Links for BookExpo

A few items of interest from BookExpo.

BookTour: Set up by Chris Anderson (Long Tail) to aggregate information about Author tours. (Around for a while but I've never mentioned it).

BookVideos.tv: Here are all the publishing clients and their videos using the BookVideos format. (Also around for a while).

MuseStorm: Widget maker working with publishing clients.

Mobifusion: A mobile platform that several publishers are using.

EarlyWord: A new blog/website launched by ex- Publisher's Weekly Editor & Chief Nora Rawlinson and ex- PW Publisher Fred Ciporen. The site aims to help Libraries with Collection Development and you can find out more about their philosophy on the site.

BigUniverse: Children's books that you can create yourself.

217Babel.com: Interesting collaborative writing project.

Green Data Centers and Space

Nation, like me and astronauts everywhere you will be immensely relieved that they have fixed the toilet on the space station. Now I'm a true believer in colonising space, after all what could be better than performing circus tricks in a small tubular room, experimenting with compounds that only a HS science student could understand and riding up there on a huge tank of nitrogen that blankets South Florida with exhaust. In fact, pretty soon those space monkeys aren't going to want to come back and that's why I was interested to hear from fellow traveller Karen Christensen who is co-chair of the first Green Data Centres Conference.

No, they aren't looking to abolish the space program (after all where would we put all those tubes of nitrogen), this conference is all about making computing more green and sustainable.

Karen tells me she is,

particularly passionate about green computing because of my work on community and sustainable business, and as a publisher increasingly involved in social media and online distribution. For years I've felt that the environmental impact of computing needed much more attention, and the conference will bring together experts from some of the world's major technology companies, as well as from banks and other international institutions.

The two day event is being held in London July 1-2 and if you travel there make sure you carbon offset. Karen is offering a 15% discount on the fee.

Here is some of the agenda and registration information is here:
http://www.blogger.com/www.greendatacentres.co.uk

Valley Conferences have brought together a stunning group of speakers from companies that are setting out to be leaders in sustainability. As someone who grew up in the Silicon Valley, I'm thrilled to chair the first day of the first Green Data Centres conference in the city where my publishing career began - this definitely feels like coming full circle." Karen Christensen, Conference Chairman and CEO of the Berkshire Publishing Group.

Day 1: Tuesday 1st July 2008
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION:
How Green Data Centres are Changing the Face of Business
Per Bahr, EMEA Business Development Manager Public Sector, AMD (Advanced Micro Devices). Data Centres are going green, helping reduce costs and increase efficiency. This presentation will look at how new technologies such as virtualisation are changing the the face of business, and what other measures companies can put in place to meet today's European Green IT standards.
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION:
Case Study: Sun Microsystems: Green Data Centres, The Million Dollar Prize... Richard Barrington, Head of Public Policy, Sun Microsystems UK.
Sun Microsystems has received a Million Dollar 'Cashback' from PG&E in addition to on-going utility bill savings because of the energy efficiency demonstrated in the design and construction of its new Data Centre in Menlo Park, California. This presentation will explain and analyse how Sun's internal IT ops organisation has developed a blueprint for the successful creation of a modular 'eco-DC'.

What can I say, its Friday...

Reductions at Reed Business

Folio is reporting that 41 positions have been eliminated at PW, Variety and Broadcasting & Cable. From their report:

Shortly after the announcement, RBI CEO Tad Smith, in an internal memo, tried to reassure RBI staffers that their jobs would be intact—including his own. "I am committed to leading our business as your CEO during the sale process and thereafter," Smith wrote in an internal memo. "In the meantime, business will continue as usual and everyone's jobs, benefits and pay will be unaffected."

No doubt that sets everyone's mind at rest. Folio used the work 'slashed' but it would be hard to characterise it this way especially since in the same article they quote an insider saying that the division has been able to replace most (if not all) open positions since the start of the year. These amounted to over 200 positions so 41 job eliminations seems minor (unless you lost your job obviously - and apologies etc.)

During a sale process the seller would want as few disruptions as possible and what this action suggests is that Reed is now resigned to a much longer sale process than originally thought. HQ is most likely demanding that the operating unit achieve their budgeted profit numbers at all costs since the unit may linger around for a full financial year.

Jane's Gone

Jane Friedman, CEO of Harpercollins is leaving her post after an impressive 10 year run at Harpercollins. She joined the company from Random House having been lured to Harpercollins by Rupert Murdoch himself. Harpercollins had been struggling under Murdoch up until that point but Friedman invigorated the business and ultimately produced a strong profitable publishing company.

Brian Murray has been named as her replacement and he has been key to executing their current long term strategy to transform the business from print to electronic distribution. From the press release:

"We are enormously grateful for her contributions over the past 10 years and understand her desire to seek new challenges at this point in her career," Murdoch said in a statement issued late Wednesday.

Murray, 41, has been president of HarperCollins since July 2007. He joined the publisher 10 years earlier and held several positions in the General Books Group until 2001, when he was named CEO of HarperCollins Australia/New Zealand. Murray returned to HarperCollins in the U.S. as group president in 2004 before his promotion to president. "In his 11-year tenure, Brian has demonstrated an impressive track record of growing publishing companies," Murdoch said. HarperCollins said he has led the publisher's digital efforts, including the development of its direct-to-consumer marketing.

Borders Sell Australian Store Group

The only surprising thing about this announcement was that it was so long in coming. Borders have agreed to sell their store operations in Australia and New Zealand to Pacific Equity Partners the private equity firm and owners of Angus and Robertsons and Whitcoulls (NZ). The price paid is a disappointing $90mm in cash and deferred payments of $14mm. Earlier in the process amounts as high as $120mm were suggested and importantly this purchase price includes the rights to use the Borders brand name throughout the region.

Further details of the transaction may become clearer but to sell the branding without any long term licensing deal supporting a supplemental revenue source for Borders seems unfortunate.

There is also no comment from Borders on whether they will use the cash generated from this sale to repay the emergency financing provided by Pershing earlier this year.

CQ Press sold to Sage

The decision to sell the publishing unit of Congressional Quarterly Inc. was announced in January together with a promise that the sale process would be completed by months end. Yesterday CQ Inc. and Sage announced a sale agreement had been completed. The long process seems to reflect the slow nature of M&A in the publishing business at the moment: Haights Cross is still awaiting a purchaser after placing itself on the block in December. In their joint announcement Sage and CQ promised to keep CQ in tact and in Washington DC (although their location is less important to this division than the rump CQ business).

Commenting on the acquisition, Blaise Simqu, SAGE’s President and CEO said the following:

“We’re very pleased CQ Press is joining the global SAGE family,” said Simqu. “CQ Press and SAGE enjoy a shared mission and values. Both are driven by a passion for scholarship and innovation that impacts education and public policy. John Jenkins and the rest of the CQ Press executive team have created an impressive publishing enterprise that will further enhance SAGE’s presence in the marketplace.”

Despite the long sales process, interest in CQ Press was high with a number of publishing companies actively involved in the purchase process. Terms have not been announced.

AARP and Borders

Like me you you may believe that this agreement of a marketing agreement between AARP and Borders is at best bad timing based on the company's announcement of headcount reductions and the general problematic bookselling environment.

AARP and Borders(R) announced today a long-term agreement that will provide unique benefits and discounts to AARP's more than 39 million members. The nation's largest membership organization for people age 50 and over and Borders
will combine forces to expand access to information on health, financial security, travel, and other issues important to personal growth and quality of life for those over 50. In addition, Borders will offer AARP members in-store and online discounts on select merchandise and will encourage AARP members to take advantage of the benefits of membership in the Borders Rewards(R) customer loyalty program, which now has over 26 million members.

On the surface, and as a marketing agreement, this may be mutually beneficial; however, I would argue this group doesn't need too much additional motivation to buy books. Getting this group into Borders to make their purchases is not a problem unique to this segment and that's the bigger issue at the crux of Borders problems. Separate from bigger issue, whether offering membership discounts in addition to the Borders Rewards program is required to encourage this group is debatable. On the other hand, this program may compound the view that the industry is catering to the wrong market. Envision the flyers that will now populate your local Borders: won't it begin to look like the waiting room at your doctors office?

Regrettably, the marketing department also thought it a great idea to organize an essay writing contest around the idea of "Your Next Chapter". While this is clearly suggestive of a 50+ person contemplating life choices, there is the distinct possibility that any number of current or past Border's staffers will consider entering the content on behalf of the corporation.