The Future of the Book
October 24, 2007
The Internet Gets Less Scary 0
by C. Max Magee
After years of fearmongering and borderline hysteria, the anti-Internet rhetoric of the publishing companies is softening considerably, according to Reuters. In 2005, we saw publishers banding together to go up against Google Books (then called Google Print). Patricia Schroeder, president of the Association of American Publishers, epitomized the prevailing thought at the time: “If Google [...]
September 14, 2007
Google Books Reveals New Features 1
by C. Max Magee
Google Books has just unveiled a set of new features that should appeal both to digital bibliophiles and the academically minded. In my opinion, the coolest new feature is one called “popular passages.” This feature does two very useful things. First, it cross-indexes and links books to relevant subject matter. So, when you run across [...]
September 5, 2007
Fighting Over Deck Chairs: Print Vs. Online 2
by Ben Dooley
The sky is falling. The king is dead. And, oh, by the way, the barbarians are at the gates. Or at least, that’s what a recent spate of opinion pieces bemoaning the increasing morbidity of literary criticism would have you believe. Although the whinging and general hand wringing has been going on for years now, [...]
July 5, 2007
Publishers Mix It Up with Advertising Online 0
by C. Max Magee
Using the words “advertising” and “books” in the same sentence seems to cause panic among fans of literature. Recall when Nigel Newton, chief executive of Bloomsbury Publishing, lashed out at Google Books for the “predation” of their “silly ads” over a year ago. In the intervening time, our favorite works of literature have not been [...]
July 2, 2007
Emptying the Shelves; Filling Up the Hard Drive 2
by C. Max Magee
In a short piece at silicon.com “futurist” Peter Cochrane talks about a potential business idea that I’m surprised doesn’t already exist: digitizing personal book collections. As I’ve said in the past, I support the various book digitization efforts from Google and others for these projects’ potential to make the sharing of knowledge easier, not because [...]
June 13, 2007
Ride the Shuffle: The Institute for the Future of the Book 2
by Buzz Poole
This guest contribution comes from Buzz Poole, the managing editor of Mark Batty Publisher. He has written for the likes of The Believer, Village Voice and San Francisco Chronicle, and is the author of Madonna of the Toast, a look at the cultural ramifications of unexpected religious and secular icons. Keep up with his adventures [...]
