Daily Thoughts 04/06/2012

Camille Redon Reading by Odilon Redon (1840-1916)




Daily Thoughts 04/06/2012

I finished watching Dave Crenshaw, Time Management Fundamentals on Lynda.com  I also read some more Sacre Bleu by Michael Moore.  I especially liked Michael Mooe's description of Monet painting trains.

Stripping Covers off the Hunger Games by Thad McIlroy


I sat down and read Stripping Covers Off The Hunger Games by Thad McIlroy today.  It successfully describes the battle between Amazon and Barnes and Noble for control of the book industry.   The book has a solid muckraking feel to it and exposes how Barnes and Noble may eventually fold changing the book industry forever.  The battle is more than just a corporate battle; Len Riggio is enemies with Jeff Bezos.

Not only does Thad McIlroy cover the death of Borders Bookstores, but he also describes how Best Buy, the electronics store is also slowly losing to Amazon. Thad McIlroy describes how the sole remaining major source of profitability for Barnes and Noble is the college bookstores.  Even here, the e-book companies Coursesmart, Flatworld Knowledge, and Inkling are better prepared than Barnes and Noble for an e-book future.

E-books have also affect used bookstores.  There are no resale rights for licensed software or remaindered copies of e-books.  There are also no used e-books.  They are a major blow to the used book industry.

We get a sense of how technology companies like Kobo, Apple and Amazon are outcompeting the book industry and taking over the e-book industry. There is a powerful message underneath what is being said that unless people are willing to adjust and compete, many publishers will close.

It is not just e-books which are changing things, it is also the fast growing market for tablets.  The Barnes and Noble Nook is not as good as the Apple iPad and can barely compete with the Amazon Kindle in the tablet and e-reader marketplace.   There are also more and cheaper e-books on the Amazon Kindle than the Barnes and Noble Nook.

Thad McIlroy mentions a few things and people that I recognize.  Guy LeChalres Gonzales worked at Digital Book World.  I also occassionally read PublishersLunch The Publishing Industry's Daily Read which is a major newsletter of the publishing industry.  http://lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/

There is also a suggestion to read Let's Get Digital  How to Self-Publish and Why You Should  by David Gaughran.   There is a free PDF version on this webiste http://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/lets-get-digital/

This book is very informative.  It is a solid reminder that the publishing industry is changing and needs to be prepared to fight for its life.  This is also true for libraries.  The book is quite strong in its condemnation of Amazon.


Web Bits



Pew Internet now has a libraries site.
http://libraries.pewinternet.org/


New York Tech Made In New York
http://nytm.org/made/