No Kindle required – Google to sell eBooks

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According to the New York Times, ” Google signaled its intent to introduce a program by that would enable publishers to sell digital versions of their newest books direct to consumers…. through Google”.

This was the big news at this years BookExpo convention in New York and seems to have been warmly received by publishers who have been concerned by Amazons pricing and revenue share policies. Google have said that they will leave pricing to the publishers in as much as the publishers will be able to set a list price for a publication, however Google will set the price paid by consumers through the e-Book program.

Now to be fair, we’ve heard this stuff before from Google however Tom Turvey, director of strategic partnerships at Google, used the phrase: “This time we mean it.”

More importantly, this is apparently going to be a device agnostic initiative as Google’s program would allow consumers to read books on any device with Internet access, including mobile phones, rather than being limited to dedicated reading devices like the Amazon Kindle. “We don’t believe that having a silo or a proprietary system is the way that e-books will go,” continued Mr Turvey.

This could get intertesting – watch this space

Spotify on Google Android …..

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… now that might just be a buying decision

You all know how much I love spotify – well in all the announcements about the slew of new android phones we’re gonna see this year, this little nugget of information seems to have passed almost unnoticed.

Thanks to the nice guys over at TrustedReviews.com we have details of an early spotify app for Android. Building on their propose iPhone app (that still has the Apple boys in a bit of a lather) this one has something even more interesting under the hood – the promise of an offline mode where tracks can be stored for later listening.

Suddenly, android looks even more attractive

New York Times appoints social media editor

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I have to admit I didn’t really know what to make of this when it first hit the wires.

My initial reaction was “contradictions in terms” – surely the whole essence of social media is that is is self generating, self managing and ultimately self perpetuating so why would anyone need to be an editor ?

Dig a little deeper and you find the role, according to a memo from  deputy managing editor Jonathan Landman is “… someone who concentrates full-time on expanding the use of social media networks and publishing platforms to improve New York Times journalism and deliver it to readers”. Laudable indeed. The memo continues that the role will   “… work closely with editors, reporters, bloggers and others to use social tools to find sources, track trends, and break news as well as to gather it”

So there it is. Not exactly an editor – more like an evangelist and mentor to the collective editorial wisdom at the NYT. No bad thing at all…. and the holder of this illustrious title is one Jennifer Preston.

As of 27/05/09, Jenifer had over 2500 followers but surprising was only following 165 of us. I guess she’s getting plenty of input and just being selective 🙂 but we should probably all wish her good luck.

Newspapers failing web 2.0 challenge

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Newspapers need to find innovative ways to embrace web 2.0 – or face a perilous future

(Originally published 12/05/09 – silicon.com)

For too long now people have talked about the decline in newspapers as if this was something slow and cyclical – worse still, something that they can actually manage.  I’m sure the people who ran chemical based photography at Kodak thought the same. The music industry clearly also had this perspective on life. Look, this might well just be a “decline” that has been accelerated by a recession but equally we may be approaching a structural, social and generational cliff face. Either way, you surely don’t want to be just another lemming?

Newspapers are facing the most fundamental period of change in their history. Some would say that until recently nothing much had actually changed since the town crier used to wander into the market square, ring his bell and shout “hear ye, hear ye – plague, death, taxation, fat-cat bankers and the worst recession in living memory …. local vicar involved”.

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Apple to buy Twitter – really ???

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As wild rumours go its right there with the best of them but ….

According to Trusted Reviews (and a heap of less reputable websites)….. “Apple, yes Apple, is apparently locked in “serious negotiations” to buy Twitter for $700m. Quoting a “source who’s plugged into the Valley’s deal scene and has been recruited by Apple for a senior position” ValleyWag claims the duo want to unveil a deal by 8 June in time for WWDC 2009″

The article also points out that

  • Apple has no ad model
  • Apple is hardware and OS focused
  • Apple doesn’t do ‘free’
  • Apple image is slick and expensive- Twitter image is cute and bumbling
  • Twitter has already stated it will not sell for under $1bn

The FT has an equally sceptical position (though from a slightly different angle)

….. and as for me …. I just cant see it but stranger things have happened

Windows XP – the longest goodbye ever

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Quietly yesterday, but right on schedule, Microsoft started the process of winding down Windows XP.

The announcement read ” On April 14, Windows XP will transition from the mainstream support phase to the extended support phase, as planned and previously announced”. Microsoft have said however that they will be patching security issues right up to 2014 so with any luck Windows 7 will have either stabilized or perhaps even been superseded by then. In the meantime, you can rest assured that the continually growing netbook market and widespread loathing of Vista will keep XP alive and kicking for a good many users.

BTW, I was surprised to find out that XP has actually been with us since October 2001 so given that an OS has a typical supported life of about 5 years you have to say that its done pretty well.

What d’ya think – will you be rushing to Vista or Windows 7 ?

…. of scarcity and abundance (and the artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as Prince)

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You’ll remember that Prince famously gave away his last album as a cover mount with the Mail On Sunday and, whilst the music bigwigs threw their hands up in horror, a few of us contemplated that the purple one really understood the new economics of scarcity and abundance – particularly after seeing him live.

Last week Prince announced that his 3 new albums – LOtUSFLOW3R, MPLSoUND and Elixer – will be sold as a triple disc set and will probably retail for less than £10 in the UK. Value indeed (even though he only sings on the first two). However consider this … according to the Guardian, Princes other release in 2009 will be … “21 Nights :The Prince Opus, comprising a limited edition book and iPod, has been announced with a price-tag of £1,500″.

Now £1,500 should buy you a one hell of a book and indeed the report claims “its a massive 280 pages, almost two feet wide, and weighing 17kg”. The book documents Prince’s 21-night stand at the O2 arena in 2007, interspersed with lyrics, poetry and photographs by Randee St Nicholas. A engraved iPod, pre-loaded with Prince’s Indigo Nights live album and a special 40 minute film “made by Prince”, documenting the O2 residency is also included in the package. Only 950 sets will be made available and one lucky “buyer” will win a flight to LA for a private Prince gig.

That’s a smell over £1.4m just on the “special offer” and before any album sales

…. of scarcity and abundance or what ?

Wikipedia 1 – 0 Microsoft

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Microsoft today ran up the white flag in the battle of the online encyclopedias

“On October 31, 2009, MSN Encarta Web sites worldwide will be discontinued, with the exception of Encarta Japan, which will be discontinued on December 31, 2009. Additionally, Microsoft will cease to sell Microsoft Student and Encarta Premium software products worldwide by June 2009…”

Interestingly they close with ……

“Encarta has been a popular product around the world for many years. However, the category of traditional encyclopedias and reference material has changed. People today seek and consume information in considerably different ways than in years past. As part of Microsoft’s goal to deliver the most effective and engaging resources for today’s consumer, it has made the decision to exit the Encarta business.”

Is free and socially networked the only way to survive ?

The ultimate try before you buy..

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People who view my ‘non CIO’ blog – RockandRoll Football – will know that I stumbled across spotify earlier this year and love it.

So I was excited to hear today that a deal has been struck between Spotify and 7 Digital that will see a ‘Buy From 7Digital’ option added to the right click menu inside Spotify and will cover a six million strong catalogue of tracks. Now for the iTune haters amongst us – and there are many – this is just fantastic news as 7Digital also delivers its content at ear embracing 320kbps bitrates.

But is this the ultimate try before you buy experience ??  In the past you were only able to hear a few seconds of poor quality audio before making a purchase decision on a particular track. Now you get the whole track, superb quality, arguably better performance than on your local device (see my comment on iTunes performance vs Spotify) and all this before hitting the buy button. Is this the future for other consumer items ?? What d’ya think ??

In related news, I also heard that Spotify are finalising an iPhone / iTouch solution that will be available from the app store. Will Apple really let this go out unencumbered and embarrass their belover iTunes ?  Indeed, if you can get Spotify quality streamed to your device and the buy from 7Digital – why would you use the iTunes store at all ? This one will be interesting to watch.

… about mutli channel and reader focus

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My last blog entry got in ahead of an intro peice I did for silicon.com on print/web convergence which has only recently been published. They also kindly retitled it  “is the printed page dead ?” (… not really the point I was making or indeed the question I was asking buy hey ho)

Anyway, its published now so you can have a read and post any comments either here, at silicon.com or maybe even both

Printed publications have long looked to the web as a way to revive their diminishing prospects. But, asks CIO Ian Cohen, even if they do embrace it will it be enough to save them?

When it comes to publishing, Bob Dylan said it best: “For the times they are a-changin”.

If you believe the prophets of doom, then the publishing industry is in terminal decline. Advertising revenues are shrinking faster than an expensive cashmere sweater in a spin dryer and circulation figures are falling off a cliff in all but the developing world.

Worse still, the online messiah has failed to deliver on its promises for the vast majority of print publications that launched a .com or .co.uk version of their title. Dalliances with online subscriptions and paid content have been inconclusive for all but the most targeted of publications and no one has yet cracked the key issue of yield. Sure, the volume is there in terms of page impressions and unique visitors but, as Jerry Maguire said, ‘Show me the money’.

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