GW ePublishing

On Monday, Netherlands-based iRex Technologies is slated to unveil the iRex Reader 1000, the first in a wave of e-reader devices that promise bigger screens and improved interfaces and functionality. And unlike Kindle or Sony's Reader, this second generation of e-readers aims to bring innovative E-ink display technology to the more demanding, and possibly more lucrative, world of business.

Short pieces on the economics of publishing from the authors of the best-seller Freakonomics. This page lists all their articles tagged as "pubishing"

Examples of how academics may be striking back at high textbook prices. May have dramatic effects on the textbook market, over time.

An interesting comparison between various social bookmarking sites

Diigo wins in this evaluation. I'll be interested in the group feedback at the end of the course

A useful antidote for some of the anxiety expressed in class. Yes things are changing, but it's not the of publishing, it's not the end of reading, it's not the writing, or the end of culture. The opportunities in publishing are far greater than any losses.

The Power of the Link

I think the writer touches on two things that are very important for Internet readers: they want to see something else and they want to see what's next. Yahoo, Drudge, Google -- these sites update regularly, and they update frequently. Readers/users who visit these sites are looking for something new, something close to whatever they were previously reading, and they are looking for it to come to them quickly.

Kevin Kelly has an interesting discussion of eight BIG IDEAS,further expanding on selling things that cannot be copied.

from a friend: "a nice round up of blog touring - aka virtual book touring - which is an increasingly popular (and green) option for authors, particularly as the number of traditional book store venues concentrates."

According to Young, changing technology is easy, changing cultural values is another story. Does this explain why readers are slow to embrace the e-book?

Nothing too earth-shatering here, but definitely explores what we've been talking about. Focusing on content, not product. Social tagging. And reference materials, which was the group I was in Monday night.

Here is a piece about open access for textbooks.

Cory Doctorow's fabulous spit in Microsoft's eye, from 2004. Translated by fans into multiple formats and languages, for free, because of his openness.

Something worth tracking. Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury, announces it will publish, both online and in print, open access textbooks under the creative commons license. First titles to be available in Spring 2009

A little bit of history from the Sunday New York Times Book Review

Here's a great dictionary site. Type the word you're looking up in the search box, and OneLook will list the definition from numerous dictionaries.

I just noticed while reading this article that if you click on a word, a reference box pops up so you better understand what you're reading. I think this is a really great idea, and very smart of the New York Times. It shows that the NYT is trying to keep readers engaged in their online version.

Free access and non-profit publishers. See "The Value of OA"--talk by the late Peter Banks.