Encyclopaedia Britannica, the 244-year-old company, recently announced it would stop printing encyclopedias. Of course this triggered a flurry of talk about the end of printed books, magazines, and newspapers and a once-great company humbled by shifts in technology. But to fall into that narrative is to miss the greatest lesson of the story. Innovating, creating something new, playing the beginning of the game is the easy part. Britannica offers us invaluable insight into the much harder half of the innovation process: how to play the end game.You see, every game--chess, tennis, business--has an end. Every business will eventually die. We cannot escape this inevitability. Yet we hold on to the fantasy that somehow OUR company will be different, that our company is “built to last.” The key to long life in business is knowing how to play the end game so that you can position yourself to play the next game. Britannica seems to be doing that well.The Wi-Fi PatternTo understand what is going on here, think about Wi-Fi (wireless Internet) service. Ten years ago when you walked into a Starbucks you had to pay for Wi-Fi access. Now you get it for free. If something doesn’t cost anything to provide, eventually someone will give it away for free. Or as an economist would say, over the long run, the market price of any competitive product or service reaches its margin cost.Wikipedia has proven that there are lots of smart people out there who are willing to write content for free.... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2012-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#marie curie
#albert einstein
#bill clinton
#digital learning
#snew book
A new plan by the iconic Denver bookseller sees a streamlined company emerging from bankruptcy as early as June and returning to profitability next year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#bookseller
A developer is betting that people will pay top dollar for up-close views of one of the city’s most unloved sites: AT&T’s Long Lines Building in Tribeca, a windowless, 29-story hulk from the 1970s that routinely makes lists of New Yorkers’ least-favorite buildings.The plan, which was put... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2024-03-04 18:30:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#current size
#united nations
#world bank
#market research
#privately owned
Gather ’round, children, and let me tell you a story about the old bugaboo we used to call DRM. Digital Rights Management was the beast under every gamer’s bed in the mid-2000s, an invisible bit of software baked into game discs that dictated and tracked player behavior under the guise of... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-03-04 16:30:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#living rooms
#digital distribution
#varied landscape
#20th anniversary
#libraries
Minnesota's HF 3782 would not only aim to end book bans in public schools and libraries but would emphasize the knowledge, training, and expertise of librarians. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-02-29 14:32:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#public schools
#libraries
An Australian startup that recently hired a new North American president plans to grow its U.S. headquarters in Denver. The startup is a digital platform that helps privately owned businesses determine their valuation. It also helps create a roadmap for a successful exit, which could include a... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2024-02-28 13:09:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#digital platform
#younger generation
#privately owned
‘What Happens Next,’ coming from Thomas Nelson in August, is the first book on the biblical end times by bestselling author and pastor Max Lucado. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-20 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#max lucado
#thomas nelson
#bestselling author
The acclaimed comics writer is expanding his Tiny Onion brand into an independent production house, which will operate like a book packager, managing Tynion’s creations and working with other creators on their own projects. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-16 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
Scholastic has announced that an illustrated edition of THE HUNGER GAMES is coming out later this year. Here are the details. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-01-18 16:47:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#illustrated edition
#hunger games
#scholastic
Livestream platform Twitch quietly ended a series of multiyear partnerships in 2023 that it brokered with publishers including Rolling Stone, Complex and Vice, according to three people familiar with the agreements. Twitch invited the publishers to establish channels on... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2024-01-18 10:34:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#rolling stone
#people familiar
#publishers including
On Tuesday, the ownership group that controls Denver's Tattered Cover bookstores filed the first part of its bankruptcy reorganization plans, citing some $3.1 million owed to unsecured creditors, including half a million dollars to its former CEO. A further $820,000 is owed to secured lenders. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#unsecured creditors
#$4 million
#ownership group
#million dollars
Bandai Namco’s Sand Land finally has a release date of April 26. This is a video game adaptation of a classic manga by artist Akira Toriyama. That’s the same Akira Toriyama who created Dragon Ball, and also created the character designs for Chrono Trigger and many entries in the Dragon Quest... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-01-12 18:40:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#bandai namco
#release date
#chrono trigger
#improve performance
#source material
#manga
Independent bookstores in the western U.S. came through the holidays with boosted balance sheets and tales of community connection. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-12 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#independent bookstores
#community connection
An inside look at the publication process for the bestselling author’s latest novel. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-12 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#end notes
#kristin hannah
#publication process
#bestselling author
British influencer posted a weekly video for 10 years, about everything from pegasus crossings to the National GridTen years ago, Tom Scott held up his phone camera and recorded a 90-second video about traffic lights on bridleways. In Britain, we have pelican crossings, toucan crossings and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-01-05 12:00:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#phone camera
#puffin
An inside look at the publication process for the PEN/Hemingway Award-winning author's second novel Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-05 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#end notes
#tommy orange
#publication process