*~*Bernie's Take on the Ad*~*

After Barnes and Noble recently merged with the website Fictionwise in order to boost their e-book sales, a great controversy has surfaced. Basically, there are some new restrictions that may prevent consumers from purchasing e-books from other countries. There are going to be new boundary laws or provisions. So, in saying this, we can’t help but ask will e-book distributing sites have to purchase separate licenses for each country or how does this work exactly? It is said that these new licensing restrictions are overdue. Fictionwise also said that their decision to merge with Barnes and Noble has nothing to do with this recent shift.

From my understanding, these new restrictions on content are meant to better the e-book publishing industry. The question was raised about these restrictions having any relation to the reason why Amazon is only selling the Kindle within the US? Maybe.

Click here to read the full story and let me know what you think: e-book_sales_restrictions

Although we all know that the IPhone and its various Apps are slowly taking over society and they way we function daily, we have not actually taking into consideration how much people are using their Iphones to read their favorite publications. Just recently, a study has been conducted by O’Reilly Research to track the most popular Iphone apps. The most popular app is in fact the Kindle for Iphone. This just goes to show that this Book application has the power to possibly take over the Entertainment application in the coming weeks or months. Self-publishing is made possible on sites such as Iceberg for Scrollmotion where one can also find books from the conglomerate publishers such as Random House and Penguin.

The best thing about publishing your book online as an app. is that your book is in fact The “App” itself. There is somewhat of a question about is this just a tactic for Apple to increase their number of applications as a whole, but if you are a book publisher, why would you personally care? The publishers are getting the credit as well as a great source of personal feedback from consumers. Another plus for authors and publishers is that there are said to be 50 times as many Ipod/Iphone users in the world as there are Kindle owners, so it seems to be the smartest way to go in terms of gaining an audience.

The one question that always comes to mind is do people actually want to be able to use just one sole device in order to do just about EVERYTHING? I would guess the answer to this question is a mixture of both yes and no. Some people enjoy being connected on various spectrums and then others would prefer to use something like the Kindle for their reading pleasure as opposed to carried the physical book. Time will tell.

At a first glance, the world of e-books and e-readers can look rather attractive to the average eye, but when one takes a closer look, who knows what hidden discrepancies they may soon find. Just last week, a group of approximately 250 Amazon Kindle owners announced they were going to stage an online protest against Kindle e-books that cost over $9.99. The funniest part of this entire escapade is that these protestors are using the Amazon tagging system in order to carry out the task at hand (the boycott). Each e-book that is priced above $9.99 is getting tagged by a "9 99 boycott" tag.

Initially, I was blaming the Amazon Empire for the possible reason that the e-book prices were often times costing more than the printed paperback version. I was wrong. The real greedy culprits are the publishers themselves. In fact, it has been reported that Amazon may not even be making a mentionable profit from their e-book sales at all. They’re nearly selling them at their original cost price according to online journalist, David Carnoy of Cnet.com.

When you scroll down there are several publishers who are arguing saying that digital publishing is far from free, but they do also admit that the price of digital publishing is cheaper than that of print publishing. So why are e-Books so expensive????

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10214054-1.html

At a time when advertisers are few and far between in the print industry, Magazine publishing companies can only think of one solution that may salvage their currently “ill” publication. This solution is unfortunately for consumers, to raise the subscription fee as well as the cover price in order to make up for the loss in advertising sales. Publishers only fear is that they may lose current loyal subscribers as a result of this necessary need to increase house profits. Most recently, Magazine sales have been on the rise and many publishers are recognizing how “undervalued” their publications have been in the past. Previously, the main flow of revenue for magazines was always through their abundance of advertisements that lived within the glossy pages of each issue, but unfortunately advertisers are not as prominent as they once were. The main problem = people just do not have the money to waste.
In a recent NY Times article, journalist, Stephanie Clifford spoke to Mr. Michael A. Clinton, the Hearst marketing chief of Hearst Publications on the issue of rising prices for the average magazine consumer. His response was, “Think about the cost of a movie ticket. Think about the cost of your subscription for cable television. Think about the cost of going to a sporting event. Those industries have kept pace in passing on more of the cost to the consumer, and the consumer’s willing to pay for it.”
Several magazines such as The Economist and People Magazine have increased their subscription price over the past few years by as much as 5-6% and their cover price by as much as 21-60%. Both magazines confirm that they have not lost their loyal customers and if anything both their subscription sales as well as their newsstand sales have increased overall. It is to be noted that a publication such as The Economist is being read primarily by a certain successful class of people who would be able to afford the subscription price increases without hesitation or complaints.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/13/business/media/13circ.html?_r=2

So in another interesting NYTimes article, reporter Motoko Rich discusses a humorous study that proves why we enjoy snuggling up with a good book......that may coincidentally be about snuggling up with someone. As a result of our depressing economic times, studies have shown that readers are more apt to choose a book that allows them to escape into a dream world where romance is perfect and everyone is happy. Harlequin Enterprises reported that sales of romance novels were up 32% from this time last year. This increase in romance sales is interesting because of the sluggish market that currently exists otherwise. Rich quotes one lawyer who is an avid reader herself and notes that her philosophy on the situation is that readers enjoy escaping to a world where there is a happy ending because it brings a sigh of relief to their life, unlike their daily involvement with the current depression. Two great attributes of romance novels are: 1) their inexpensive price because romance novels ( avg. $7.99) are typically half the price of an average trade paperback (avg $15.99). and 2) their attractive marketing ploy to consumers. This ultimately means that because romance novels are usually written in sets and sequels, a consumer will usually go on to make further purchases on the rest of the series especially if they enjoy the author and trust their work. Barnes & Nobles also noted that other escapist books such as sci-fi and fantasy are currently popular.
Rich compares the popularity of romance novels to that of the obsessive "Gone with the Wind" days of Margaret Mitchell from history.

Bottom line is why do we want to read books about crime and depression when are living in those times at the present. Everyone wants to have a happy ending. So I ask that the time you are traveling on the train, take a look around at the covers of the books being read around you. Most likely they are positive outcome novels and if not, the reader is probably reading something they "have to" for a certain class or business meeting.

I feel as if lately the problem is not the natural death of the publishing industry, but rather the possible murder of the publishing industry. With many successful business companies such as Amazon, Google, Apple, etc. creating new devices known as e-readers, the world of print does not have as much of a future as it once had. Well, before you think you have heard it all and that you are 100% "up" on all of your alternative forms of e-books....THINK AGAIN because I have news for you. Today in a NY Times article by journalist Brad Stone, we are introduced to a new world of online digital video/print. Bradley Inman, of Silicon Valley announced his idea to join the forces of Twitter, video streaming, and plain old books in order to create an attractive site he christened Vook.tv. The site which is pretty rough around the edges is coincidentally looking for employees to web produce. I would assume that they would b helping the older folks with new interactive based sites such as Twitter.
Upon her initial interaction with the site and the idea of Vook.tv, Ms. Holten, a former Scholastic Inc. employee and creator of Fourth Story Media (a teenage collection) said, "“This is a new kind of storytelling for kids who are growing up using technology and being formed by it in ways we can’t even imagine. We are inviting them to collaborate and participate.”

In terms of Mr. Bradley Inman, he assures future consmers that “People will to continue to read, just in new ways. Books are finally coming online but they are very one-dimensional. I think we can experiment and do this better.”
Overall, I am not sure that the site's intentions will be easily viewed by all initially. I can foresee several controversial battles in Inman's future, but in saying that I believe he will be able to defend his new innovation. In my eyes it looks as if Vook may resemble a giant Facebook site that will be everybody's "friend" at one point in the future.

Google is at it again. In today's NY Times article, journalist Miguel Helft discusses the attempt by Google to "adopt" the rights to publish many "orphaned" books in an online library. Google hopes to reep profits from their "discovery" of many hidden books and authors. Many authors and critics are scared that the big bully Google may gain too much power if the deal goes through. The one question that comes to my mind is that if noone cares presently about these so-called "orphan" books, then why will they begin to care after Google gets their foot in the door? Helft says that, "although these books are obscure, in a strange way they are also valuable". Robert Darnton, the head of the library at Harvard University, says that after the collaboration between Google and the bulk of orphaned books that, "Google will be a monopoly". He also said the settlement "takes the vast bulk of books that are in research libraries and makes them into a single database that is the property of Google". Overall, I think that this deal will be a possible proiftable one for Google and a great investment for anyone who does own the copyrights to these dusty books. Google is providing a guiding light for potentially lost scholarly talent. Google was sued already in 2005 by publishers and authors for copyright infringement. So far the end result is that Google has direct access to display as much as 20% of most copyrighted books. They are also at liberty to sell acess to their personal collection to several institutions such as universities.

Center for Communication’s Comedy at the Edge

On April 7th, the Center for Communication held an event entitled Comedy at the Edge. At this event former comedian Richard Belzer and Time Magazine’s Richard Zoglin spoke about the transformation of comedy over the years. They spoke of New York in particular and how the older comedy clubs of the 70's set the stage for the world of comedy that we take for granted today. It was amazing to hear what an influence Belzer had on the growth of the comedic world. Belzer used to be the MC at the NYC hot spot comedy club called, Catch a Rising Star and humorously enough the former owner, Rick Newman even decided to stop by the event and reminisce with the rest of us. Catch a Rising Star was the home and starting point for many of our favorite comedians and most successful actors such as, Rosie O'Donnell, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Ellen Degeneres, Eddie Murphy, Bill Maher, Rodney Dangerfield, Whoopie Goldberg, and even Dave Chapelle. The former upper east side club has since gone out of buiness, but it's memory still lives on through the work of these actors.

One of the worries that was addressed by these two men was the unfortunate fact that the youth of today is only familiarized by Richard Belzer through his widely popular Law & Order character of "Munch". He informed the audience that his character Detective John Munch is the ONLY character to make an appearance on 10 different television series, including Sesame Street where there is even a muppet Munch. Now, for those of you who are unfamiliar with Law & Order or Belzer's character, he plays a head detective for the NYPD and his job is far from funny.

Richard Zoglin, a senior editor at Time magazine acted more as an interviewer for Belzer on the night of the event. He posed questions to Belzer that made him relive old memories about the older forms of Comedy. When asked by Zoglin about some of his favorite inspirations, George Carlin was very high on his list of role models. Belzer spoke of Carlin and how he showed an extreme amount of faith in Belzer's potential mentioning that one time in particular the only way that he was able to be a guest host on The Johnny Carson Show was because of Mr. Carlin. George Carlin never doubted Belzer's potential and he knew that Belzer's ability to step outisde of the norms of Comedy back then was not only a healthy risk to take, but instead it was one of the smartest career moves he would probably ever make. He made himself stand out from those around him and he never let others influence his gut feelings about what people considered to be funny.

Well, in conclusion, as you can see first hand, I had a great night and I reallt enjoyed the event. I was actually one of the many who did not understand Belzer's comedic history. I am a huge Law & Order fan, so his face was surely familar to me, but yet his start in the industry wasn't. I even had the chance to meet his little dog that he rescued in France. (LOL) It was also an honor to meet Mr. Zoglin, a man whose articles I have read many times in Time magazine. He recently published his newest book in 2008, Comedy at the Edge: How Stand-up in the 1970s Changed America where he focuses mainly on Lenny Bruce and the influence of the stand-up comic generation.

Meet President Barack George Timberlake

Esquire magazine has done it again! After the magazine's popular October issue with the battery operated blinking cover, the magazine has developed another youthful tactic that is sure to have the publication flying off the shelves. In the upcoming May issue of the magazine that is being released on April 10th, consumers are going to be given the chance to play like a child once again. We can all remeber those perforated books from our childhood that allowed us to mix and match the faces of various people or objects. Well, this month we will be able to mix and match the faces of President Barack Obama, heartthrob George Clooney, and successful music sensation Justin Timberlake, esentially crafting the face of the perfect man. This perfect man, or The American Man as Esquire refers to "him" as will undoubtably embody good looks, intelligence, humor, charisma, and inevitable talent.

David Granger, the Editor in Chief of Esquire Magazine, claims that his reason behind these new innovations are to push the boundaries of print for readers. With the help of Mix-and-Match ads this new creative cover was possbile. This ad campaign is run by The History Channel's new series "Life After People" and they can be viewed inside the front cover and also on the page following the cover.

AdAge.com recalls the 1960's where George Lois created a number of eyebrow raising cover issues for Esquire Magazine. Esquire is known for it's sometimes shocking and racy covers. This time last year Jessica Simpson was put on the cover mocking one of Lois' covers from the '60's. See Below:

Oh, and if by some chance you are unable to utilize the May cover of Esquire just go to Esquire.com and follow these step by step instructions. Yes, they even gave instructions. (LOL)

Putting the recession to the side for a moment, there are still ways to get ourselves noticed in the industry. One of the most popular ones these days is self-publishing. I know when I consider this option I can not help but think of the involvement of several dollar signs. Well, according to LuLu.com, self-publishing is more than just a feasbile concept.

The website is currently hosting an April author contest. Whichever authors sell the most books in the website's five most popular genre categories of:

Literature and Fiction
Arts and Photography
Education and Language
Business and Economics
Computers and Internet

is eliglble to win $500 dollars and/or additional exposure within the website. This contest is a smart tactic to increase sales for the website and also it gives the authors incentive to better promote their books which therefore essentially promotes the site.

"We make it simple to make it your own", says the LuLu website. So I wanted to know just how simple the term "simple" acutally meant. As an interested writer, I wondered how easy it would be for me to publish my own book or novel. Well to make one 100 page, hardcover bound book, black & white, 8.25 x 10.25, standard paper, in casewrap binding would cost $20.50. Now for me I would be happy with that cost especially if it was the first copy, but in terms of circulating my work to others.....I won't be a self-publisher just yet.

One of the most fascinating aspects of this website was the involvement of a major media mongul, Oprah Winfrey. She is EVERYWHERE! In terms of the book publishing world, it is undeniable that Ms. Winfrey continues to help the growth of the industry. Lulu.com is currently advertising the April 6th guest of the Oprah Winfrey show who is coincidentally Melinda Roberts, the author of "Mommy Confidential". This book which began as a blog of a mother of three children under four years old who basically told it like it was day to day, has hit the hearts of many other mothers in similar positions worldwide. Melinda Roberts has a website called The Mommy BLog - Adventures from the Wonderbelly of Motherhood. I am assuming that Oprah will add Roberts to her Book Club and well after she does that, Roberts is ultimately homefree. Once an author on Oprah's Book Club, you're most likely set for life, but in all fairness to Melinda Roberts, she seems to be doing quite well on her own. I look forward to seeing Roberts discuss her road to self-pubishing on the afternoon talkshow.

To date, Roberts Sales Rank on Lulu.com is 43,021 which I am assuming is the number of copies she has sold so far on the site and her rating is three stars (Keep in mind that only 3 people have voted so far).