I spent last week at O’Reilly’s Tools of Change conference in New York getting wise to what publishers, authors, and publishing service providers are thinking about when they look at the road ahead for the book industry. A theme that really stood out for me was one of sharing. What challenges do we face with different types of sharing and what ideas do people have about them? I’d like to focus on some talks that certainly did their bit in answering this question.
Learning to Be Truly B2C
We all know that publishing must become increasingly consumer-centric, but few of us really know how to make that happen. B2C marketing has become a priority for publishers but there is a lot more to becoming a consumer-centric business. While publishers have traditionally considered themselves taste-makers, if not gate-keepers, that dynamic needs to change as consumers are becoming an increasingly active participant in the retail environment. Consumers have a more powerful voice and the expectation to be heard. This is influencing many industries, and a market-driven approach is proving to be critical to the success of companies across industries. This is why, this year, I’ve focused the Technology Forum programming on B2C thinking. This is a vague term that covers a lot of ground as you can see from the programming confirmed so far.
Spend Valentine's Day with Nerds You Love
As my co-worker Neha Thanki pointed out in her earlier post for the BNC Blog, Top Picks for Tools Of Change 2013, TOC will be “a solid few days of hearing from technologists who are innovating in the digital publishing space.” I’m joining Neha next month at O’Reilly’s TOC Conference in New York from February 12th to 14th because there’s no better way to spend Valentine’s Day than with the fellow nerds you love.
From Digital Literacy to Digital Fluency
From The AtlanticIt’s a new year, and whether or not you believe in resolutions, this is still a great time to implement improvements, make changes and better ourselves.
I find professional resolutions easier to stick to than personal ones (I simply refuse to cut back on red wine) and given that January 1st more or less coincides with the start of the conference season, this is a great time for you to make a few promises to yourself, to better your skills and recommit to innovating in your business or department.
Top Picks for Tools Of Change 2013
As conference season kicks off, I’m looking forward to seeing what lies in store at O’Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing 2013. It’ll be my first time attending TOC and from what I hear it’s going to be a solid few days of hearing from technologists who are innovating in the digital publishing space. Last year, discovery was a big focus at TOC and I’m happy to see that this year they’re moving to a deeper dialogue on content creation and curation. It’s not about how much but how good.
CMPTO Goes Retail
Last week, we hosted CMPTO’s very first retail edition. It was about time we got down to business with the fascinating new avenues of retail that are being introduced or re-introduced in the book market. We had three amazing speakers from vastly different backgrounds and organizations who each brought their own take on what retail means to them and their work.
Schooled at CMPTO
Code Meet Print TO: The Three Rs!
Keep Your Head in the Clouds: Publishers, SaaS, and Cloud Services
Yesterday, I tuned in to a Publishers Launch webinar, titled An Introduction to SaaS and Cloud Services for Book Publishers. If you found yourself scratching your head in bewilderment at more than one word in that title, you’re not alone. The term “cloud computing” is often spoken at conference these days, and it’s time to unpack the jargon and look at the key points of the webinar: the benefits and challenges of cloud systems for publishers.
