Here is just part of a great interview with Eoin Purcell …

“I think Blogging is huge news for publishers.
Firstly, a blog is just a website by another name. Secondly, it is
breaking down the barriers that prevented many from posting their own
websites. Thirdly, through blogs on services like Myspace, bebo and
MSNspaces young people are blogging in huge numbers.
How is that changing matters for publishers? It is increasing the
appetite for online content, which will make acceptance of e-books and
online books easier. It is creating a mass of writers many of whom
over time may well develop enough skill to write more than just a
blog. I think too that over time it will reduce the market for certain
types of books. For instance, in this more open age if your story is
written in a blog archive then a tell-all book might not be such a hot
property. That is why such services as Blurb.com and Lulu.com are
important. They drain a certain share of the market from the pool. I
think that is healthy and perhaps over time it will encourage the type
of publishing I hope to be a part of.”

Tales from the Reading Room » Interview with the Publisher

It seems the reason that photo blogs have become so popular is simple: Digital cameras are cheaply available all over the world and many people own one. Add that to the notion of universal
language (and thus potential appeal) and it’s enticing to people to show off their stuff to an appreciative audience.

No translation necessary with pictures, great stories can be told.

Here’s a link to this topic.

IT Business

A few readers have asked how MySpace works.

Having a 21 year old daughter I’m amazed at how she comes in the front door when she comes home, turns right into the office and checks who has left comments on “her MySpace”. Having recently had her 21st birthday she has the video of it up there plus photos and comments from many of her friends that were there.

She even has songs she has written and sung up there!

Anyway here is someone who has done a lot of work explaining how MySpace works.

Howstuffworks “How MySpace Works”

Enjoyed Eoin Purcell’s post “Is the future bright? Books, Digitisation and Evil!

I believe iTunes will eventually meld with MySpace.

Or the future derivatives of them. Just as individuals can load podcasts up to iTunes the day will come when it will not only be the large record companies domain.

I remember getting my first Mac and laser printer in 1984. Suddenly all those one page brochures and leaflets that were printed by printers via advertising agencies became the domain of people with a Mac. That impact has lasted through to now where a large majority of people in the graphic industry use Macs. This changed a paragdigm. Jobs did it again with iTunes. Back then nobody bitched about postscript being an enabling language, they just used the machines.

Yes its a different world now but someone had to provide a solution that worked seemlessly for the user. Like the Mac and the laser printer. There are many lasr printers now and lots of programs to use them. MacDraw and MacPaint are no more. Pagemaker is hanging on. iTunes will not be the only format forever but without the paradign shift would I be driving to work listening to a podcast from London about publishing here in Australia?

While iTunes is talked about being a virtual monopoly MySpace should be seen as more of a threat to publishers. Given that companies like Lulu and Booksurge can produce physical books they can be marketed directly to the world by the author and delived as an eBook or as hard copy. At least publishers are in the game with iTunes but maybe not for long. Most minor bands and artists in the world have MySpace accounts and sell their tracks from there. No record companies involved. Their community of fans visit their MySpace every day to check if anything is new. A whole new paradigm. The next step may be linking MySpace and iTunes so that there is a commercial market for even the one man band!

So … yes there are two ways to go but I believe the trend will be that most of the publishing market will go direct from the artist to the consumer with “bestsellers” being picked up by traditional companies who have the bookshops and record stores. Just wonder though who will visit them.

Cheers
Paul Niederer pubbys.com

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