This video was prepared by the UK branch of Dorling Kindersley Books. Originally meant solely for a DK sales conference, the video was such a hit internally that it is now being shared externally. … Well worth a look - very clever.
Publisher Jeremy Ettinghausen discusses the “We Tell Stories” project, which aimed to tell stories using innovative online formats. The project broadcast stories live online as authors wrote them and utilized tools like Twitter and Google Maps. —– Matt Locke of Channel 4 Education and Jeremy Ettinghausen of Penguin Books discuss how hyper-connectivity, interactive media and the changing demands of 21st century audiences are transforming stories and storytelling.
With these tough economic times everyone it seems is finding a way to utilize what resources they have to not only improve the bottle line but raise the bar for their customers. I can tell you that I love getting magazines, its like a little present in the mail just for me, but to be honest I am finding it a tough justification to pay the cost. Publishers are feeling the same way. With newspaper and magazine sales down 50% publishers are seeking new media to get their news into your hands.
With the big time sales of E-ink readers such as the Amazon Kindle I & II and the Sony Reader, the man behind the pages of everything from Cosmopolitan to Esquire and the San Francisco Chronicle has put into action a large format wireless E-ink reader of his own. Kenneth Bronfin, exec at Hearst says:
”I can’t tell you the details of what we are doing, but I can say we are keenly interested in this, and expect these devices will be a big part of our future,”
All this comes from the new technology, the money flow is not as flowing and business still want to maintain the integrity and following while cutting the cost of printing. The publishing industry is a $300 billion dollar industry, with most of the income going back into the printing of newspapers and periodicals. Within the year Hearst plans to release a black and white version of the new reader and a large format high resolution model that folds as well as allows for full page reading and ads to be seen.
What Hearst and its partners plan to do is sell the e-readers to publishers and to take a cut of the revenue derived from selling magazines and newspapers on these devices. The company will, however, leave it to the publishers to develop their own branding and payment models. “That’s something you will never see Amazon do,” someone familiar with the Hearst project said. “They aren’t going to give up control of the devices.”
I love that they are not afraid to let go and allow others to embrace this idea, they know that they have a handle on the market and with this new technology things can only grow and become better . Love this idea.
What do you think, are E-ink readers better than the paper (non-green) version? Which would you buy?
