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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New stores keep popping up and older stores are in transition, including one store that is moving from storefront to kiosk. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The nonprofit collective, which hasn't published a new book in five years, ended its relationship with Consortium in June and is about to dissolve. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Walliams has set up a new production company with comedian Miranda Hart and producer Jo... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's leaked 'Netflix for books' plan will alarm publishers and doom old-fashioned anonymous readingOnce upon a time, 12 years ago to be precise, David Bowie said something very perceptive. "Music itself is going to become like running water or electricity," he told a New York Times... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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JK Rowling's crime novels written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith will eventually outnumber her Harry Potter books, she reveals. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2014-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Zane, bestselling erotica author, entrepreneur and publisher of S&S/Atria’s Strebor Books imprint, is teaming up with Verge Entertainment, a New York City transmedia production house founded by Shawn Martinbrough, Joe Illidge and Milo Stone. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sir Alex Ferguson is to write additional material covering events at Manchester United since his... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite the heat, summer has been anything but slow when it comes to changes in bookselling this week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One of the most famous characters in comic book history is set to bid a sad farewell. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Today PW introduces a new Friday feature that collects news about bookstores and bookselling from throughout the week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Comic book writer Alan Moore says a council's plans to sell a 4,000-year-old Egyptian statue valued at about £6m "could only be catastrophic". Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2014-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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According to staff, World Book Night U.S. will be suspended due to lack of money. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The publisher, which has seen its Facebook traffic grow more than 500 percent in the past year, shares the secrets to its success. The post How Hearst learned to play with emotions to drive Facebook traffic game appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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America's leading news agency, the Associated Press, has announced that most of its stories about the quarterly results for US companies will be produced in future through the use of automation technology.Calling the move "a leap forward," AP's managing director, Lou Ferrara, explains: "For many... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook and two outside social scientists recently published a scientific paper in which they revealed that they had manipulated users’ news feeds to tweak their emotions. Since then, there has been a growing debate over the ethics and practice of Facebook experimenting on its users, as... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2014-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BookStats, the statistics program formed out of agreement between the Association of American Publishers and the Book Industry Study Group, will not have a fifth year, at least not in its present form. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media startup founders apparently didn't get that memo that now's a pretty bad time to be in the publishing business. So, are they crazy? The post You’d have to be crazy to start a media company, right? appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2014-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Twitter users are subbing in 'Thrones' themes for famous children's book titles. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new publication about soccer--and nothing but--tries to be as visually dazzling as the game itself. Sketch Remembering the 1949 plane crash that killed the dominant Italian club team Torino A.C. meant a more sullen depiction. "That took just one sketch to make the finished product," Priest... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2014-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author George R.R. Martin, the creator of the "Game of Thrones" series, is introducing another new character in one of his upcoming books thanks to a $20,000 charitable donation. Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2014-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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