahoo! - is now selectively shutting down Web sites (when they exceed a certain level of traffic) to convince their owners to revert to a monthly hosting fee model. With Lycos in trouble in Europe, Tripod may well follow suit shortly. Earlier this year, Microsoft has shut down ListBot (a host of discussion lists). Suite101 has stopped paying its editors (content authors) effective January 15th. About.com fired hundreds of category editors. With the ugly demise of Themestream, WebSeed is the only content aggregator which tries to buck the trend by relying (partly) on advertising revenue. Paradoxically, e-publishing's main hope may lie with its ostensible adversary: the library. Unbelievably, e-publishers actually tried to limit the access of library patrons to e-books (i.e., the lending of e-books to multiple patrons). But, libraries are not only repositories of knowledge and community centres. They are also dominant promoters of new knowledge technologies. They are already the largest buyers of e-books. Together with schools and other educational institutions, libraries can serve as decisive socialization agents and introduce generations of pupils, students, and readers to the possibilities and riches of e-publishing. Government use of e-books (e.g., by the military) may have the same beneficial effect. As standards converge (Adobe's Portable Document Format and Microsoft's MS Reader LIT format are likely to be the winners), as hardware improves and becomes ubiquitous (within multi-purpose devices or as standalone higher quality units), as content becomes more attractive (already many new titles are published in both print and electronic formats), as more versatile information taxonomies (like the Digital Object Identifier) are introduced, as the Internet becomes more gender-neutral, polyglot, and cosmopolitan - e-publishing is likely to recover and flourish. This renaissance will probably be aided by the gradual decline of print magazines and by a strengthening movement for free open source scholarly publishing. The publishing of periodical content and academic research (including, gradually, peer reviewed research) may be already shifting to the Web. Non-fiction and textbooks will follow. Alternative models of pricing are already in evidence (author pays to publish, author pays to obtain peer review, publisher pays to publish, buy a physical product and gain access to enhanced online content, and so on). Web site rating agencies will help to discriminate between the credible and the in-credible. Publishing is moving - albeit kicking and screaming - online. About The Author Sam Vaknin is the author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited" and "After the Rain - How the West Lost the East". He is a columnist in "Central Europe Review", United Press International (UPI) and ebookweb.org and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory, Suite101 and searcheurope.com. Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia. His web site: http://samvak.tripod.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Acne - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Why Self-Publish Your Book? When I meet an author with a great book concept, one who's definitely the right person to write that book, right away I'll often encourage him or her to self-publish. This is because I know that, if an author is thoroughly invested in what they have to say, and if they're determined to create a buzz about their message, they'll discover . Top 3 Steps to Success Building the Relationships Marketing is a broad business subject that encompasses a range of activities including advertising, public relations, sales, promotions and building relationships.Building relationships-often called networking-is a vital foundation for the building of a strong business of any size. Top 10 Tips to Give Your Newsletter Impact! There are thousands of email newsletters or "ezines" produced every week, and most of them have great material and are written by passionate people who want to share valuable information. Unfortunately, very few of them have many subscribers. How To Increase Your Sales From Your Newsletter The first and most important thing you should know when thinking of your own newsletter is that YOU can do it. Yes, you can write your own newsletter. 10 Benefits Of Submitting Articles To Ezines 1. You'll brand your web site, business and yourself by submitting articles to ezines. Future of Electronic Publishing UNESCO's somewhat arbitrary definition of "book" is: "Non-periodical printed publication of at least 49 pages excluding covers".The emergence of electronic publishing was supposed to change all that. Some Things I Have Learned About the Exciting World of Ezines 1. Don't ever stop advertising for new subscribers. 6 Ways to Catch More Opt-ins Than Ever Before Remember that when you have new visitors at your website, your #1 goal is to get them on your ezine list! That way you have permission to contact them again and again, educating them about your helpful services and products that they came to learn more about.But you can't just put up a link that says "free newsletter". Writing Effective Newsletters It's obvious but true that your newsletter can only be effective if people bother to read it. Nowadays we are all drowning in an excess of information that comes at us in all directions and in all forms so this really is the biggest obstacle you have to overcome. How To Write Powerful Newsletters, Offline And Online The theory of writing for newsletters is very similar to that of writing for press releases and other media work, but with newsletters there is one crucial difference. Whereas with an external publication you're quality-controlled by someone outside your organization (the publication's editor) who is therefore independent and autonomous, the equivalent person connected with an internally produced newsletter is either you, or someone else who gets paid by your organization. 5 Keys To A Successful Ezine There are 5 basic keys you need for your ezine to be successful and here they are though not necessarily in this order.1- HostingYou need good reliable hosting for your website. Secrets To Successful Publishing Have you ever wondered what would it take to compete successfully with the "big guys" like Simon & Schuster and even get to the top of the heap? If there is such thing as a magic formula for success, then the story of Geela, the author of the bestseller book THE AMERICAN DREAM can certainly make a believer out of you too. Mastering the art of the possible is at the heart of Geela's brand new book where her message is that the possible always exceeds the impossible. Publish Articles Online: Start With Your Own ezine So, you want to publish articles online? It's really quite simple, and it's a great way to promote yourself or your product. But where do you begin? This is actually quite simple too. Coping With Those Dreaded Ezine Publishing Deadlines Time, of course, doesn't stand still and never did, and it's no wonder at all that in this highly pressurized modern world of ours, time is regarded as a valuable commodity or precious resource.Articles, books and courses on Time Management abound online and off. Getting Subscribers For Your Newsletter Is As Simple As This... Having a newsletter is one thing but how many subscribers do you have? Or are you ok with the number of subscribers you have? If you are not satisfied with the answer, then this article is for you. This article will show you how a simple approach did it did it for me, so now is your turn. Writing, Publishing, Self Publishing, Website Promotion, Blogging, Internet Marketing Are You Ready For The Publishing Revolution?Writing has traditionally been considered a solitary craft. You wrote you article or book in seclusion. Finding the GOLD with Ezines and Google! HiHow'd you go with your product search?Here's another way to help you find out if there's a market for your idea.Go to http://ezinearticles. 22 Ways to Grow Your Subscriber List 1. Don't bury your subscriber form, place it on your home page and or every page and make it VERY easy to find. Managing Internet Addresses in Your Email Newsletter Web and email addresses pose a special challenge for writers and publishers of email newsletters and ezines.I don't know about you, but I find it frustrating when I have to copy and paste an address into a browser, or into a separate email window. Who Is Your E-zine Really FROM? One morning this past fall, I was going through my e-mail inbox, relentlessly deleting junk mail. As you're likely well aware, many spam messages are made to look like they're from a real person.
|
|||||||||||||||||||
| Home | Site Map Copy Right 2006 Mahavir.com |
| NISL | Herbal Acne Solutions | Promotion Factory | Web Design | Online University Degree | College & University | GtpInfo | VPayU |
