The God Subject

The Guardian Newspaper in the UK has a short article on the success of books questioning the existance of (any) God. The article is specific to Christopher Hitchens book God is Not Great but also mentioned the sucecss of The God Delusion. I contributed to both authors royalty payment and finished The God Delusion but I haven't started the Hitchens book. I am currently reading Buddha or Bust and someone I had dinner with last night jokingly suggested I was in the midst of some mid-life crisis. Meaning aside, I will have beaten this theme to death by the time I have finished all three.

NYTimes: Hardly the Mike Wallace Treatment

Apparently, I am not the only one that feels that the New York Times' 'expose' on News Corp lacked any depth or provided new information on the manner in which Murdoch runs his business. (Paidcontent) You really have to consider the NYT's motives in this given they are themselves a family run operation similar to Dow Jones that has been left behind by the media revolution and they ran an editorial two weeks ago supporting the family's (supposed) wish to stay independent. It was more than disingenuous and perhaps in the interests of full disclosure they should have mentioned their own dual equity arrangement that keeps the Ochs/Sulzberger fully in control and the public shareholders out in the cold.

(As I may have mentioned, I retain some deep seated resentment towards Rupert Murdoch because as a 14 year old newspaper seller in Melbourne Australia they raised the price of the Herald from 8cents to 10cents and in the process did me out of a virtually guaranteed 2cents on every sale. That added a lot to my daily take and I soon realized that selling newspapers on a street corner was no kind of future).

Murdoch should get Dow Jones if for no other reason that he is willing to rebuild the franchise to compete in a new media, connected and multi-channel world. The Brancrofts aren't and I think that most people would like to see the Wall Street Journal retain and perhaps increase its influence and standing not just in the US but internationally. Murdoch has proven News Corp can manage and grow substantial media properties and Dow Jones will be no different. It is stupid to assume that any proprietorial media property is without bias or doesn't reflect some level of influence from the owner; but, customers (and staff) either support it or not and Murdoch (or the NYT) are not going to undercut the credibility of their properties to spite their revenue.

Everyone Needs A Dad

There was a good deal of joking about the acronym DAD at last weeks Klopotek sponsored conference on Digital Asset Distribution for publishers, but that did not take away from the content which showcased a number of providers in this space.

The conference was one part of a two part conference that presented a white paper Digital Asset Distribution for Book Publishers written by Mike Shatzkin (The Idea Logical Company) and Mark Bide (Rightscom Limited). The second part of the conference, which will deliver largely the same content, will be delivered in London next month at which time the presentations from both meetings will be made available. The White paper establishes the context for digital asset distribution:

But now, and rather suddenly, every book publisher is finding it has the need to manage the digital distribution of their content. The same set of content is needed by different people, in different forms, in different places and at different times, over and over again.

The white paper poses a number of questions which they later answer based on an extensive set of interviews with the key players in the industry. The pair interviewed companies in the US and Europe and publishers and a set of the predominate DADs. Among the questions they pose:

• When is it sensible for publishers to buy or build their own technical infrastructure?
• What are the risks of outsourcing Digital Asset Distribution?
• What functions currently managed by publishers might be rendered obsolete by a DAD?
• What is the relationship between Digital Asset Management (DAM) and Digital Asset Distribution?
• How much does a publisher need to know in order even to make use of a DAD?
• How does on line access to publisher’s content change both processes and accountability?
• To what extent have the leading edge professional and academic publishers been disadvantaged by their early entry into digital distribution?
• How many DADs do we need?

Presenting at the meeting were representative from Harpercollins, Ingram, Newstand, Bibliovault, codeMantra, CPI Publishing, MPS Technologies and Value Chain International. Each presentation was interesting in documenting the direction each company was taking in this arena. The comments by Bibliovault were especially on point for any one thinking about digital asset management:

1. Make sure you have access to your files at any time – don’t be reliant on the vendor to provide access
2. Don’t hand off the content and walk away expecting everything will be OK
3. Get your short term goals met
4. Be sure you can stockpile: a place to put the content even-though the content may not be released to the public

The full report can be found here and in about a month you will also be able to find the presentations.

BookExpo America Conference: Podcast

Many of the conference sessions at BookExpo were taped for Podcast as was the session I hosted.

Here is the link.

This session provides an overview of the social networking activities of various publishers and provides a window into their motivations, successes and expectations. It is hosted by Michael Cairns, founder of Information Media Partners. Speakers include Michael Hyatt of Thomas Nelson, Carrie Kania of Harper Perennial, Jim Behrle of Overlook Press, Karen Christensen of Berkshire Publishing and Malle Vallick of Harlequin.

Pearson, GE and Dow Jones

While Pearson has not admitted engaging in any discussions there is much too much noise about this possible deal for nothing to be going on. The Independent has an article this morning which examines how the deal may be done that enables Pearson to retain earnings growth and return rates that they have promised shareholders.

So Pearson has been casting about for a partner, with the latest mooted structure being a joint bid with GE, the outcome of which would be a joint venture where the two own equal shares of 40-45 per cent and the Bancroft family retain a stake of 10-20 per cent. GE would put CNBC into the joint venture, Pearson would put in the FT and possibly some of the other assets from the FT Group, which also owns The Economist and a host of specialist financial magazines and databases. One or both would also have to contribute some cash so that the Bancrofts and Dow Jones' other shareholders could get something close to Mr Murdoch's $60-a-share for their holdings.

The odds are still with NewCorp but it looks like being a far more interesting process than it looked two weeks ago.


UPDATE: Bloomberg

GE and Pearson have dropped their discussions on a potential bid for Dow Jones. The odds are even more in favor of News Corps bid and the market agrees. The stock price for DJ has settled at the offer price.

News Corp Discusses Combining MySpace and Yahoo

An interesting story in this morning's London Times that suggests that News Corp executives and Yahoo have discussed the combination of MySpace with Yahoo. News Corp would retain approximately 25-30% interest in the combined entity. With the departure of Terry Semel, the discussions could die a quick death but with the massive strategic issue that Google poses to Yahoo the company must be thinking that organic incremental growth is not going to cut it and that they will need to construct more than one major deal to both build momentum and compete aggressively with Google. The combination with MySpace is certainly interesting but if you coupled that deal with a merger with EBAY - which also has its Google problems - and suddenly you have a legitimate antidote to Googleness.

EBSCO Acquire Some ABC-Clio Databases

Ebsco announced yesterday an 'historic' agreement with ABC-Clio to acquire two of ABC-CLIO’s renowned databases, Historical Abstracts (HA) and America: History and Life (AHL), and will distribute eight additional award-winning history databases in addition to ABC-CLIO’s online history eBook collection, History Reference Online. EBSCO continues to add content to their concentrated 'silo' offerings which makes them the number one source of affordable academic reference material.

From the press release:

Tim Collins, President of EBSCO Publishing, said: “We are extremely excited about this partnership. Our relationship with ABC-CLIO will enable expanded access to some truly remarkable resources. As always, we remain committed to adding value for librarians and researchers in the research process.” Collins continued: “As a company that remains committed to growth, and one of the largest licensors and digitizers of content in the world, we are delighted and honored to be able to work with ABC-CLIO to enhance and expand history resources for teachers, students, and scholars.”

Gary Rautenstrauch - New CEO SirsiDynix

Vista Equity Partners appointed Gary Rautenstrauch the new CEO of SirsiDynix as of this weekends ALA conference in Washington DC. Gary was last at AMS and had been hired to sort out that mess which developed into a much larger problem than most people realised. Most people in library land will know him from his time at Baker & Taylor. He replaces Pat Somers who left Sirsi after Vista Equity invested.

Press Release

Google Interiors - All too possible

Does Google know no bounds? Maps were one thing, digital pictures of your streetscape another. Can it go even further? Well, Sandra Niehaus thinks it can:

“I’m Dierdre Martin and this is George.” She didn’t fill in George’s last name,
but they both held out their hands and I shook them. I realized with a shock
that George’s hat was a dense cluster of tiny cameras, forming a rounded beehive
of angled, glittering eyes. “We’re from Google Interiors, a new venture
sponsored by Google to make every home interior in the world searchable on the
internet.” She paused and took in my doubtless stunned expression. “You know,
Google, the internet search engine?” she clarified helpfully.

Read the entertaining post here.

(Tip of the hat to Exact Editions).

News on Literary Social Networks

(Via GalleyCat).
I missed the news reported in The Christian Science Monitor that librarything.com has linked up with Random House to supply books to Librarything users in exchange for reviews.

Random House will send free copies of five new fiction titles to 95 LibraryThing members in exchange for short reviews. They'll ship another batch in July. Come October, LibraryThing anticipates opening its "Early Reviewers" program to other publishing houses. A half-dozen have expressed interest so far.

Goodreads and shelfari are other sites that have been able to generate collective interest in books and the social aspects of reviewing, sharing recommendations and simple inquisitiveness regarding others reading interests. What is apparent is that these sites and the success of others like them will lead to an accelleration in the migration of publishers advertising dollars away from newspapers and trade magazines to sites of book interest. As the article comments:

The potential for websites like Goodreads, LibraryThing, http://www.whatsonmybookshelf.com/, and http://www.shelfari.com/, to reach readers across all demographics is certainly promising. LibraryThing has 205,000 members and 14 million books catalogued. (Mr. Spalding likes to say that if it were a bricks-and-mortar library its collection would surpass Yale University's.) Shelfari, which was launched last year and doesn't disclose numbers beyond saying its users are in the tens of thousands, recently received funding from Amazon.com.

The sources of influential book reviews from the likes of NYTimes and Publisher's Weekly may become marginalized unless they adopt some of the same types of social and interactive technologies that these innovators have done. Woe that they come up with something a step beyond what some of these small innovators have done.

Google Pushing the Bounds of Privacy?

To many literate web aficionados the presumption of privacy as it refers to ones everyday interaction with the web is an anachronism of another age. Reuters takes a look at what Google is doing with web search and doesn't answer many questions but certainly poses some.

Unified Search offers no information not already available on Google, but by putting it all in one place, it is turning up sometimes disconcerting links between previously unconnected types of data. And Google is testing various forms of personalized Web search, including Web History, a feature that allows individual users to look back at a chronological history of their search activity over several years. Users learn what predictable creatures they are -- what good and bad habits they have -- when their entire Web search record is revealed, stretching back days, months, even years. By offering a digital record of users' daily interests, Google is giving those who choose the service an unprecedented level of insight into their own thinking. Computers have begun to play the confessional role once reserved for the local priest, or psychotherapist.

If I needed a shrink, I am pretty sure he/she would not be my computer.

The article goes on to review the push Google is making to re-write the rules of privacy in a legal sense.

Google has responded by calling for comprehensive legislation to harmonize laws of various governments, all of which want their say over the World Wide Web. Self-regulation by the Internet industry has not worked, the company says. "Patchwork regulation is confusing for consumers because they don't know which privacy regulations should apply in different situations," Google attorney Wong says of U.S. privacy laws.

Of course it is a little disingenuous for Wong to speak-up for us consumers when what they proselytize has a material impact on their business model. Nevertheless there is probably a grain/stone of truth to the comment.

Pearson and Dow Jones

I half jokingly suggested that Pearson would take a look at Dow Jones amid speculation that Pearson was next on News Corps list if the NewsCorp bid for Dow Jones didn't work out. Most competitive bidders for DJ face considerable hurdles matching the current Murdoch bid but Pearson may have a hidden advantage in that the Bancroft family may be willing to take less money from Pearson in exchange for the understanding that the financial icon will be better protected journalistically under Pearson than under NewsCorp.

Reports suggest the likelihood of a bid is low, but if they were to end up with Dow Jones, it would be somewhat of a redemption for Pearson chair Scardino who has steadfastly refused to sell the FT group in the face of baying analysts and some shareholders who believed the group a looser. Combined with Dow Jones they would own three of the top ten news and financial journals in the world all of which (WSJ, FT, Economist) have exceptionally strong branding around the world. The next questions would be what do they do with it if they get it?

New York Post (Murdoch Paper)
NYT

Wolters Kluwer: Share Buy Back - Is this all they could think of?

Anyone owning WK shares should be thinking that their investment will increase in value as WK embarks on a $1.obillion share buy back scheme over the next 18mths. (Link) I am sure it is important to shareholders that the company stock price increase but wasn't selling the educational unit a way to get rid of an under performing asset and thus a deflated share price?

In an environment where information assets are going through the roof in terms of value is this the only thing they could come up with that could add long term value for shareholders? Without an aggressive business development strategy - that is acquisitions - is the company not a target themselves with $1.obillion from the education sale and a low share price? WK operate in a rapidly growing health care information market and thus one very appealing to PE or a well placed trade buyer. Why would either wait for the share price to go up?

Bureau Van Dijk: Sale Interest Low

The Private Equity fund Candover placed BVD on the block two months ago amid a highly volatile environment for information and financial database companies. Who could doubt that the time was ripe. However, according to The Financial Times the initial indications of interest have been under whelming thus far. Some of the likely bidders - Reuters, Thomson, Pearson - have not come through with bids and this has disappointed the owners. The company itself appears to be doing well but according to the article some potential buyers are concerned that a lot of the content is not owned by BVD.

These sources also mentioned the fact that Bureau van Dijk does not technically own its own information, as a potential cause for concern for potential bidders. On the other hand, one source noted that it can be seen as a high-quality asset, as reflected in the 9-10x EBITDA multiple being offered in two separate staple finance packages from Goldman Sachs and RBS. Bureau van Dijk’s products include bank, corporate and M&A databases such as BankScope and AMADEUS and ZEPHYR.

Here is the link to my earlier post on BVD.

As the quote above indicates, BVD has strong branded products, in key markets that command high margin revenues. BVD is expected to go for around $1.3billion and given the prices paid for recent information companies it could still surprise.

Book Videos and Simon & Schuster

The New York Times (via Associated Press) has a short article on video promotions for books. It is becoming all the rage now. Here is the McEwen (Chesil Beach) video produced by Powells Books mentioned in the article.



Also mentioned is Susan Wiggins' novel The Shadow Catcher which is one of the new crop of videos launched by Simon & Schuster today. From the article:

Wiggins is one of 40 writers featured on a video site launched Thursday by Simon & Schuster that includes clips of Wiggins, Zane, Jeannette Walls and Sandra Brown. The publisher expects to add videos for books by Vince Flynn, Michael Connelly and Jodi Picoult among others.

Once a novelty, book videos are increasingly common and, publishers say, essential. Hyperion Books, HarperCollins and Penguin Group (USA) are among those using them. Powell's Books, a leading independent store based in Portland, Ore., plans its own series of films, starting with a video for Ian McEwan's new novel, ''On Chesil Beach.''

''I don't know if we're reaching people we wouldn't otherwise be reaching, but we are reaching people who are not necessarily reading book review sections, or always watching a TV show,'' says Sue Fleming, Simon & Schuster's vice president and executive director for online and consumer marketing.

Here is the link to the Wiggins video and here is the link to Bookvideos.tv where you can watch videos of favorite authors (when they do a video) and learn more about the books.

al-Mutanabi Street: Baghdad Diary

I had not had the chance until recently to return to the diary of Dr. Saad Eskande, Director of the Iraq National Library and Archive . It makes pretty horrific reading and this passage from March 5th describes the scene of the car bomb attack on the well known al-Mutanabi Street Book market. The diary is hosted by the British Library and is well worth reading.

As we were talking, a huge explosion shook the INLA's building around 11.35. We, the three of us, ran to the nearest window, and we saw a big and thick grey smoke rising from the direction of al-Mutanabi Street, which is less than 500 meter away from the INLA. I learnt later that the explosion was a result of a car bomb attack. Tens of thousands of papers were flying high, as if the sky was raining books, tears and blood. The view was surreal. Some of the papers were burning in the sky. Many burning pieces of papers fell on the INLA's building. Al-Mutanabi Street is named after one of the greatest Arab poets, who lived in Iraq in the middle ages. The Street is one of well-known areas of Baghdad and where many publishing houses, printing companies and bookstores have their main offices and storages. Its old cafes are the most favorite place for the impoverished intellectuals, who get their inspirations and ideas form this very old quarter of Baghdad. The Street is also famous for its Friday's book market, where secondhand, new and rear books are sold and purchased. The INLA purchases about 95% of new publications from al-Mutanabi Street. I also buy my own books from the same street. It was extremely sad to learn that a number of the publishers and book sellers, whom we knew very well, were among the dead, including Mr. Adnan, who was supposed to deliver a consignment of new publications to the INLA. According to an early estimation, more than 30 people were killed and 100 more injured. Four brothers were killed in their office.

Never Catalog Another Book!

Imagine never having to catalog another book. A potential reality but not one we are likely to see unless the publishing community can establish consistent technical standards for RFID (radio frequency identification). RFID tags should be bound into a book (or DVD, CD) at the bindery and that tag should represent a standard syntax that all RFID readers can understand. The process of RFID attributes a unique number (in standard syntax) to the tag that then enables readers at any point in the publishing supply chain to read the tag and identify the exact copy (or item).

As the item follows through the supply chain, data elements are be attributed to the tag representing everything from ISBN – to advanced shipping notice (ASN) – to customer membership number. In an ideal, fully implemented world, the physical touches are significantly less (and potentially zero) than in the traditional model where books are counted, sorted and cataloged repeatedly before they are eventually sold. As the example of BGN in the Netherlands shows, even in a limited implementation – that is from distribution to retailer – significant savings can be had.

Naturally a robust data warehouse sits at the center of any RFID implementation where all data elements attributable to the items reside. For example, once the RFID tag is attributed to an ISBN all the data elements describing that ISBN are now ‘readable’ at any point in the supply chain. This is particularly relevant at the end of the supply chain in the bookstore or library. At this point, a book can be found in any location in the store or library whether miss-shelved or not by reading the RFID tag. Searches conducted in the catalog or in-store kiosk will be able to identify the exact spot where the book can be found.

Potentially, implementing RFID on an industry basis would eliminate significant redundancy in the supply chain and probably increase effectiveness of everything from publishing programs to marketing programs and sales.

Clearly there are more than a few hurdles to over come to get to this point not least of which is the standard for RFID. Retail implementation of RFID in the US booktrade is limited, but not so in libraries where vendors have been selling systems into the library market for years. Unfortunately, the vendors sell their own non-compatible platforms which only partially generate the kind of improvements that could be achieved. In addition, the libraries that implement RFID have to retro-convert their collections at considerable cost and cover the costs themselves. The number of different systems in place at libraries also causes problems for suppliers who are required to place tags on items and must accommodate differing standards (obvious oxymoron) and then test the resulting tag with a version of the software in place at the library. A tiresome and inefficient process to say the least.

It doesn’t need to be so. In the Netherlands, an admittedly strong vendor set its own agenda in establishing an RFID standard for its stores. There needs to be a similar effort in the US but one that keeps the solution simple – a syntax for the RFID tag only – that will allow publishers, retailers and libraries to experiment and implement RFID in the supply chain.

Ultimately, RFID will be implemented in the publishing industry and booksellers and libraries will never have to catalog or attribute bibliographic information to a title. The bibliographic database is the other key item that needs to be addressed and there are some interesting trends in this area which I will discuss in my next article.

BBC US News: More competition for Katie

Admidst the Katie C bashing The BBC has announced that they will launch an hour long US newscast on BBC America and BBC World.

The BBC is betting on a show that fills a niche in TV similar to the one The Economist fills in print. The London-based magazine saw circulation rise on the popularity of its in-depth international and financial reporting.

Personnally, I enjoy the contrast between the US networks approach to news and the BBC's international viewpoint. I wonder if I will enjoy watching US news on BBC and World news on BBC. For the most part I think US news is fairly shallow so if BBC is able to provide the type of coverage of the US that they do for international news their new program may become an interesting alternative. I'll never give up The Daily Show however.

Are We On The Right Frequency?

Rather than wait for an industry to bless a standard for RFID or a data requirement for each chip, the Dutch retailer BGN launched a major strategic initiative to build ‘the book retail store of the future’ using self-designed RFID tools and technology. The resulting implementation has been the talk of the RFID industry and why not since this relatively small retailer operating in a relatively small industry has done what the mighty Walmart has been unable to do. From the outset, success for BGN was more assured because the company embarked on this effort for its own business reasons rather than having to implement it due to some directive from a third party.

The Dutch experience was presented at a panel meeting on Saturday at BookExpo to a disappointingly small group. RFID is in the process of transforming the BGN business and while publishers and retailers from the US have visited their operations to see the implementation in detail there doesn’t appear to be immediate impetus in the US to launch an RFID initiative. The Dutch example is notable for several reasons: Firstly, the company approached the initiative from a complete supply-chain view and they recognized that they needed to involve other parties in the planning and design of the initiative. Secondly, the company was first to implement the solution, and as a result, key software and hardware vendors were more willing to be flexible to support the implementation since it was in their interests to succeed. Thirdly, the company used experiences gained by others-such as Borders’ use of kiosks, Gartner’s research on store design and Metro of Germany’s test store.

The retail (not just publishing) industry suggested it couldn’t be done, arguing that privacy, tag costs and product breadth were issues too difficult to overcome. While BGN understood and addressed these concerns, Matthijs vd Lely, CEO of BGN, commented while on the Panel that, even prior to implementation, some executives remained skeptical.

The results have been more than impressive. At the Donner store location, the company stocks about 240,000 titles on 55,000 sq/ft and receives about 8million units each year. In a ‘traditional’ store, stock takes require the closing of the store for 2days. The new store remains open and the inventory is counted in hours. Theft and shrinkage have been reduced because the company accurately tracks items from receipt through purchase and the RFID tags acts as a theft alarm. (Privacy has been addressed by deactivating the tag on purchase). In a presentation at Frankfurt last year, the company estimated that they save over $250,000/yr just from stock take efficiency alone. Evidence also suggests that average revenue per customer has increased 6-8%, due to better inventory information at store level.

During implementation, the company needed to address minor issues such as metal shelving that interfered with RFID reception, metal or part metal packaging on books, CDs and DVDs; and, in some cases, location of a title was not specific enough – covering two bookshelf bays for example. These issues appear minor and, post-implementation, the store experience for shoppers is considerably enhanced. Employees and customers can identify with certainty an item and its location in the store. More integration with their web site and with store promotions and bundling is planned. The company hopes to have RFID implemented store-wide by the end of 2008, with added improvements (such as RFID enabled shelving) which could eliminate stock taking entirely.

The prospects for success in the US appear muted for two reasons. Firstly, well-intentioned industry volunteers seem to be fixated on defining the data that may or may not ride along on the RFID chip. In the BGN implementation, the chip only contains a unique number. At the point when the RFID chip is applied to the item (by BGN), the chip number and associated meta-data are married up in the BGN product database: Taken at face value, this approach appears more flexible, cheaper and faster. (For example, what happens if data ‘formatted’ on an RFID chip is inaccurate? The same mistake could be rectified once in a database rather than having to recall all RFID chips and rewriting the information). In the US, the initiative may move faster if we just define the syntax for the ‘dumb’ RFID number. Secondly, no one in the industry appears to want to take the first step but, as the BGN example shows, significant advantages could accrue to the company that goes first. In my opinion, this is most likely to be a retailer and, perhaps, should be a retailer, because the business case seems to be more obvious.

In looking to the future, BGN hopes that tags will be applied at the bindery and supply-chain partners can adopt the technology when they are able. In the US, we don’t seem to have reached that point of mutual desire. In an industry where a half- point gain in operating margin is hard to find, one would think that capital investment supporting RFID implementation at store level would be a no-brainer- especially given the example of BGN.

RFID Can Save Book Retail

BGN is a Dutch retailer that has launched their own RFID initiative to resounding success. (I used their experience as a basis for my re-think of the Borders business strategy). At this mornings panel discussion, the compelling business case seemed to escape the audience although BGN did say that all major publishers and B&N had visited to see the RFID implementation in action.

In the US it seems we are making our standards discussion more complicated than it needs to be and thusfar the primary players in the supply chain are engaged in an infinite loop-like discussion about who should take the lead on implementation.

As a result, we are in the words of one of the panelists engaged in a "rolling five year" implementation. Which means don't hold your breath - more later.

IPhone: The best IPOD we have ever made

Walt Mosberg interviews Steve Jobs about the Apple business - well worth watching.

"we are in three businesses and a hobby" Apple MAC and iTunes Music business generate $10billion each and the third business they are about to get into is the phone business (he calls it "handsets") and the hobby is Apple TV.

Where is the MAC business? Growth is about 3x the market growth rate and greater if US is stripped out.

Jobs: IPhone is the best IPod we have ever made. Available on the last day in June.

Reason 2 cingular did the deal: Existing Phones are not capabile of taking advantage of 3G phones particularly in how users access the interent. They get the 'baby internet'

Zillions of independents are looking to offer DRM free music: many more by end of year.

Mosberg asks about 'lock-in': Jobs notes that less than 25 songs on average IPOD were purchased via Itunes store. Given average user has hundreds of songs on their IPOD. Clearly not getting the majority of their music from Itunes and not even getting a medium sized minority. Suggestion "we have a lock in is ridiculous." "IPOD wins because it is the best music player".

Mosberg: is the IPhone a wireless Ipod? Jobs: It is three things, the best Ipod ever made, the best (and incredibly good) phone and "the internet in your pocket" If it were any one of the three it would be sucessful.

Itunes software versus number of IPODs: 300mm + copies of Itunes versus 100mm Ipods. Makes Apple one of the largest windows developers. Jobs: "we get cards and letters from people that say we are their favorite app on windows," and "Its like giving a glass of ice water to somebody in hell."








Link via Paid Content.

BookExpo Quotes: Friday

Amazon Digital:
4mm orders in one day - during Christmas season
42mm unique visitors each month
67mm active accounts

1 in 2 Books sold is in the Search Inside the Book Program: "Browsing pages sells more books"

Incremental sales up lift is 6.5%

Amazon allows consumers that "the know have a propensity to buy based on their account details to delve deeper into the content and gain more access to content"

Generally an very interesting presentation of the completeness of Amazon's digital marketing and promotions support for publishers.


Overheard in the isle: "this book is a combination of Catch 22 and Patrick O'Brien"

The Murdochs and the Bancrofts

Looks like there has been a change of heart in the Bancroft family and the sale of the company looks all but inevitable. Reuters

From the article:

The Bancroft family, which controls 64 percent of Dow Jones's voting power, said it would also look at offers from other bidders. Dow Jones in a separate statement said the board would consider News Corp.'s offer and other approaches.

The Bancroft decision is a change from its earlier rejection of Murdoch's $60-a-share bid, and brings the publisher of The Wall Street Journal closer to being sold after more than a century of being independent.

Obviously, assuming Murdoch gets this prize it would be unlikely that he will have a go at Pearson. Clearly the market sees this as a real event and the stock was up sharply on the news to slightly below the Murdoch offer level.

Book Expo - Quotes

Shatzkin - End of General Trade: "Print will be the last media to be read on a device....and we shouldn't be proud of that." With respect to published content, "all obsessions no matter what it is will be indulged" and brands as a result "move to a very granular level"

Gomez (Print is Dead): "there will be no e-book revolution until we come up with another name for it" which reflects the interactive nature of the product. And there will be "integration not another IPod". We need to "thinkof the children" who are and will be consumers of our content.

Hyatt - Social Networking for Publishers - It is important "to be authentic" in communications because users will see through what you are doing. Resist the temptation to have someone "ghost write your blog" because you will be found out.

BookExpo Panel Meeting

Reminder to readers: The panel I am hosting at BEA is at 2:30 this afternoon in Room 1E04. On the panel are executives from Overlook Press, Harlequin, HarperCollins, Berkshire Publishing and Thomas Nelson. See you there.

Comedy Central's News Babes

I have a view on network news programs but I wish I were this funny.

Reed Elsevier Most Obvious Buy-Out Candidate?

The Times is reporting that Deutsche Bank called Reed Elsevier the publishing sector’s “most obvious buyout target”. The bank has raised its recommendation on the stock to buy. This is how they see it:

The broker argued that Reed shares could be worth up to 780p to a financial buyer. Sums involved in the Thomson Learning deal also suggested that Reed’s sale of its education business could raise £2.2 billion, up from its previous forecast of £1.8 billion, it said. Reed finished up 16p at 675½p.

Certainly the rules have changed somewhat but applying the multiple paid for Thomson Learning to all of Reed is not quite appropriate. Other analysts have suggested that Reed will escape their education foray successfully and the share price for the balance of Reed will escalate because it is currently weighted down by the educational unit. Reed will certainly benefit from the Thomson Learning sale but if you look at the multiple paid for Reuters (an information business) by Thomson the picture is not as glaringly bright if you are concerned with relative price multiples. Either that or Thomson got a real bargain.

DB may have a vested interest here because Pearson has been consistently touted as the most likely PE target. No doubt there is more action to come in this arena.

Publishing News - An Explanation

When I was at PriceWaterhouse (1995-99), I thought of using this new fangled Internet thing to seek news and information about the publishing industry that I could then summarize in an email and distribute it to my colleagues and the Partners at PW. (No Google then). Our business unit was established to build consulting relationships with major publishing and information companies and I believed that my email news letter (Publishing News) would be useful to the team in understanding the publishing landscape and the key people in the industry.

I kept all of these emails and decided to add them to this blog as supplementary information for some of my readers who from time to time may need background information on certain publishing companies. Regrettably, when I joined Bowker I didn't have the time to keep this up and there is a rather large gap between the end of Publishing News and the start of this blog. It is what it is.

Publishing News 1997-8
Publishing News 1999

Borders Reports First Quarter

Borders reported their first quarter results with little change to show for the new strategy that they are in the process of executing. Overall revenue up versus the same period last year however, same store sales were lower with books revenues slightly worse than last year, DVDs flat and music lower. PaperChase - the stationary misfit - continued to perform better than forecast. The company opened four new superstores during the period which contributed to the overall revenue increase.

There was little news on the new strategy other than to say the company is proceeding with the sale of the international stores where revenues were slightly better than the same period last year.

Readers may recall the aborted debt refinancing the company attempted earlier this year and in the press release the company noted that they expect to seek between $150 - $200million in term loan financing sometime during the second quarter. Perhaps the second time they will explain how this refinancing will benefit shareholders.

Publishers Must Blog!

As publishers we are in the content creation and information business. As owners of the means of production we have always been the gatekeepers between creation of intellectual works and the consumers of this material. It should be no surprise to any of us that the expansion of new media application erodes the foundation of these gates as individuals gain direct access to an audience and leverage facilities to comment and opinionate about the very output that we in the publishing industry labor hard to select for them. At the same time, search undercuts and demythologizes the power of branded content, and provides the average Joe with information and content that is good enough for their immediate requirements.

If you can’t beat them join them: Developing a social media strategy that encompasses blogging should be a foundation of all publishing house marketing and promotion plans. I have mentioned before (in relationship to book reviews) that I am less convinced of the value of typical marketing programs supporting book promotion. My macro view above can only be mitigated by joining the new media fray and developing networks of interested parties that can nurture, support and perhaps develop content that you produce as a publishing house. As market segments evolve, I think they will become narrower and more defined and publishers that support communities (via social) must be able to participate in these communities in a meaningful way in order to be successful. This is already the case on computer book publishing.

When I started this blog, like everyone else I sought links to place on my blog. I found many but few from established publishers. Over the past year, I have seen more publishers enter the blog world but the numbers still seem small for an industry dependent on words and information. Authors and publishers should develop a blog strategy and blogging should be a natural extension of any publishing house. This idea was the genesis for the panel presentation I am hosting at BookExpo this week.

• As I thought about the theme of the panel meeting, my thought process mirrored the approach I took and the benefits I saw in establishing a blog.


• Blogging gave me an opportunity to experiment with new technology


• I became a publisher/content producer and, as traffic increases, one with responsibility to an audience


• Develop a personality beyond a ‘resume’ or existing professional reputation


• As popularity increases, the blog becomes a center of a growing network of interest


• Expands a professional network: who knew there were as many people with shared views and perspectives?

As I mentioned, there are a number of very popular publishers who are actively blogging but in my view every publisher should have numerous blog sites: some official but the company should also support individual blogs by its employees. Developing a code of conduct is relatively simple and in some cases the employees themselves can be instrumental in formulating this code. (Obviously, the company cannot police every corporate blogger; however, every employee has some fiduciary responsibility to act responsibly towards the company they work for). While affiliation with a publishing house is powerful, as an editor, marketing director, or publisher, I would recommend developing your own blog – so that you can build an online personality that is somewhat separate from the corporation. That is not to say that you can’t blog for the house, but developing your own blog enables flexibility and individualism that can and will be important to you professionally. While you support your current publisher you are also developing your own brand.

As a publisher, or one who works in a publishing organization, it seems redundant to explain the mechanics of getting started as a blogger: You really should know this stuff because it is what your audience (and some competitors) has been doing for a few years now.

• Choose from any number of hosted tools: Blogger, WordPress, Icerocket, Moveable Type and many, many others. I use Blogger but if I were to do it over, I would pick one of the other popular tools. Blogger has only recently added basic functionality that others have offered for a considerable time.


• Pick a name: Perhaps not as easy as it would seem and I would err on the side of professionalism rather than something like ‘monkeyboy’. (Unless you are a publisher at National Geographic in which case it may be appropriate). Using your name is perfectly acceptable - as many do. I would not recommend tying the blog name to the name of your publishing house (they may not allow it anyway) because the blog wouldn’t be portable.


• Plan out your first few weeks of blog posts and use your experience as material. If you are an editor your titles and authors should be the focus of your interests and don’t expect that you will ‘hit your comfort zone’ in terms of content immediately. It took me several months before I started to deliver content in a thematic way.


• Learn from what the other publisher bloggers are doing and link to as many sites as possible. The more links you establish the more you will be noticed. Establish a del.icio.us account and ‘clip’ the articles and blog posts you find interesting. Not only is this a valuable resource for your own research but you can use these links as material for your blog posts. Once a week, I capture my ‘clips’ in a blog post.


• The marketing and promotional aspects of blogging are still evolving but establishing a social network that links consumers, authors, publishing executives, agents, etc. will be a powerful tool to support the house’s publishing product. The social community can be useful in developing markets, expanding reach and gauging interests and/or trends. All important aspects of marketing and content acquisition functions.

A few months ago, I heard Joe Wikert (of Wiley) speak about publisher’s blogging activities and why they can’t afford not to. I asked him about the branding issue: Was he the brand or is it John Wiley. He pointed out that while he promotes Wiley incessantly there are no Wiley logos on his site. The site is supported by Wiley in the sense that they do not edit or ask him to manipulate any content. Wikert suggested that the company did take a considered look at employee blogging activity and decided on a ‘common-sense’ approach which meant self governance by the bloggers. Wikert said his blog is really not a Wiley product but he believes his blog is valuable to Wiley because it proves to an important community (the IT world and technical book authors) that Wiley understands the community and environment. The separation from Wiley does allow Wikert to express his own opinions which as a purely corporate blogger he might find difficult.

Establishing a personality as a blogger should be a professional requirement of all of us in the publishing community. Don’t forget to let your employer know and understand what you are doing and what you want to achieve since full disclosure may eliminate problems later on. Don’t be afraid to use your contacts and network of professional relationships to get the word out and if you are really lucky the company may link to your blog from their web home page which should drive more traffic to you. Lastly, use web analytics tools available from Feedburner or Google Analytics (and others) to track your traffic and let you understand what works and what doesn’t.

Get started.

Weekly Update: May 27

Deal News:
David Levin: UBM CEO, On Deal Money Chasing Smaller Deals: Reuters
Gilbane (Paxhia) on Thomson Learning: Gilbane
EMAP on the Block? Guardian

Publishing:
LA Times on Book Reviews: LA Times
Paid Content or Ad Supported Content That is the Question: Reuters
Google Book Search Becomes More: Blog
Let's hear it for copyright reform: IF:BOOK

Other News:
Alibris Extends Book Selling Platform to all Casual Sellers: PRNews
Public Library Tries LibraryThing.com as Network Appl: LJ
B&N Financial Conference Call Transcript: Seeking Alpha
BIBME Auto populate a Bibliography: PR
Bilking the Elderly via InfoUSA: NYTimes
Death by Powerpoint: Open
Bad data - OUP in Trouble over Place names: The Times of India
Google Fights Plagarism: Guardian


Sport:
Does Steinbrenner know about this? O'Reilly

HP's E-Reader Concept "BOOK"

This looks like a really cool looking tool. Video presentation at the bottom of the page.

HP presented its ‘e-book reader’ during 2007 HP Mobility Summit in Shanghai, China, which is a concept of next generation e-book featuring intuitive interface. You can flip pages of book content in the reader as if you turn pages of real book and by utilizing HP’s online photo website ‘Snapfish’, you can enjoy photo book function as well. It is still a prototype, so it will take time to launch as a real product to research more, develop dedicated software, and receive feedbacks from customers, a company official mentioned.

Video presentation:

Is the New York Times in Play?

Courtesy of a link from media bistro, Michael Wolf and Jon Fine of Vanity Fair discuss whether the NY Times is in play or not. I don't believe Wolf makes the case - and he is forever looking to throw out the ancient regime - and agree with Fine that at the moment the comparison with the Bancrofts and Dow Jones does not compare to the NY Times circumstances. Interestingly, Wolf suggests a 2x market current cap ($7bill) as his deal or no deal offer which suggests even he thinks the circumstances would have to be extraordinary for this to happen.

On a topical note, the Times has also indicated (via Gawker) that it needs to release itself from the shackles of a print based orientation and become far more flexible both in the manner in which it develops content and who develops the content. According to Managing Editor Bill Keller,

He also spoke about the "gradual reallocation of resources from print towards digital" and copy editors being moved to the day side, so that there could be a "greater flow of fresh quality edit material."

So, journos won't be working all day on one story - or perhaps they will but the content/story will be updated more frequently and potentially by others if the story continues to develop past bed-time. Additionally, he went on to challenge the idea that The Times needs to focus on editorial control, standards and spelling and personnally that worries me. The Times has had its difficulties with some of that in recent years; nevertheless, surely one of the main attractions of the product is the measure of control (and readability) that the editors exert over journos. And while Keller (and lets face it he is more an expert than I) admits the web is different and has different standards, why can't The Times deliver a superior product leveraging the webs benefits while still maintaining The Times' credibility? In my reading of these comments it seems that Keller all too readily 'gives up' in the face of badly edited, unspell-checked, off point crap (that may contain a nugget of useful information).

"We can't let our reverence for quality become a straitjacket in new media," he warned. "The web environment is different... We can offer guidance but we cannot insist on the same control we exercise over print."

(It is more than possible that this blog is a case in point).

Over the past several years, The Times has monkeyed with its print format and Keller announced a material change in trim size. Other newspapers in Europe have gone from broad sheet to tabloid but this change appears to more in keeping with the recent WSJ change.

Echoing Fine rather than Wolf, Keller joked that "There have also been reports of a rat sighting," at the new building which if true would seem to indicate that the rats are still quite comfortable on the big grey ship.

BookExpo America Conferences

Ted Hill (fellow traveller and friend of the blog) let me know of a seminar he is hosting at BookExpo and here are the details:

Best Practices in Digital Marketing: The Publisher’s Perspective

Most trade publishers know that they can no longer rely on traditional marketing alone to connect with readers, but they are uncertain where they should invest scarce dollars in the many new opportunities presented by the net. Separate the buzzwords from the best working practices as you negotiate the shift from print to digital marketing. Topics include product marketing, working with online merchants, the company website, author-driven marketing, and how to build value over time.
Date: Thursday, May 31, 2007
Time: 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
Place: Room 1E03

If you’re interested in the above, my frequent collaborators, Mike Shatzkin of the Idea Logical Company and Brian O’Leary of Magellan Media will also be speaking on topics on the same day that you may find valuable.

And as he mentions, Mike Shatzkin (fellow traveller and friend of the blog) also has a seminar and the details are as follows:

The End of General Trade Publishing Houses: Death or Rebirth in a Niche-by-Niche World describes how digital change is eliminating the ecosystem that sustains general trade publishing houses. But the good news is that the ecosystem we see replacing it is one general trade houses can actually migrate to, if they recognize the challenge, accept some painful realities, and start now. I know the speech will be provocative; I think it will also be entertaining and I hope it will put a lot of things most of us already know into a comprehensible framework.

Thursday, May 31, at 10 am, room 1E04

That same afternoon, May 31, at 2:30, in Room 1E11, I am moderating a session called Digital Search Intermediaries: New Roles and Channels for Publishers. This is about Digital Asset Distribution, a subject on which I am currently co-authoring a White Paper and co-hosting conferences dedicated to, in New York on June 21 and in London on July 12.

The speech I gave on DADs at BISG's Making Information Pay is now posted on our web site. You'll find it at http://www.idealog.com/speeches/mipdads.htm

The second seminar above conflicts with the session I am hosting unfortunately....

See you all there.

Is Pearson Next For Murdoch?

In a recent article about Rupert Murdoch and his bid to acquire Dow Jones, The Economist newspaper reported as an aside that while at the Davos World Economic Forum Murdoch was trying to interest as many PE groups as he could in a combined News Corp/PE bid for Pearson. Dow Jones has always been his preferred business publication and he sees the Dow Jones property as key to the development of his global business channel; however, if the Dow Jones shareholders appear intractable then he is likely to launch an attack on Pearson in order to get his hands on The Financial Times and The Economist Group.

For their part, the Pearson board and top executives have said that they are unwilling to sell or to split up the company. In spite of this consistent message, with the sale of the Thomson Learning business for almost $1.5billion more than Thomson and analysts expected one must wonder when the views of the board begin to diverge from the interests of the shareholders if valuations like this are on offer via PE money.

According to a number of sources, the hold out Bancroft family is set to meet today to discuss the News Corp offer. Murdoch has proven to be fairly patient in his effort to acquire Dow Jones but he has promised a financial network to compete with CNBC and needs content and branding to support that effort. The synergy that will exist between the US based Dow Jones and News Corp and the brand recognition and reach of The Wall Street Journal will trump the larger international presence and brand of The Financial Times. I suspect Murdoch will continue with his full court press on the Bancrofts for the short term - he is unlikely to up his offer - and he is probably willing to gamble on an auction should the Bancroft shareholders decide to seek other offers. While there is a lot of PE money going around, the Murdoch price is a fair one given the trading level prior to the bid. Some have also suggested that the share price will tumble below this original level if Murdoch is rebuffed.

With respect to Pearson there exists a possibility that they could be 'blackmailed' into parting with The Financial Times if someone started to buy up shares of the company; however, this seems unlikely since the moment any group launches any type of offer there will be several additional offers presented almost immediately. I suppose Pearson could defend itself by making a big acquisition and loading up on debt but who would they buy....Dow Jones?

New Rules on Out of Print

Fast on the heels of their epistle on the business of publishing, The New York Times tells us about how new fangled on-demand printing is complicating the publishers' definitiion of 'out of print'. Here we hear of Simon & Schuster who are changing their contracts to accomodate this radically new technology. You be the judge;

But with the advent of technologies like print-on-demand, publishers have been able to reduce the number of back copies that they keep in warehouses. Simon & Schuster, which until now has required that a book sell a minimum number of copies through print-on-demand technology to be deemed in print, has removed that lower limit in its new contract. In effect, that means that as long as a consumer can order a book through a print-on-demand vendor, that book is still deemed in print, no matter how few copies it sells.

The unfortunate thing may be that the authors that sell less than an initial 1000 units may still be tied to a publisher for a very long time dispite the changes made to author contracts. Some of these authors would be better served by self-publishing their titles - perhaps a story for another day. As far as 'established' authors that regain their rights, companies such as iUniverse.com have offered 'back in print' programs with the Authors Guild for over 8 years now.

Customer Focused Publishing And Thomas Nelson

Some of you will recall that Thomas Nelson announced last year that they were doing away with the general publishing convention of creating all kinds of imprints for all kinds of reasons. Nelson has reverted to subject classifications as an inherently simple and commpn sense approach to selling their titles. Here he offers a status report on the situation and I love the following quote:

I don’t think any of us realized how much energy and money we were spending to maintain an organizational and branding infrastructure that added zero value to our customers. It’s one of those chronic situations that develop in organizations where you stop feeling the pain and just learn to cope. Then, when it’s gone, you suddenly notice how much better you feel. In my opinion, imprints add very little value and lots of complexity.

Mike has been kind enough to join me in a panel discussion at Bookexpo and while our subject will not be on this topic he has his own presentation where he is planning to review this activity.

The two seminars are:

Thursday May 31, 1:00 - 2:00
Customer Focused Publishing: How TN moved Away from Imprints - Room 1E02

Thursday May 31, 2:30 - 3:30
Corporate Social Media Platforms: A Case for Publisher Participation - Room 1E04

See you there.

Apax Appoints Shaffer Exec Chairman and Dunn CEO of Thomson Learning

I could have titled this Groundhog day since there was a rumour going around yesterday about Dave Shaffer returning to Thomson and today it was confirmed. More interesting was the appointment of Ron Dunn as CEO to replace the incumbent Ron Schlosser. On completion of the deal last week, Schlosser's internal memo to staff wasn’t particularly inspiring – more stay the course – than anything, and I guess he knew what was coming. Dunn’s departure from Thomson Learning at the end of 2006 was always a mystery to me since he had been a tireless worker for the business and had been a major factor in the growth of the education business particularly internationally. It will not be the first time Shaffer and Dunn have teamed up and they know each other very well having worked together at Thomson, Macmillan and McGraw Hill. From the press release:

Jackie Reses, Partner at Apax Partners, said: "The Thomson Learning properties
are unique, global media franchises that hold strong positions in their respective markets and have delivered stable and predictable growth. We look forward to working in close partnership with Ron Dunn and Dave Shaffer, two proven media executives who are intimately familiar with the Thomson Learning businesses. Ron and Dave are extremely well suited to lead the newly independent Thomson Learning organization as it builds on its positions within its individual market segments, continues to expand internationally, and captures the enormous potential we believe exists in the evolution to digital content distribution in
post-secondary education."

Both executives will have their work cut out for them, since as I have commented before the Thomson Learning company while possessing significant assets has been left in the dust by Pearson. Pearson has led in growth rate, operating performance and strategic acquisitions over the past three years. Coupled with the importance in migrating content to the web which Pearson has also started to do well with and there will be challenges a plenty. Each of these executives know this business and industry well so they should not be short of ideas or action plans to make the necessary changes.

It should be said also that this will be somewhat a vindication for Ron Dunn in returning to Thomson. I understand that Shaffer was none too pleased with Harringtons decision to part ways with Dunn in 2006.

Dugan Appointed Head of Entertainment Rights North America

Deborah Dugan, who was head of Disney Publishing Worldwide (not Hyperion), has been named CEO/President of Entertainment Rights North America. From AWN :

At Entertainment Rights, Dugan will have overall responsibility for the day-to-day running of the U.S. operations (including Canada), which encompasses Entertainment Rights U.S., Classic Media and Big Idea. Dugan's main role will focus on further building and maximizing the revenue streams for the group's entire brand portfolio across TV, licensing & merchandising, DVD/video and digital & music. Dugan will also work closely with the group's executive management team based in London to formulate the strategic direction of the business as well as exploiting new business development opportunities ensuring the company maintains its leading position.

In a related story, the Disney unit Dugan ran announced today it is moving to Westchester.

Amazon To Launch DRM Free Music Store

The days of DRM protected music are definitely numbered. Amazon.com is announcing that they will launch a DRM free music store later this year which will include thousands of songs in MP3 format. As such these files will be playable on virtually any music player.

“Our MP3-only strategy means all the music that customers buy on Amazon is always DRM-free and plays on any device,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO. “We’re excited to have EMI joining us in this effort and look forward to offering our customers MP3s from amazing artists like Coldplay, Norah Jones and Joss Stone.”

Some pundits have started to suggest this is an Apple I-Tunes killer but what is more likely is for Apple to renegotiate their music deals (where applicable) and come out with a similar service before Amazon.com launches their site. Since Apple are very much the incumbent music download and hardware vendor they have a distinct advantage. (Not to mention the potential impact of the Apple I-Phone). It should be pointed out that sales at the Apple store have never been huge but a change in the DRM rules could be the catalyst that Apple and Steve Jobs have been looking for.

No word on pricing or specific launch dates from Amazon.com

Press Release

Thomson - Reuters Deal Done

CEO Harrington has piloted the company from reliance on newspapers and print based businesses to one dependent on electronically delivered information products. He will retire having completed a remarkable transformation in the Thomson businesses and will present Tom Glocer with the opportunity to chart the next chapter in Thomson's corporate history.

Reports:
BBC
Reuters
Global & Mail
NYTimes
The Times

Reflections on the IDPF & BISG Conferences

Reflecting on last week’s conferences it was interesting to recall that Michael Healy was a little concerned that scheduling the IDEP annual meeting the day before the BISG sponsored Making Information Pay would limit the participation at the latter. As it turned out, anyone who attended both meetings benefited from the combination of themes and the opportunities to network. At IDEP the attention (glamour) was on handheld e-readers as it was last year. In fact there was some redundancy versus last year; however, it was a European presentation of a combo device that seems to offer the best answer to my big gripe, why a dedicated device?

Later in the day we heard from content providers, content distributors and content users all of which supported the BISG meeting the following day. Perhaps the most troubling news came at days end when the Associated Press reported that no one under 50 saw print newspapers as their primary source of news and that the average user spent less that one minute per day with online newspapers (including nytimes.com). It was noted that CNN did a far better job than other news sources because their content was more open, included more video and limited dead end pages which further encouraged interaction with content.

Sitting in the bleachers it is easy to toss stones at what we heard publishers are doing in an online world. The most troubling thing seems to be that we still don't really know what we should, could or will offer our customers in the online world. One e-content presenter proudly noted 'price' as the key driver of purchase behavior by their customers. Customers driven by price are flirtatious and flighty and will always be on the look out for a better deal. This statistic seems to indicate no engagement in the content at all by the customer, which is troubling given all the opportunity for interaction that e-content and e-delivery can afford.

The early morning presentation from Hachette on the state of e-publishing and the reasons for getting stuck in was devoid of relevancy. The same presentation could have been delivered three years ago when it would have been viewed with interest. Universally missing is the vision of what published content will look like (and represent) in 5 or 10 years time. We are all guilty of using the e-book term and I have to believe we are in an evolutionary phase that will lead to some new species that we can't quite as yet see. Not 'e' nor 'book' perhaps? Aside from Google, the best e-publishing initiatives underway are promotion and marketing driven. This is not a criticsm because what Random House and Harpercollins are doing to use the internet, their data warehouses of content, widgets and other things are important steps towards closer interaction between the content producer and the customers. At the moment these are not so much content plays as marketing and promotion activities.

In retrospect, the panel discussions could have benefited from some of the work that the Future of the Book has done to show publishers their experimentation with content creation and display/interaction. This work is hugely interesting but possibly unknown to the majority of publishers. Admittedly the BISG focus was on Making Information Pay but the speakers tended to exceed the bounds of this title. Some extrapolation regarding where they thought publishing may go and some of the experiments underway would have been interesting.

In a way it was almost predictable that industry badboy O'Reilly Media made an indelible mark as the capstone on the meeting. Tim O'Reilly is hosting a Tools of Change conference on the future of publishing in San Jose next month and has stated that while most publishers are in New York all the e-publishing action is in California so that's why the conference is out there.

Granted, he may be less politic but in a basically canned presentation, Allan Noren from O'Reilly was able to forcefully emphasize the distance O'Reilly have traveled down the e-publishing road. Even a simple statistic drew instant reaction from the audience regarding the increase in international sales as a result of placing a pdf download button on the purchase page. The other presentations drew interest but not an immediate reaction like this one. O'Reilly has also led in the atomization of their content and seems to take pride in how they continue to push the envelope. The company recently added pdf downloads, read on-line, chapters and a permissions link. All represent evolutionary changes, but Noren coached the audience to digitize, make content ubiquitous and reduce the barriers to purchase.

Noren's parting comment was to approach e-content and e-retailing like a beginner because as such we have no preconceived notions of how things should be. We can innovate, adapt, change and innovate again without jealousy. This thought seems to support the notion that we must eradicate the conjunctive 'e-book' - but with what? - and create some new species of 'book'.

As I mulled over the content of the conferences last week, the thought that Ulysses (Joyce) was in many ways the first multimedia book. Sure it is printed on paper, but think about how the mind of Bloom represents an integration of audio, video, and text making Dublin come alive for the reader. What a fascinating project it would be to lend real life to the Newspaper headlines, the trolley cars and even the sounds of Dedalus peeing on the beach. Joyce approached authorship like a beginner; hopefully the next person to do so won't get banned.

BISG Conference Presentations
IDPF Presentations

Reed Looks to Profit From Thomson Learning Multiple

The multiple paid for Thomson Learning was astounding given the general view the business unit would sell for almost $2.0Billion less. Not surprising, Reed Elsevier are as gobsmacked as all of us but think that they can generate something of the same multiple for their learning unit. The comparisons are not exact between the two units however one thing is similar; that both represent unique moments to buy leading players in their segment and it is unlikely that a similar combination of assets will come up for sale within the next five years or so. Here is The Independent:

The analyst Simon Wallis believes valuing Reed's total discounted cash flow
on a multiple of 6 times pre-tax earnings, a typical private equity buyout
valuation, gives the shares a potential value of 930p. The Swiss bank UBS also
believes there is more upside in Reed, giving the stock a more modest 740p price
target. Shares in Reed firmed 3p at 666p while the rivalPearson rallied 17.5p to
908p on news that it has acquired the online learning group eCollege for
$477m.

Reed has already sold some of the Harcourt assets to Pearson but the rump educational business remains and likely will exceed earlier expectations on price.

Informa Buys Datamonitor

According to sources, Informa approached Datamonitor several months ago about acquiring the company and discussions resulted in the sale of the company. Datamonitor CEO Mike Danson is expected to receive over £60million as his share of Datamonitor. The total purchase price is £502million which is close to the current market cap but represents over 27x next years expected income. A high multiple indeed; however it should be expected that this company will fit well with the current Informa products and that some significant economies are anticipated once the product lines are combined. From The Telegraph,

According to Informa, the purchase represents an "attractive opportunity" that fits with its strategy of supplying specialist content to a business audience. David Gilbertson, managing director of Informa, said: "Datamonitor is a model example of a company that slots neatly into the Informa group. Both companies provide business customers with data and analysis that is essential and unique - information they cannot do without."

January 2007 Google Unbound Conference

Here is a presentation from the Google Unbound panels and presentations from earlier this year.

Transcript

Pearson Buy E-College

On the back of last weeks purchase of some of the Harcourt learning assets that seemed to take many in the industry by surprise, Pearson announced today that they have agreed to acquire E-College an online education provider. (Reuters) The company's product suite fits well with the acquisition strategy laid out by Pearson early last year that has seen the acquisition of PowerSchool, Chancery Software and the Harcourt assets.

Founded in 1996, eCollege provides a range of on-demand software services including course management, virtual campuses, and assessment, reporting and retention monitoring tools. The company, which supports around 180 institutions, with student enrollments of 1.2 million in 2006, generated sales of $52 million and operating profit of $22 million last year.

Shares of the stock went up 6% on news of the deal.

Increasing Traffic and New Authors for Personanondata

The past four months have seen a rapid rise in the traffic to Personanondata for which I am very grateful to the readers who have found me and stayed with me. I have also benefitted from multiple links from a variety of blogs and websites which have raised awareness and interest. Significantly, I have also seen some links from industry leading trades such as Mediabistro/Galleycat, Publishers Lunch, Library Journal and Book Business Magazine and these links have served to endorse some of what I have published.

But it is not enough (for me), and I would like to encourage all my readers to tell people about the site and hopefully build some discussion around some of the themes I talk about. (I have exhausted my contacts and don't wish to bother them too frequently).

I am also interesting in publishing material from other people in the industry with a point of view. Over the past three months I have published articles by Andrew Grabois, John Dupuis, Michael Healy and Michael Holdsworth. All have been well read on the site and I hope they will all return at some point but I would also like to include more perspectives. Along those lines if anyone is interested in blogging about sessions at BookExpo in a few weeks please let me know.

Thanks for the support.

Weekly Update: May 13th

Deals:
Silliness Regarding B&N/Borders Combo: Forbes
Thomson Transformation: Global&Mail
Spring Deals Rekindle M/A Market: Financial Week
Murdoch and Dow Jones: NYTimes

Publishing:
How Publishing Works: NYTimes
Holt on Reviews
News Corp 3Q Results (Harpercollins): Yahoo
Perseus Reorganization: PW
Wolters Kluwer 1Q Results: Webwire
EBrary Expands Publisher List Including ABC-Clio: Businesswire
Bloomsbury and Libre Digital: OhMyNews
Publishing Books On Line: The Times

Other News;
LOL Borders News: Businessweek
Launch of Amazon Author PodCasts: Businesswire
FT Reports Content Piracy Far Lower Than Estimated: FT LawGeek
Too Many Books? Design Observer Blog
Does Chaney Own an I-Pod? M&C
McCartney Goes Digital and The Beatles to Follow: Billboard
Review of IRex Illiad e-Reader: Guardian
Reflections On The Relationship Between Libraries and Publishers: Brantley

Colbert & Rushdie Spar Over Book Reviews

Listen up nation, as some of you will remember I commented on what I thought of this pandemic of flagellation over the fate of the nations big city newspaper book review sections. Perhaps the concern ascribed to their obvious fate cuts some of us too close to the bone as we watch a print based media struggle with extinction but nevertheless the ensuing discussion about publishers not supporting the sections and perhaps readers not reading anyway continues to miss two main points.

Firstly, newspapers are simply not the best method of promoting books. It maybe they were never that great but for a long period of time they (and magazines) were the best outlet available. Word of mouth, which derives from publicity, not advertising which is message and awareness based has always been the most effective method of influencing sales. Witness the amazon 'reviews' sections and the ranks ascribed to reviews which 'helped' in confirming the book choice. In contrast, the web supports book reviewing and book promotion in ways print based newspapers and magazines can never achieve. As I commented in my original post, the ability to interlace supporting content around a central essay linking directly to sections of the book discussed, enabling direct author involvement and allowing readers, fans and critics to add content results in a valuable package or 'body of work' about the book. Here is the opportunity to make exploring reading more interesting but it is not an argument seen in any of the discussions over the past few weeks. For the most part the conversation has been one long lament.

Last December, Genevieve Tucker in The Australian newspaper anticipated some of the discussion around the reviews issue and eloquently discussed the issues and opportunities that the web offers book lovers. The following is representative of her article and is her conclusion.

Indyk may not consider his republic of letters has come to stay just yet, but many book bloggers would heartily endorse the words at the end of his 1997 essay and see them as a warning to those who would encroach upon their independence in he name of the marketplace: "It is in the conversation about literature, the recommendation and the debate, that the literary community really exists. It is here that reputations take root, and word of mouth, that mysterious and voluntary power that can sell more books than a fortune spent in advertising, has its source. To insulate authors from this realm, as has been the practice, is to guard them from the kind of challenge that is a spur to creativity. If you try to tamper with the conversation of criticism, if you restrict it in order to take all the space you can for hype, if in the end you silence it altogether, not only do you drive away readers, but you place a fatal limitation on authors as well.'

Secondly, there is a cultural snobbery that pervades best summed up in this comment by the author Richard Ford in the New York Times:

“Newspapers, by having institutional backing, have a responsible relationship not only to their publisher but to their readership,” Mr. Ford said, “in a way that some guy sitting in his basement in Terre Haute maybe doesn’t.”

Times they are a changing, and it is no longer the case that iconic media properties like the NY Times, LA Times and Atlanta Journal Constitution are the only outlets for legitimate cultural criticism. There are scores of highly regarded book reviewers with loads of web traffic producing critical analysis and support for the book industry. The publishing industry should be supporting these bloggers and website owners rather than waste time supporting a medium that hasn't adapted. Efforts by Random House and Harpercollins (others will follow) to make it easier to incorporate their content onto blog and web sites will only exaggerate the gap between the print based media reviewers and the guys (and girls) sitting in their Terre Haute basements. As they close down or reduce their expenses devoted to book reviews sections, the newspaper companies should be looking at acquiring some of these web sites and bloggers and build on the communities that these people have successfully established. That is if they are really committed to books.

I will try not to address this subject again but here is Salman Rushdie and Stephen Colbert on book reviews. I disagree entirely with Mr Rushdie:





PS: If you didn't catch the piece with Jane Fonda on the same show later that night, it is very funny.

More on Reviews:
Lynn Scanlon
Pat Holt

Thomson Agrees Sale of Learning Unit for $7.8Bill

It is hard to fathom this price. Bids and intentions were due last Wednesday and I thought I would have some time to comment on the status of the sale, but clearly the size of this offer required no deliberation. (Other than confirmation that it was what it was). Just as industry followers found it hard to explain the Riverdeep/Houghton Mifflin deal this one raises many eyebrows in the industry for the multiple paid for the business.

It was approximately 1o months ago that Richard Harrington causually mentioned to the FT that they would consider selling the Learning unit. By October the divesture was confirmed and the sale process started once the final year end numbers were finalized. Any observer of the manner in which Thomson spoke and presented its business would have seen strong indications that Learning did not feature in their plans. The detail and excitment given over to Thomson Financial during the analysts calls was indication enough. Speculation suggested that a price between $5.5 and $6.0billion would be good news for Thomson. As it turns out, Thomson management has kept one step ahead of everyone with some suggesting that the recently announced merger with Reuters has been in the works for two years and their post merger plans indicate that the merger with Reuters has indeed been long in the planning. The extra billion they are getting for Learning will really help out the Reuters deal which looks increasingly cheap.

The consortium includes Apax partners and a Canadian Pension fund name the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Service. Apax has invested in other educational properties before but not to this extent. Thomson CEO Harrington has suggested that financially the Learning business was sound - although performance did not match that of Pearson - but they were frustrated at the slow pace of migration to on-line products. This deal could be viewed as an endorsement of the Thomson Learning management and I wouldn't expect significant changes at the higher levels. If anything, management will be given a freer reign to excellerate their online and electronic product offerings.

The transition to the close of the deal is expected to take 60 days and the company is understood to have plans in place to speed this process. The company also expects to re-name/brand itself by the end of the year.

It will be very interesting to see how this sale multiple impacts the other crop of publishing assets that are for sale.

Reuters