When Good Enough Is Good EnoughInspired while reading Horace Dediu's piece on the iPhone's quality, Chris Rechtsteiner wondered: Are ebooks already good enough? While we in the industry are concerned with multimedia interactivity and other high falutin' trinkets, it appears that readers might simply appreciate improved basics, like readable font sizing. What do you think? Should innovators be more concerned with new ways to tell and present stories or with improving the basics of digital content consumption? Share your thoughts over at our lovely new TOC community site.
Kat Meyer and Joe Wikert Chairs, Tools of Change Watch and Learn: Free TOC Video
September's theme is formats. In that vein, this month we offer "Down & Dirty EPUB3, Part 1" as a free video download exclusive to newsletter readers. Watch as Digital Bindery's Amanda Gomm and Tom McCluskey take apart an EPUB and reconstruct it using the newest standards, techniques, and features to see what is possible with EPUB3. This workshop from TOC 2012 should have something for everyone, no matter what your level of tech savvy. Hot TypeKat & Joe's Must-ReadsRed Herrings Voyeurism Putting the A in STEM Radio Spotlight Scratch Pads Gifting eBooks Vote to Chat Explore the New Publishing Ecosystem at TOC FrankfurtThe Frankfurt Book Fair Welcomes TOC and IDPF
For most books, purchase depends on discovery. In a digital world, discovery starts when publishers create and maintain effective metadata. In the focused three-hour "Metadata Goes Global" program, you'll learn about:
The workshop will be led by metadata authority Laura Dawson, Bowker’s product manager for identifiers, and Brian O’Leary, principal at Magellan Media. Register with code Combo25MDEPUB to save 25%. The Final BitOur Weekly Nod to Just Purchasing the Darned Copyright
Case in point: Global Visual and Material Culture: Prehistory to 1800. This is a college art history textbook that contains no art. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Students at the Ontario College of Art and Design have been compelled to fork over $180 for a book that has image placeholders directing them to the digital version for the actual image. Why? The publisher didn't buy the image rights for the hard copy. As blogger Brent Ashley notes, it's turtles all the way down: "Remember," Ashley wags, "that $180 is for a single term. It's another $180 for next term's pretend textbook." Looking for more? Visit toc/oreilly.com. |
In This Issue:
SponsorsEvent PartnerPlatinum SponsorNew Books & Reports for Publishers:Free Webcasts:
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"The ebook price war is not the problem," says Suw Charman-Anderson. "The problem is that publishers have ceded the most valuable ground to the retailers." She's talking about 
If you've been frustrated in your efforts to give others the joy of owning best-selling ebooks, rejoice. Livrada has launched 
Register for two great workshops in Frankfurt on Oct. 11, 2012.
Some ideas should never go beyond the bar napkin.
