Archive
User Generated Content / Social Media Optimisation
Two brief points. Firstly, Iain Tait of Poke posted last week about clients who ask for user generated content. It’s not a blanket response, but is a good rhetorical stance:
“[Client] Why don’t we let people get involved. Give them a way to upload their short movies / photographs / demo-tracks / homages to our product […]
Published: August 31, 2006. Read more →
Waterstones.com
Waterstones has soft-launched its new, revised, and much-touted-as-the-saviour-of-the-beleagured-retailer website, which now is visible at www.waterstones.com
First of all, I’m impressed that they’ve got it done on time, seeing as this was announced back in May in the outcome of the W/Ottakers news cycle.
The website was done by code who also do parent company HMV.
Here’s some […]
Published: August 30, 2006. Read more →
The Too Hard Box
I was recently asked to write something for The Bookseller’s comment pages (subscription required) although they don’t seem to have put it up yet.. The article is now online, without needing a subscription, and as of today is featured as ‘pick of the site’ under the headline ‘Collingridge on the Web”, on the right hand […]
Published: August 29, 2006. Read more →
Gil Scott Heron
I heard some really sad news last week - don’t know if it’s true or not but it seems to be well corroborated online.
As well as being back in jail, Gil Scott Heron has admitted to being HIV positive.
I worked with Gil on and off for my whole time at Canongate, and was […]
Published: August 23, 2006. Read more →
Music / Taste Mashup
Via GalleyCat (Via Buzz, Balls & Hype) an article from the WSJ (registration required so no link) on how publishers are looking to sell books to the kids via music:
Having seen the power of songs to promote TV shows, movies and even videogames, publishers and authors are increasingly experimenting with soundtracks for books. Writers like […]
Agents on Google
Anecdotally, I spoke to a couple of UK literary agents last week, who were in Edinburgh for the book festival. One of the things we discussed was the approach of UK houses towards technology, digitisation, online marketing, websites and the like - in the light of presentations made by the big three (Penguin, Random House […]
Browse / search / inside the eBook
This follows on from all of the ebook posts of late, and there is a collection of (mostly) related links at the end of this post. What the thread is here is the delivery of words digitially over a number of platforms.
The first point to note is the absence of announcement by Apples’ Steve Jobs […]
Published: August 16, 2006. Read more →
(Giving) presentations
I’ve been asked to give a lecture at Dundee’s School of Media Arts & Imaging later this year. I have also, inadvertently, and through reading blogs such as Seth Godin and Guy Kawasaki, come across a number of sites about how to make good presentations. (Most of these sites talk about making presentations to VCs […]
Published: August 15, 2006. Read more →
Espresso on demand
We haven’t talked much about print on demand [POD], mainly because we’ve been under all sorts of non-disclosure, and although these have now expired, I’m not going to go into too much detail at this stage.
But I am rather interested in the appearance of the Espresso Book Machine, which Printweek gives some details on. […]
Typomania
If you like this sort of thing, then some footage of Goudy making letter forms may be the kind of thing you like.
And in which case Erik Spiekermann on typomania - dreadful aflliction - may also get you going. As will the tune, Wordy Rappinghood by the Tom Tom Club.
Details here at typeculture, […]