Sometimes words really do matter
Category: Library Leadership NetworkPosted on: June 30, 2009 12:31 PM, by Walt Crawford
Here's another little post about the Library Leadership Network (LLN)--naturally suggesting that you might want to go look, but also thinking about how it develops and some of the recent content.
Some weeks, most new content goes into existing articles. Some weeks--this past one, for exmaple--most goes into new articles. And some weeks (also including this past one), a new article emerges from pieces of old ones.
For the record, the new articles for the week ("week" being last Monday-Friday, June 22-26, 2009):
Advocacy and marketing begins with thoughtful commentaries on advocacy from Leigh Ann Vrabel and char booth.
In the interests of coherence and article length, commentaries on problems with ebook readers now appear in Ebook reader problems and issues--including a major new section on DRM and how it's biting some Kindle fans.
Charging for services offers a new take on a long-standing issue, along with a fair number of comments on "Freemium" services.
What makes an innovative idea actionable? Nina Simon offers a thoughtful new perspective on that issue in a new addition to Innovation and control.
That's three new articles and one updated article. What does this have to do with words and their meaning?
Advocacy, marketing and ebooks
In the case of the Charging... article, not much. Discussions of whether and how public libraries can or should charge for "premium" services date back many years. I've always had the same response: "Premium" is a slippery slope for a public institution, with "standard" likely to become worse and worse as tax dollars get scarce--and that worsening baseline hurts the people most that public libraries specifically need to serve. Hmm. Maybe that does have something to do with words: what does "premium" (or, Gaia forfend, "freemium") really mean in a public library setting? Is it possible to charge for some services (or faster access to existing services) without directly or indirectly damaging those who can't afford the premium?
But two other articles are the focus of this post.
Advocacy and marketing discusses advocacy for libraries by librarians--and, oddly, is the first article in LLN with advocacy in the title, although I'd guess at least half a dozen of the 39 articles in the Marketing category are primarily about advocacy, not marketing.
Is there a difference? I think so. I don't see how you could call arguing for the use of one particular brand of deodorant over another "advocacy," but you can certainly advocate for the worth of libraries and need for their support. I don't think advocacy requires branding, much less the tendency to regard everything (including ourselves) as brands. The first of the two commentaries in thenew article doesn't find huge differences between "marketing" and "advocacy," but I believe the difference is significant--not only in the lack of pure commercial intent where advocacy is involved, but also in the nature of support. And that's enough for here--go read the article.
The other case is a little different. Ebook reader problems and issues combines some commentaries that were previously in other articles with a new commentary on Kindle-specific DRM issues. The key here, though, is "Ebook reader"--an explicit recognition that a fair amount of confusion is caused by the use of one word for two concepts. Ebooks--let's call them "book-length texts delivered digitally" (although in past years many so-called ebooks have been article-length texts delivered digitally) don't require dedicated reading devices. Ebook readers--dedicated reading devices such as Kindles and Sony Readers--can be used to read things other than, well, ebooks.
But most of the time, in most media (mainstream or otherwise), "ebooks" (or e-books or eBooks or E-books or...) is used to describe both. That's not helpful and can get in the way of understanding.
I'm trying to disambiguate the term, at least at LLN.
I think that's more feasible than any foolish attempt to get people to stop using "leadership" when they mean "management." One of the recent Leader's Digest items summarizes an article about leadership failure--and, as far as I can see, it's really an article about why some managers fail to be leaders. But the magazine in which the article appears has consistently used "leaders" and "leadership" when it means "managers" and "management," and I don't think that's likely to change any time soon...
Anyway, that's this week's musings about how LLN works and changes. (I did mention that it's free and not restricted to librarians, didn't I?)
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
Tuesday, 23 June 2009
Irex
Beyond the Kindle: Talking eBooks and eReaders with iRex
Written by Frederic Lardinois / June 22, 2009 3:43 PM /
When it comes to eReaders, Amazon's Kindle is obviously the largest player in the U.S., with Sony's eReader being a distant second. A few days ago, though, we got a chance to talk to Hans Brons, the CEO of iRex. IRex is a company worth watching closely, as it is a spin-off from the e-ink research group at Philips that developed the screen technology that is being used by most current generation eBook readers. Philips decided that it didn't want to pursue this line of research in 2005 and decided to license the technology to other vendors.
B2B
Unlike other eReader vendors, iRex made the decision to focus almost exclusively on the B2B market early on and focused on this market instead of going directly after consumers. As Brons told us, part of the reason was that the price for first generation eReaders was simply to high for consumers, and in order to jumpstart the business, going after the B2B market was simply a strategic decision. IRex's eReaders, are, for example, often being used as Electronic Flight Bags by private pilots. Brons also stressed that there is a huge market for books for professionals, including manuals, guides, and similar texts.
Today, iRex is also looking into the textbook market and electronic newspapers, though for the time being, the company is still focusing more on the professional market than on the consumer market.
Taking Notes
We think iRex's top-of-the-line Digital Reader 1000 devices are especially interesting because they actually feature the ability to take notes directly on the screen (with a pen - no touchscreen yet, but the company is working on this). When we looked at the Kindle DX and its role in the textbook market, we noted that the absence of easy to use note-taking features made the Kindle less useful in a school setting than Amazon made it out to be.
One thing Hans Brons stressed during our interview was that iRex puts a premium on the brightness of its screens. Adding a touchscreen would mean adding an additional layer over the actual screen, which would reduce brightness.
Brons also told us that iRex has approached (and has been approached by) a number of newspaper companies that are looking to provide their readers with eReaders. iRex is not ready to announce any new deals in the U.S. just yet, though the company is working with a number of large European newspapers already, and the Washington Post and USA Today are also available through iRex.
Color
IRex made a bit of a splash a few weeks ago when it announced (PDF) that it was working on full color readers. Brons told us that iRex was getting ready to commercialize color readers, but that this was indeed a hard problem to solve as iRex doesn't want to sacrifice screen brightness for color, which isn't necessarily a feature that most users would need.
Services for Publishers, But no Store
Brons also told us that iRex is providing publishers with a full range services to get their books onto the iRex platform, though iRex itself is not looking into starting its own store.
We think there is a chance that iRex is missing some opportunities here, though. Publishers might be able to put their books up in an iRex powered store on their sites, but consumers don't go to publisher sites to buy a book. After all, who knows (and wants to know) whether their favorite book was published by a Random House imprint like Knopf or Crown, or by Penguin (itself a part of Pearson)?
Brons acknowledged that Amazon's size must have surely helped it to gather (force?) publishers around its eBook offering, and the integration between the store and the hardware device, bundled with the Kindle's wireless capabilities, surely helped the company to make eBooks and eReaders more palatable for consumers.
It is important to note, too, that the Kindle and Amazon's eBook store isn't currently available in Europe, where iRex has its headquarters and its strongest presence. If iRex could gather enough publishers around its platform and set up a large store, the company would definitely have the potential to challenge Amazon in this market when and if it decides to bring the Kindle to Europe.
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« Prior Post Next Post » Posted in
NYT, Products, eBooks and tagged with
ebooks, ereaders, irex, kindle, kindle dx
Written by Frederic Lardinois / June 22, 2009 3:43 PM /
When it comes to eReaders, Amazon's Kindle is obviously the largest player in the U.S., with Sony's eReader being a distant second. A few days ago, though, we got a chance to talk to Hans Brons, the CEO of iRex. IRex is a company worth watching closely, as it is a spin-off from the e-ink research group at Philips that developed the screen technology that is being used by most current generation eBook readers. Philips decided that it didn't want to pursue this line of research in 2005 and decided to license the technology to other vendors.
B2B
Unlike other eReader vendors, iRex made the decision to focus almost exclusively on the B2B market early on and focused on this market instead of going directly after consumers. As Brons told us, part of the reason was that the price for first generation eReaders was simply to high for consumers, and in order to jumpstart the business, going after the B2B market was simply a strategic decision. IRex's eReaders, are, for example, often being used as Electronic Flight Bags by private pilots. Brons also stressed that there is a huge market for books for professionals, including manuals, guides, and similar texts.
Today, iRex is also looking into the textbook market and electronic newspapers, though for the time being, the company is still focusing more on the professional market than on the consumer market.
Taking Notes
We think iRex's top-of-the-line Digital Reader 1000 devices are especially interesting because they actually feature the ability to take notes directly on the screen (with a pen - no touchscreen yet, but the company is working on this). When we looked at the Kindle DX and its role in the textbook market, we noted that the absence of easy to use note-taking features made the Kindle less useful in a school setting than Amazon made it out to be.
One thing Hans Brons stressed during our interview was that iRex puts a premium on the brightness of its screens. Adding a touchscreen would mean adding an additional layer over the actual screen, which would reduce brightness.
Brons also told us that iRex has approached (and has been approached by) a number of newspaper companies that are looking to provide their readers with eReaders. iRex is not ready to announce any new deals in the U.S. just yet, though the company is working with a number of large European newspapers already, and the Washington Post and USA Today are also available through iRex.
Color
IRex made a bit of a splash a few weeks ago when it announced (PDF) that it was working on full color readers. Brons told us that iRex was getting ready to commercialize color readers, but that this was indeed a hard problem to solve as iRex doesn't want to sacrifice screen brightness for color, which isn't necessarily a feature that most users would need.
Services for Publishers, But no Store
Brons also told us that iRex is providing publishers with a full range services to get their books onto the iRex platform, though iRex itself is not looking into starting its own store.
We think there is a chance that iRex is missing some opportunities here, though. Publishers might be able to put their books up in an iRex powered store on their sites, but consumers don't go to publisher sites to buy a book. After all, who knows (and wants to know) whether their favorite book was published by a Random House imprint like Knopf or Crown, or by Penguin (itself a part of Pearson)?
Brons acknowledged that Amazon's size must have surely helped it to gather (force?) publishers around its eBook offering, and the integration between the store and the hardware device, bundled with the Kindle's wireless capabilities, surely helped the company to make eBooks and eReaders more palatable for consumers.
It is important to note, too, that the Kindle and Amazon's eBook store isn't currently available in Europe, where iRex has its headquarters and its strongest presence. If iRex could gather enough publishers around its platform and set up a large store, the company would definitely have the potential to challenge Amazon in this market when and if it decides to bring the Kindle to Europe.
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« Prior Post Next Post » Posted in
NYT, Products, eBooks and tagged with
ebooks, ereaders, irex, kindle, kindle dx
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
Thursday, 28 May 2009
New app on Apple Store
Random House has launched an ebook reader on the Apple App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Users of the app will be able to download digital editions of titles from authors such as James Patterson, Ben Elton and Richard Branson.
They can turn pages, make notes on pages and change font style and size.
Jonathan Davis, digital publisher at Random House Group Digital, said, “This is the first time a major UK publisher has made mass-market books available via the Apple App Store. The iPhone and iPod Touch are fantastic convergence devices and we’re delighted customers can now enjoy digital versions of some of our bestselling books on a device which fits neatly in their pocket.”
The ebook app costs £7.49.
Last week the publisher launched a community site for book lovers (nma.co.uk 22 May 2009). Users can set up their own profile page and rate and review books.
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
Affiliate programs
Smashwords, an online Ebook store for independent authors and their publishers, is launching a new affiliate program that will allow external sites to generate revenue by linking to Ebooks that are being sold on the Smashwords store.
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Self Publishing
Free eBook Shows You How to Self Publish using a Book Template
Become a Published Author on Amazon!
Download the free ebook here: http://book-template.com/51231dsaaADS43SDFd32register.html
A new ebook shows you step by step exactly How To Publish your Ebook as a Paperback on Amazon. The ebook comes with a Bonus Video that shows you exactly how to submit your book to Amazon for free.
Leigh Burke said "Hot off the press is my latest Ebook, ’How To Publish your Ebook as a Paperback on Amazon’.
I guide you step by step through the process of getting your book in the correct format for submission to Amazon, then submitting it and promoting your book on the world’s biggest virtual bookstore. And the best thing of all is submission to Amazon is free, and I show you how"
The ebook is 30 pages, and contains detailed instructions and screenshots guiding you step by step through the entire process.
With your ebooks for sale as physical books on Amazon, you’ll create another stream of income and increase your credibility as an author overnight.
There are a number of other distinct advantages to being a published author.
* You will be quoted in both the media and other books. * You can add the book to your CV, biography and other marketing literature. * You can purchase your own books at a heavily discounted price from the printer, and sell them yourself at seminars, conferences, training events, to customers, loved ones and friends. * When you publish more than one book in your niche you gain credibility and become an expert in your field. This will increase your customers trust in you, and will lead to many indirect sales and consulting engagements.
You can grab your free copy here: http://book-template.com/51231dsaaADS43SDFd32register.html
Once you register free, you will be automatically redirected to the download page.
If you’re looking to self publish your own book then you will also need a book template to layout your book.
You can get one here: http://www.book-template.com/.
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
Become a Published Author on Amazon!
Download the free ebook here: http://book-template.com/51231dsaaADS43SDFd32register.html
A new ebook shows you step by step exactly How To Publish your Ebook as a Paperback on Amazon. The ebook comes with a Bonus Video that shows you exactly how to submit your book to Amazon for free.
Leigh Burke said "Hot off the press is my latest Ebook, ’How To Publish your Ebook as a Paperback on Amazon’.
I guide you step by step through the process of getting your book in the correct format for submission to Amazon, then submitting it and promoting your book on the world’s biggest virtual bookstore. And the best thing of all is submission to Amazon is free, and I show you how"
The ebook is 30 pages, and contains detailed instructions and screenshots guiding you step by step through the entire process.
With your ebooks for sale as physical books on Amazon, you’ll create another stream of income and increase your credibility as an author overnight.
There are a number of other distinct advantages to being a published author.
* You will be quoted in both the media and other books. * You can add the book to your CV, biography and other marketing literature. * You can purchase your own books at a heavily discounted price from the printer, and sell them yourself at seminars, conferences, training events, to customers, loved ones and friends. * When you publish more than one book in your niche you gain credibility and become an expert in your field. This will increase your customers trust in you, and will lead to many indirect sales and consulting engagements.
You can grab your free copy here: http://book-template.com/51231dsaaADS43SDFd32register.html
Once you register free, you will be automatically redirected to the download page.
If you’re looking to self publish your own book then you will also need a book template to layout your book.
You can get one here: http://www.book-template.com/.
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
Sunday, 29 March 2009
Ebook couleur
Alors qu’Amazon souhaite relancer le marché avec un second "Kindle" équipé de niveaux de gris pour faciliter la lecture, le constructeur japonais Fujitsu fait encore mieux en commercialisant au pays du soleil levant, FLEPia, le premier ebook couleur. Embarquant la techonologie "e-ink", l’encre numérique, le modèle ne nécessite pas de rétro-éclairage et offre des économies d’énergie.
La révolution apportée par Fujitsu offre un écran tactile 8 pouces XGA à 260 000 couleurs pour une définition de 1024 x 768 pixels. Le tout se présente dans des dimensions 24 x 16 cm pour 1,25cm d’épaisseur. Poids du FLEPia : 385 grammes. Le modèle est complété par 4Go de capacité interne, un port pour carte SD, le WiFi et le Bluetooth 2.0. Il est compatible avec un grand nombre de formats (PDF, TXT, HTML, Word, Excel pour les textes mais aussi JPEG, BMP ou encore PNG pour les images). Une autonomie de 40 heures est annoncée.
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
Thursday, 12 March 2009
PHONEREADER Iphone
All ebooks on www.phonereader.eu
All books for smartphones since1998
Microsoft OS can be downloaded with XenDesktop software from Citrix.
Download Reader Microsoft on your Iphone and read ebooks phonereader.eu on your Iphone (free of charge).
See le Journal de l'Hypertexte in english (different today's posts)
Connect hypertextual.net l'Hypertexte Principal de la Solution -
See Phonereader.GoogleBooks
Enter the library Phonereader.eu
Jean-Philippe Pastor
All books for smartphones since1998
Microsoft OS can be downloaded with XenDesktop software from Citrix.
Download Reader Microsoft on your Iphone and read ebooks phonereader.eu on your Iphone (free of charge).
See le Journal de l'Hypertexte in english (different today's posts)
Connect hypertextual.net l'Hypertexte Principal de la Solution -
See Phonereader.GoogleBooks
Enter the library Phonereader.eu
Jean-Philippe Pastor
Saturday, 7 March 2009
FictionWise sold
Barnes & Noble has acquired e-book seller Fictionwise.com for $15.7 million, as it makes another attempt at running an e-book store.
The cash deal, announced Thursday, is part of Barnes & Noble's plans to launch its own e-book store later this year, despite its lack of success with a previous attempt years ago.
Back in 2000, Barnes & Noble teamed up with Microsoft to launch an e-book store with the help of Microsoft Reader software. But three years after its launch and investing at least $20 million into the project, Barnes & Noble discontinued sales of e-books.
Although the company did not disclose the reasons for halting its e-book store efforts, a Nielsen/NetRatings analyst speculated at the time that sales had been minimal.
Barnes & Noble spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating said Friday that the time wasn't right earlier this decade.
"Consumers were not as quick to embrace the technology, the pricing set by the publishers, or the reading devices," Keating said of the previous effort. "We did have growth in our e-book sales, but the growth was not significant enough to support the business at the time."
Apparently, however, consumer tastes and the technology have advanced enough over the past six years to give it another shot.
"The market has changed since then, and we see this as a growth area," Keating said.
Last month, archrival Amazon.com released Kindle 2, the second version of its e-book reader. And earlier this week, Amazon unveiled its Kindle app for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Fictionwise, which Barnes & Noble will run as a separate business unit, offers its own eReader app for smartphones, other handheld devices, desktop computers, and laptops. Likewise, competitor Lexcycle has its Stanza app for e-book reading.
While consumer interest in e-books has increased over the years, they have yet to attract a mainstream market. Analysts attribute price as the major barrier to the adoption of e-books.
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -
PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
The cash deal, announced Thursday, is part of Barnes & Noble's plans to launch its own e-book store later this year, despite its lack of success with a previous attempt years ago.
Back in 2000, Barnes & Noble teamed up with Microsoft to launch an e-book store with the help of Microsoft Reader software. But three years after its launch and investing at least $20 million into the project, Barnes & Noble discontinued sales of e-books.
Although the company did not disclose the reasons for halting its e-book store efforts, a Nielsen/NetRatings analyst speculated at the time that sales had been minimal.
Barnes & Noble spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating said Friday that the time wasn't right earlier this decade.
"Consumers were not as quick to embrace the technology, the pricing set by the publishers, or the reading devices," Keating said of the previous effort. "We did have growth in our e-book sales, but the growth was not significant enough to support the business at the time."
Apparently, however, consumer tastes and the technology have advanced enough over the past six years to give it another shot.
"The market has changed since then, and we see this as a growth area," Keating said.
Last month, archrival Amazon.com released Kindle 2, the second version of its e-book reader. And earlier this week, Amazon unveiled its Kindle app for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Fictionwise, which Barnes & Noble will run as a separate business unit, offers its own eReader app for smartphones, other handheld devices, desktop computers, and laptops. Likewise, competitor Lexcycle has its Stanza app for e-book reading.
While consumer interest in e-books has increased over the years, they have yet to attract a mainstream market. Analysts attribute price as the major barrier to the adoption of e-books.
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -
PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
Monday, 2 March 2009
New Bebook
The new model of the Bebook has been redesigned to include 3G cellular and/or a WiFi data link, touchscreen navigation and RSS support, said the company in a posting on its Web site.
The device will also get ePub DRM (digital rights management) support over the next few months and is due to be launched in the middle of this year. No other details were immediately available.
The electronic book market recently saw the introduction of the second-generation version of Amazon.com's Kindle e-book reader. That device also includes cellular support but is only available in the U.S., where Amazon has a tie-up with a network operator.
Sony has also seen some success with its "Reader" e-book tablet and has been adding support for a wider variety of data formats to better compete with the Kindle. It supports the BBeB and ePub formats with DRM and unprotected text files in the BBeB, ePub, TXT, RTF, PDF and Word formats. Additionally it can show several types of image files and play MP3 and AAC audio files.
The first-edition BeBook, which was launched in 2008, has won praise for its ease of use and inclusion of around 20,000 classic books with each reader.
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Long tail phrases naturally
As Web Searchers Increasingly Use Longer Keyphrases, Clever Ebook Gives Copywriters 11 Ways to Include Long-Tail Phrases Naturally
ELGIN, SC - The length of search engine keyphrases continues to grow. Rather than a single keyword, searchers are now using three- and four-word phrases as the standard, according to newly released information in February 2009 by Web analytics-company Hitwise.com. These increases make the task of writing natural-sounding search engine optimized (SEO) copy increasingly difficult. Now, SEO-copywriter Karon Thackston has a quick-read ebook that details 11 clever and legal ways to include long-tail keyphrases without destroying the flow of the copy.
In the last 12 months, one- and two-word search-phrase use decreased by as much as 5%, while four-, five-, six-, seven- and even eight-word search-phrase use increased by as much as 19%. What does this mean from a copywriting standpoint? Writing with a single keyword in mind is easy. Using two-word terms is a bit more of a challenge. But, when three- and four-plus-word phrases come into play, the risk of sounding stiff and awkward increases substantially.
"The biggest mistake I find search engine optimization (SEO) copywriters and website owners making is attempting to substitute every generic term for a specific keyphrase," recounts Thackston, who has been at the forefront of SEO copywriting for 10 years. She continues, "This makes copy sound very amateurish and clunky. The reason for this repeated mistake is because copywriters and site owners use the keyphrases the same way every time. They don't realize they have other options. There are numerous ways to make SEO copy sound natural."
Thackston's ebook outlines 11 clever and legal ways to use keyphrases of practically any length without sacrificing the quality of the copy. Complete with real-world examples and screenshots, this quick-read ebook is currently in its 4th edition.
If the trend continues as it has in the past, search phrases will get even longer in the not-so-distant future. However, getting creative with keyphrase use is one way to ensure that longer search terms can be used without sounding awkward.
"Writing With Keywords," published by Marketing Words, Inc., is a 37-page ebook available for immediate download online in PDF format for $39 US. For more information or to purchase, visit http://www.WritingWithKeywords.com. For media interviews, contact Karon Thackston at 803-438-4088. Contact Information:
Karon Thackston
803-438-4088
Email Contacthttp://www.WritingWithKeywords.com
ELGIN, SC - The length of search engine keyphrases continues to grow. Rather than a single keyword, searchers are now using three- and four-word phrases as the standard, according to newly released information in February 2009 by Web analytics-company Hitwise.com. These increases make the task of writing natural-sounding search engine optimized (SEO) copy increasingly difficult. Now, SEO-copywriter Karon Thackston has a quick-read ebook that details 11 clever and legal ways to include long-tail keyphrases without destroying the flow of the copy.
In the last 12 months, one- and two-word search-phrase use decreased by as much as 5%, while four-, five-, six-, seven- and even eight-word search-phrase use increased by as much as 19%. What does this mean from a copywriting standpoint? Writing with a single keyword in mind is easy. Using two-word terms is a bit more of a challenge. But, when three- and four-plus-word phrases come into play, the risk of sounding stiff and awkward increases substantially.
"The biggest mistake I find search engine optimization (SEO) copywriters and website owners making is attempting to substitute every generic term for a specific keyphrase," recounts Thackston, who has been at the forefront of SEO copywriting for 10 years. She continues, "This makes copy sound very amateurish and clunky. The reason for this repeated mistake is because copywriters and site owners use the keyphrases the same way every time. They don't realize they have other options. There are numerous ways to make SEO copy sound natural."
Thackston's ebook outlines 11 clever and legal ways to use keyphrases of practically any length without sacrificing the quality of the copy. Complete with real-world examples and screenshots, this quick-read ebook is currently in its 4th edition.
If the trend continues as it has in the past, search phrases will get even longer in the not-so-distant future. However, getting creative with keyphrase use is one way to ensure that longer search terms can be used without sounding awkward.
"Writing With Keywords," published by Marketing Words, Inc., is a 37-page ebook available for immediate download online in PDF format for $39 US. For more information or to purchase, visit http://www.WritingWithKeywords.com. For media interviews, contact Karon Thackston at 803-438-4088. Contact Information:
Karon Thackston
803-438-4088
Email Contacthttp://www.WritingWithKeywords.com
Monday, 23 February 2009
Just a single click for ebooks
Austin, TX – Reading a bestseller on the Apple iPhone just got significantly easier.
Two major barriers to eBook adoption collapsed today with the public launch of BooksOnBoard’s new Qik Clik(TM) technology for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
“With this advance, format guesswork and long checkout forms go the way of analog TV, truly making eBooks available anytime and anywhere for iPhone owners,” said Bob LiVolsi, CEO of BooksOnBoard (http://www.booksonboard.com/). Qik Clik(TM) technology gives iPhone and iPod Touch customers a quick, one click checkout experience at BooksOnBoard, and takes only three clicks from eBook selection to download, automatically doing the format selection for them. And registered customers have no checkout forms to complete after their first purchase – no credit card information, no name and address, just a single click.
According to Neelan Choksi, Lexcycle/Stanza COO, “I am very impressed. The BooksOnBoard team deserves a huge amount of credit. They have taken the Stanza catalog format to a new level and greatly improved and streamlined the eBook customer experience.” To access their eBooks, customers must have Lexcycle’s free Stanza application downloaded from the iPhone App Store. “Our Qik Clik technology provides a secure, customer friendly eBook experience on the iPhone and iPod Touch – with the fewest possible clicks,” says Marwan Hassoun, BooksOnBoard CTO. “This is only the beginning. Our eco-friendly technology roadmap will continue to make eBooks easier for customers to access and read. We plan to expand the technology and make it available on almost all mobile devices very soon.”
Harlequin Enterprises Vice President of Digital and Internet , Brent Lewis, said, “We know that more and more readers value the convenience of their mobile device, so BooksOnBoard’s launch of a user-friendly mobile website for iPhone is a timely and welcome addition to eBook purchasing options” Bestselling author Jess Dee reflected the response of many authors when she said, “I’m thrilled to be a part of this innovative venture. Congratulations to BooksOnBoard for the launch of their new iPhone interface.” Jane Porter, acclaimed author of Flirting with Forty, said, "An exciting new way to buy your books today! I’m a fan" Added Renee Bernard, popular author of A Rogue’s Game, “With BooksOnBoard and my iPhone, there isn’t anything else I need to take with me! It’s the best of both worlds and I’m thrilled to have the world’s largest selection of books at my fingertips wherever I go!”
According to Mike Smith, Executive Director of the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), the trade and standards association for the digital publishing industry, “It is good news for customers that non-DRM format EPUB titles are also part of the BooksOnBoard offering for the iPhone, allowing readers to experience the interoperability of EPUB between devices and reading applications.” More iPhone instructions can be found here: http://www.booksonboard.com/index.php?F=iPhone_ebooks
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
Saturday, 21 February 2009
Shopping downloadable eBooks
We are now living in a digitalized era.
With anything and everything going digital, the books are no exemption. These electronic books have made life convenient than ever before. Now anyone can read the any books without going to the libraries. These downloadable books makes reading so convenient that you can get any book with just a few mouse clicks. The ebooks have gained huge popularity through the recent days as they can be retained for a lifetime without any damage. Moreover, the usage of ebooks saves thousands of trees that are cut down for making paper” says Mr. Mac of Ninjuh.com
Speaking about the features of Ninjuh.com, Mr. Mac said, “Ninjuh is a one stop shop for shopping downloadable books. The site is designed in such a way that even novice Internet users can download the ebooks that they are looking for with just a few mouse clicks. Readers will find it really easy to search ebooks through Ninjuh. You will be well aware of the fact that Internet is the largest library. However, finding the books that you are looking for in this largest library is a neck breaking job. This is where Ninjuh comes into play. Ninjuh has categorized the Ebooks available all over the Internet and have attached them with appropriate tags so that the surfers can find them with ease. Ninjuh is equipped with the most advanced search technology so that you can find the ebooks by just keying in a few keywords. Unlike other ebook searching sites which need the whole title of the ebook to be known, Ninjuh can find you the ebook with just the keywords. If you are an Ebook writer, you can also submit your ebooks at Ninjuh.”
Speaking about the advantages of Ebooks, Mr. Mac said, “The use of Ebook has many advantages. The main advantage is that online shopping of these downloadable books is very much convenient than heading all the way to a book store for buying them. Buying ebooks will also save a great deal of money. If you are interested in writing you can also earn a great deal of money by writing and selling ebooks.”About NinjuhNinjuh is a new search site to find ebooks, ebook, ebook store, Electronic books, Downloadable books, Shopping, Online shopping And More. With the latest technology of ebook search, shopping ebooks through Ninjuh is just a breeze.
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Linking
According to Jeff Jarvis, there is a new rule now on the web : Cover what you do best. Link to the rest.
Try this on as a new rule for newspapers.
That’s not how newspapers work now. They try to cover everything because they used to have to be all things to all people in their markets. So they had their own reporters replicate the work of other reporters elsewhere so they could say that they did it under their own bylines as a matter of pride and propriety. It’s the way things were done. They also took wire-service copy and reedited it so they could give their audiences the world. But in the age of the link, this is clearly inefficient and unnecessary. You can link to the stories that someone else did and to the rest of the world. And if you do that, it allows you to reallocate your dwindling resources to what matters, which in most cases should be local coverage.
This changes the dynamic of editorial decisions. Instead of saying, “we should have that” (and replicating what is already out there) you say, “what do we do best?” That is, “what is our unique value?” It means that when you sit down to see a story that others have worked on, you should ask, “can we do it better?” If not, then link. And devote your time to what you can do better.
In the rearchitecture of news, what needs to happen is that people are driven to the best coverage, not the 87th version of the same coverage. This will work for publications and news organizations. It will also work for individuals; this is how a lone reporter’s work (and reputation) can surface. We saw that happening with the Libby trial and Firedoglake’s liveblogging of it. As Jay Rosen said at our NPR confab last week — and I’ve heard this elsewhere — theirs became the best source for keeping up on the trial. Reporters and editors knew it and were using it. So those same reporters and editors should have been sending their readers to the blog as a service: ‘We’re not liveblogging it, but they are. We’ll give you our analysis and reporting later. Enjoy.’ That is where the architecture of news must go because links enable it and economics demand it.There’s another angle to this: News is not one-size-fits-all. We don’t get all our news from one source anymore. We get bombarded with news all around us. So we all knew that Anna Nicole Smith was dead (or, in Jack Cafferty’s immortal words, still dead). So that means that not every newspaper needs to cover that story in depth.
It certainly means that The New York Times needn’t. So why did the Times devote considerable space and reporting and editing talent to the Anna Nicole story this week? They added nothing more to the story. It’s not what they do best. At the least, if they felt they really needed to cover it, they should have used the AP. Online, they certainly should have just linked to the many, many other sources that are covering it. And then the paper could have used its resources for news that matters and news that they can do uniquely well.
So why did they do it? They didn’t want to be left behind. They perhaps even didn’t want to seem snotting (as if the Anna Nicole story were below them and their readers). But that’s not the issue. Making the best use of their resources and talent it. They need to take advantage of the link.
Newspapers are getting more comfortable with linking out even to competitors. This takes it farther. It says that the best service you can perform for yourself and your readers is to link instead of trying to do everything.
And once you really open yourself up to this, then it also means that you can link to more people gathering more coverage of news: ‘We didn’t cover that school board meeting today, but here’s a link to somebody who recorded it.’ That’s really no different from saying after a big news event, ‘We weren’t there to take pictures, but lots of our readers were and here they are.’So you do what you do best. And you link to the rest. (Jeff Jarvis)
That is the new architecture of news.
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
Try this on as a new rule for newspapers.
That’s not how newspapers work now. They try to cover everything because they used to have to be all things to all people in their markets. So they had their own reporters replicate the work of other reporters elsewhere so they could say that they did it under their own bylines as a matter of pride and propriety. It’s the way things were done. They also took wire-service copy and reedited it so they could give their audiences the world. But in the age of the link, this is clearly inefficient and unnecessary. You can link to the stories that someone else did and to the rest of the world. And if you do that, it allows you to reallocate your dwindling resources to what matters, which in most cases should be local coverage.
This changes the dynamic of editorial decisions. Instead of saying, “we should have that” (and replicating what is already out there) you say, “what do we do best?” That is, “what is our unique value?” It means that when you sit down to see a story that others have worked on, you should ask, “can we do it better?” If not, then link. And devote your time to what you can do better.
In the rearchitecture of news, what needs to happen is that people are driven to the best coverage, not the 87th version of the same coverage. This will work for publications and news organizations. It will also work for individuals; this is how a lone reporter’s work (and reputation) can surface. We saw that happening with the Libby trial and Firedoglake’s liveblogging of it. As Jay Rosen said at our NPR confab last week — and I’ve heard this elsewhere — theirs became the best source for keeping up on the trial. Reporters and editors knew it and were using it. So those same reporters and editors should have been sending their readers to the blog as a service: ‘We’re not liveblogging it, but they are. We’ll give you our analysis and reporting later. Enjoy.’ That is where the architecture of news must go because links enable it and economics demand it.There’s another angle to this: News is not one-size-fits-all. We don’t get all our news from one source anymore. We get bombarded with news all around us. So we all knew that Anna Nicole Smith was dead (or, in Jack Cafferty’s immortal words, still dead). So that means that not every newspaper needs to cover that story in depth.
It certainly means that The New York Times needn’t. So why did the Times devote considerable space and reporting and editing talent to the Anna Nicole story this week? They added nothing more to the story. It’s not what they do best. At the least, if they felt they really needed to cover it, they should have used the AP. Online, they certainly should have just linked to the many, many other sources that are covering it. And then the paper could have used its resources for news that matters and news that they can do uniquely well.
So why did they do it? They didn’t want to be left behind. They perhaps even didn’t want to seem snotting (as if the Anna Nicole story were below them and their readers). But that’s not the issue. Making the best use of their resources and talent it. They need to take advantage of the link.
Newspapers are getting more comfortable with linking out even to competitors. This takes it farther. It says that the best service you can perform for yourself and your readers is to link instead of trying to do everything.
And once you really open yourself up to this, then it also means that you can link to more people gathering more coverage of news: ‘We didn’t cover that school board meeting today, but here’s a link to somebody who recorded it.’ That’s really no different from saying after a big news event, ‘We weren’t there to take pictures, but lots of our readers were and here they are.’So you do what you do best. And you link to the rest. (Jeff Jarvis)
That is the new architecture of news.
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
Sunday, 15 February 2009
Savings with e-books
The economy is in the tank, and people are looking to cut costs any way they can. An Amazon Kindle pays for itself after the purchase of 20 or 30 books, then starts paying dividends. You save big on books, magazines and newspapers. These savings will grow even more attractive as the recession deepens !
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
Saturday, 14 February 2009
Licensing models: razors and blades
The problem with eBooks remains the content, and its licensing models.
Bookworm is a nice open source reader, but the question remains how big is its book library, and what are the terms under which you access the material?
The Amazon Kindle has found a niche because Amazon makes certain that channel is filled, with the books people want to read. Despite this success only 500,000 of the original Kindles were sold.
Compare that to the number of human readers and it’s clear that eBooks remain at the very front of the demand curve. We’re still with the gadget freaks and the hobbyists, not the mass market.
Before the mass market grabs any eBook reader, whether open source or not, the business model has to become acceptable to book readers, and comparable in value to real books. These eBooks must also become ubiquitous, as real books are.
The short version is we’re still focused on the razors, when we need to look at the blades.
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist for 30 years, a tech freelancer since 1983. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
Email Dana Blankenhorn
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Amazon Kindle 2
Amazon is excited to introduce Amazon Kindle 2, the next generation wireless reading device.
With a sleek and thin design that makes Kindle 2 as thin as a typical magazine and lighter than a paperpack, the new Kindle has seven times more storage and now holds over 1,500 books. It has a longer battery life and faster page turns. An advanced display provides even crisper images and clearer text for an improved book-like reading experience. And Kindle 2 even reads to you, with “Read to Me”, our new Text to Speech feature.
With Kindle 2 we kept everything readers love about the original Kindle—the convenience of reading what you want, when you want it, the immediacy of getting a book wirelessly delivered in less than 60 seconds, and Kindle’s ability to “disappear” in your hands so you can get lost in the author’s words. We’re also excited to announce that the Kindle Store has over 230,000 ebooks available.
You can earn 10% in referral fees on Amazon Kindle 2! To link to directly to Kindle 2 and earn referral fees on the subsequent following purchases, use the following link format.
Let your readers know that Kindle 2 is available for pre-order starting today for $359 at http://www.amazon.com/gp/r.html?R=3A8MF42032MW4&C=PR7WP9DIS7C5&H=8gUxsPuYyXDP925VA6Omo9mvFuIA&T=C&U=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00154JDAI/ref%3Dpe_1130_11277190 and will ship later this month . We also have a wide variety of Kindle accessories available, including new covers from Cole Haan, Patagonia, and Belkin and more.
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -
Saturday, 7 February 2009
Google and iPhone
Like reading on your mobile phone?
Well, Google just added 1.5 million books to your library, with the launch of a new mobile site that optimizes the text of Book Search’s public-domain (i.e., non-copyrighted) works for reading on your iPhone or Android device.
There are some drawbacks to the site right now. For one thing, since all of the texts consist of printed pages that were scanned using Google’s optical character recognition technology, there are inevitable errors — but if the text doesn’t seem right, you can view the scanned page itself. For another, you won’t be able to read any of the latest bestsellers, and by “latest” I mean anything from the last century. Finally, the iPhone interface doesn’t hold a candle to other iPhone eBook readers like Stanza — there’s too much vertical scrolling, and it’s hard to flip back and forth between pages. (Actually, Stanza-maker Lexcycle’s Neelan Choksi told me the company might sell versions of Stanza to which companies can add their own branding and content. Maybe Google should look into that.)
Basically, this is perfect if you happen to be “buying your postage” (to quote Google’s blog post) and want to read “Moby Dick.” Which happens all the time, right? Yeah, okay, so I’ll probably stick to reading shorter stuff on my phone, like the articles in my Google Reader.
Still, the fact that Google bothered to create this site is another sign that smartphones are becoming a viable format for eBook reading. The new version of the Kindle may not be threatened anytime soon, but as these applications get better, I think that’s going to change. I don’t need both an eBook reader and a smartphone anymore than I need an iPod and an iPhone. (Yes, I know some people have both, but they’re crazy.)
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -
PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
Thursday, 5 February 2009
Kindle as a real success
Amazon sold 500,000 units of its Kindle ebook reader last year and could be on track to generate a $1.2 billion business from the device by 2010.That's the view from Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney. He's delved deep into the latest SEC filings from mobile operator Sprint, which has an EV-DO network used by Amazon to download content to the Kindle device.
Amazon has yet to say officially how many Kindles it has sold and will only say publicly that it's pleased with uptake.Mahaney's revenue figure is based on the public adopting Kindles at a similar rate to the very early days of Apple's iPod, with people buying at least one digital book a month.Last week rumours circulated that Amazon is going unveil version 2.0 of its ebook reader on February 9th.
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
Amazon has yet to say officially how many Kindles it has sold and will only say publicly that it's pleased with uptake.Mahaney's revenue figure is based on the public adopting Kindles at a similar rate to the very early days of Apple's iPod, with people buying at least one digital book a month.Last week rumours circulated that Amazon is going unveil version 2.0 of its ebook reader on February 9th.
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
Words are things
With the development of print, Western culture moved even further away from a hearing dominated sensory world to one governed by sight.
More than writing, "print suggests that words are things" says Walter J. Ong's in his book Orality and Literacy. With the interiorization of this view writing/printing was no longer done with the intent to recycle knowledge back into the spoken world (as it was in, for example, Medieval university disputations); things were no longer necessarily written in order to be read out loud.
In addition, print embedded the word in space more absolutely than did writing . Through print, words become things that can be arranged on a page as they are in indexes, tables of content, lists and labels (an extreme example being the arrangement of w ords in the poetry of e.e. cummings).
Finally, Ong suggests that print encourages closure, a feeling of finality that was never present in, for example, oral storytelling.
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Ebooks with freebooks only
Electronic books (ebooks) are becoming more and more popular with Brits, says Hitwise.
Research by the company, which monitors trends on the Web, revealed that searches for the digital devices such as the Sony Reader and the Amazon Kindle, which allow users to read books in an electronic format, have increased by 100 percent since January last year.
The Sony Reader was the most-searched eBook, closely followed by Amazon's Kindle, which is not currently available in the UK, the Iliad and the Cybook.
Hitwise research director Robin Goad: "Searches have followed similar patterns in the US and UK. Interest has been building since September 2008 and there were peaks in November and December in the build-up to Christmas".
Goad also revealed that UK ebook users were keen to get their hands on free files to use on the devices.
"As you would expect, eBook searches are always on the look out for free stuff and the second-most popular search including the term 'ebooks' is 'free ebooks'."
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
Research by the company, which monitors trends on the Web, revealed that searches for the digital devices such as the Sony Reader and the Amazon Kindle, which allow users to read books in an electronic format, have increased by 100 percent since January last year.
The Sony Reader was the most-searched eBook, closely followed by Amazon's Kindle, which is not currently available in the UK, the Iliad and the Cybook.
Hitwise research director Robin Goad: "Searches have followed similar patterns in the US and UK. Interest has been building since September 2008 and there were peaks in November and December in the build-up to Christmas".
Goad also revealed that UK ebook users were keen to get their hands on free files to use on the devices.
"As you would expect, eBook searches are always on the look out for free stuff and the second-most popular search including the term 'ebooks' is 'free ebooks'."
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor
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