Talk about bi-partisan support.First, it was the New Democratic Leadership Council with their cockamamie "A Kindle in Every Backpack" proposal. Granted, the textbook landscape is littered with unfair practices and is in dire need of reform, but before we throw the book out the window for good we should spend some time trying to make right the inherent injustice of the textbook world. We need to make them affordable and relevant before we start talking about abolishing them. Of course, the e-reader provides certain advantages but just like its relationship to the printed book, it is a complement not a...
Dropping the Books from E-Books
The race is on. Amazon, Google, Apple, Sony and a host of other companies are moving at breakneck speed to create the e-book atmosphere that will become your e-book universe of choice.In his insightful piece at the Huffington Post, Eebs: A History of Future Publishing, Giles Slade gives us a good look at the current battlefield."In the emerging world of e-Books, Kindle-Amazon will increasingly occupy a position similar to the iPod while Google (a collector and purveyor of e-Books) together with its partner Sony (a manufacturer of e-Readers) will forever be positioned at the lower end of the e-Book market...
Kindle Sighting
The picture above shows a book reader existing peacefully with a Kindle reader while they ride the bus.With all the hype surrounding the Kindle I have yet to see one in public and this is one of the first images I've seen of one out in the world. And to boot it was taken on mass transit. Is mass acceptance far behind?Image via Narisa Spaulding (@narisas) of SeattleThanks to @emersonsalon for the lead
Amazon Finds Another Way To Deliver the Books : AmazonFresh
Bookmark inserted in AmazonFresh deliveryRemember Webvan, the online grocery delivery service started by that other bookseller Louis Borders, that went down in flames in the dot com crash of 2001. A great idea but a little ahead of its time. Well, not to miss a beat, here in Seattle, Amazon's backyard, we have AmazonFresh, Amazon's version of a local grocery delivery service.It is a fantastic service. With two kids you can't beat the convenience of running out of something at 8pm and having it at your door by the time you wake up. And it is price competitive, unlike the...
#amazonfail or how Amazon finally eclipsed Jesus
By now most of us have heard of the Great Amazon GLBT caper of 09. A herculean act of censorship that exploded in the Twittersphere and was subsequently blamed on a mere technical malfunction.Above are the top 5 trending topics on Twitter as they appeared at one point on Easter evening.Here's the anticipated Amazon PR spin:amazonfailsJesus summonedAmazon rebornMasters once againWhat a great EasterThis one is just getting started.More:Edward Champion Amazonfail : A Call to Boycot AmazonPeter Kafka Did Amazon Really Fail this Weekend?Jeff Rutherford Using Twitter to Respond to a PR Crisis - Amazon.com Failed To ActKate Harding at Salon.com's...