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 ]
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The new show, Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, will launch with a two-day show in Columbus, Ohio in 2015 and transition to an annual four-day comics festival in Fall 2016. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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B&N is leading off the holiday push for bricks-and-mortar bookstores. This weekend it launches an expanded Discovery Weekend, one week in advance of Indies First/Small Business Saturday. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Running Press and HBO are teaming up on multiple books and mini kits inspired by the premium channel's series, 'Game of Thrones.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As the holiday season approaches, several cities are getting in the book spirit with book fairs, including Miami and New Orleans. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One of publishing's nastiest, most high-profile conflicts, the monthslong standoff between Amazon.com and Hachette Book Group, is ending. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2014-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon, which earlier pulled several of Hachettes books from its inventory, will resume selling all of the publishers catalogueThe long-running battle between Amazon and publisher Hachette has come to a close, after the companies reached agreement over online and ebook sales after months of... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon and Hachette have resolved a contentious contract battle that caught readers and authors in the crossfire for months. Neither company is talking specifics, but the New York Times reports that Hachette will get the ability to set its own ebook prices. At the same time, Amazon will offer... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2014-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jeff Kinney's newest Wimpy Kid title has débuted at number one, knocking David Walliams' Awful Auntie from the top of the UK Official Top 50 after a run of six consecutive weeks. The Long Haul (Puffin), the ninth of Kinney's books featuring hapless middle schooler Greg Heffley, sold 59,315... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Entertainment company Lionsgate is teaming with Dutch media company Imagine Nation and US based Triangular Entertainment to adapt Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games series (Scholastic) for the stage. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Washington, D.C., is on its way to becoming capital booktown. It got its first new bookstore in a decade this week, Upshur Street Books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers are confident their digital sales will continue to increase, but at a slower rate than in the past, The Bookseller’s 2014 Digital Census has found. However, over three quarters of publishers think digital will lead to a collapse of territoriality and there continues to be... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers Association chief executive Richard Mollet has warned that the new European Commission's drive to impose a digital single market risks undermining Europe's cultural diversity and will play into the hands of US-based platform companies. Jean-Claude Juncker's new commission, which... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dan Vado, founder of the Alternative Press Expo, is running the show again after 19 years. He talks about his plans for the pioneering West Coast indie comics festival after it relocates to San Jose. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent booksellers’ plans to use the money donated to them by US author James Patterson range from creating a “Dangerous Reading Club” to running a book review website for children. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Four Colman Getty’s managing director Liz Sich will retire at the end of 2014 after 18 years at the company. She will continue her association with the agency on a consultancy basis. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Mockingjay' is an adaptation of part of the final book in Suzanne Collins's trilogy. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The publisher has partnered with Blumhouse Productions, the company behind genre franchises like 'Paranormal Activity' and 'The Purge,' on a new multi-format publishing program, Blumhouse Books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bertelsmann has continued its rapid education expansion with a direct investment in iNurture Education Solutions, a provider of higher education services in India. Shobhna Mohn, executive vice president of emerging markets at Bertelsmann, said the investment addressed two of the company's... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As Vroman's begins celebrating its 120th, other, younger, stores are finding their way by combining an office and online retail (Russo's Books) or seeking nonprofit status (Wild Iris Books). Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Given that links appear to be more clickable when shared on Facebook, online publishers have scrambled to become savvy gamers of Facebook’s News Feed, seeking to divine the secret rules that push some stories higher than others. But all this genuflection at the altar of Facebook’s algorithms may... Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2014-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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