Bookslut was born in an era of internet freedom. Today's web has killed it

The books community that my site joined was driven by enthusiasm not clicks, goodwill and not money – and that culture has goneI miss the internet. I know that, technically, the internet still exists. It’s the Facebook-, Twitter-filtered series of algorithms designed to put cat videos, think pieces, and advertisements in front of you. But I get nostalgic for the days before money invaded the internet – the early 2000s, in particular, when I created the literary blog and webzine Bookslut.com.Back then, nothing you did mattered. And that gave you freedom. Back then, the online book culture was run mostly by enthusiasts and amateurs, people who were creating blogs and webzines simply for the pleasure of it, rather than to build a career or a brand. I know that nostalgia is a stupid emotion, but still I regret the day money found the internet. Once advertisers showed up, offering to pay us to do the thing we were doing just for fun, it was very hard to say no. Or understand exactly what the trade-offs would be.The most disappointing revelation about the books world: even an intellectual is susceptible to clickbaitYou click on it, you own it. Related: Jessa Crispin: 'We're not allowed to say the Paris Review is boring' Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2016-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #books world #jessa crispin #paris review

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Bookslut was born in an era of internet freedom. Today's web has killed it'


Did Amazon Just Kill a Golden Goose?

By curtailing paid commission to free ebook listing sites, Amazon is penalizing the big traffic producers that generate brand loyalty and other purchases. But why? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Killing the “Pay First, Read Later” E-bookselling Model

The download first, pay-as-you-read ebook sales model from Total Boox in Israel promises a superior consumer experience by minimizing the uncertainty of book buying. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #total boox #book buying


Read for My School competition launches today

The National Schools Reading competition has launched today, with up to 200,000 children in years... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #launched today


Reuters Gutting Web Infrastructure for 'Reuters Next,' its Big Online Retooling

Over the past few years, the media arm of Thomson Reuters has been trying to polish its 160-year-old brand to a more contemporary sheen by recruiting A-list journalists and pundits and expanding into areas like blogging, Internet TV and magazines. I ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #thomson reuters


Graywolf Press in ‘New Era’

Looking to leverage recent critical and financial successes, the literary publisher Graywolf Press is embarking on several new initiatives to further boost its visibility and to reflect that it is, in new marketing director Michael Taeckens’s words, “entering a new era.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-11-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #graywolf press


Could Tumblr Save Web Publishing?

Last month, as storm surges from Hurricane Sandy inundated lower Manhattan, Datagram, a New York-based media ISP, watched as its basement full of severs took on over five feet of water, causing major outages for prominent online publishers like Gawker Media, BuzzFeed and the Huffington Post. ... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2012-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #front door #coming months


A One-Stop, Web-Based Shop For Comic Book Publishing

Graphicly abandoned their iTunes-like comic book marketplace to develop a full suite of online publishing tools for visual storytellers. As Adrian Tomine has pointed out, the one-time subculture of comics and graphic novels has migrated into the mainstream over the past decade. The... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2012-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


A Unique E-Book Concept Merges Dead Tree Pulp With The Web

Waldek Węgrzyn’s innovative take on the electronic book turns the book itself into a new digital interface, without eliminating the joys of ink on paper. Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2012-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


A New Era for Books: The Random House-Penguin Merger Is Just the Start

The biggest publishing companies have an easy plan to save their industry: Get bigger Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2012-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


The Telegraph Brings Web Meter, Mobile Subs to Overseas Readers

UK news publisher Telegraph Media Group (TMG) is the latest to try two vogeuish flavours of reader payment – metered access, and charging overseas readers. The company today begins charging £1.99 per ($3.20) month for up to 20 T ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Find Cost Efficiency Adapting Printing To Today's Realities: Digital Printing in 2012

The book publishing industry is dealing with two conflicting trends at the moment: the number of individual titles produced continues to rise while the number of print units sold continues to fall. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital printing


The Optimal Production Model for Today—and Tomorrow: Digital Printing in 2012

High-speed inkjet printing has been described as the biggest development in book publishing in the past 50 years. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital printing #book publishing


Dunham’s $3.7m Advance: Everything Wrong With Publishing Today?

Lena Dunham, creator of HBO’s Girls, signed a $3.7 million book deal with Random House. Rob Spillman says it is emblematic of all that is wrong with corporate publishing today. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lena dunham #7m advance #publishing today #random house


Frankfurt Book Fair: ‘a new era dawns’

Publishers are looking to move beyond the “smoke screen” of erotica as the Frankfurt... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Adobe Digital Publishing Suite, Single Edition Available Today as Part of Creative Cloud Membership

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Sept. 19, 2012 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the latest addition to Adobe® Creative Cloud™ — Adobe Digital Publishing Suite (DPS), Single Edition. DPS, Si ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #san jose #latest addition


Professor X killed off by Marvel

Hallowed comic book character Charles Xavier, aka Professor X, is killed off in the latest edition of Avengers vs X-Men. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2012-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #latest edition


BA launches bookshop-finder web function

The Booksellers Association has created a search button for host websites which will direct book... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #booksellers association


Barnes & Noble brings out Nook for Web, comes full circle with e-reading (update: not on iOS)

We'd say it's about time. Although it's almost two years late to the party, Barnes & Noble is responding to Amazon's Kindle for the Web with Nook for Web. Much like its counterpart across the virtual aisle, the Nook web edition lets readers browse free samples and whole books entirely from a... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2012-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #full circle #barnes noble #online store #native apps


Nook for Web Lets You Sample and Read Books From Your Browser

Barnes & Noble catches up to Amazon and Google with a Web-based ebook service. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2012-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #read books


Grove Press UK to investigate killing of bin Laden

Grove Press UK is to publish a title about the hunt for and killing of Al-Qaeda-founder Osama bin... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bin laden