These days there's something extra revitalizing about cracking open a book. I don't just mean in a strictly geektastic, hooray–for–reading kind of way. I mean, it's actually mentally refreshing. For those of us who live online, there's no better way to wrap up a hyper–connected day of status updates, tweets, and pageview–thirsty headlines than by diving into a single, focused, long–form story or work of nonfiction. Well, it'll be nice as long as it lasts, anyway. If it wasn't already obvious, the era of social books is right on the horizon. One of the companies leading us there is Readmill, the purveyor of a social reading app that takes Amazon's crowdsourced highlighting concept to the next level and makes e–books more interactive than ever. Not to be outdone by some scrappy startup, Amazon will integrate the next version of its Kindle Paperwhite e–reader with Goodreads, the book–centric social network Amazon acquired in late March. Neither of these new social reading environments amounts to a full–blown, Facebook–inside–your–book type of experience. But the line between social networks and books is only now beginning to blur. Prepare to get even more distracted. As my colleague Michael Grothaus––himself a paper–loving e–reader holdout––wrote recently, "e–books are going to explode beyond just containing stories, becoming niche social networks where we discuss our favorite passages with other readers and even authors and publishers buy our data to make more informed... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2013-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
When it comes to news, it's Facebook's world -- publishers are just living in it. As Facebook continues to court publishers and hold onto users, more people are using the site to keep up on news. According to Pew, 63 percent of Facebook and Twitter users said that they they get their news from... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2015-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Amazon has today launched a new version of the Kindle Paperwhite, which will be available from the end of June. The latest generation of the device includes a new “typesetting engine for more beautiful pages”, an exclusive Kindle font called Bookerly, and “the highest resolution Paperwhite... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Reports from the last few weeks hinted it was coming, but the debut of Facebook's Instant Articles sent a shiver down plenty of publisher's spines this morning anyway. And why wouldn't they react in that fashion? One of their chief traffic drivers could suddenly siphon away audiences and ad... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2015-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Two-thirds of the content that people post to Pinterest are originally from businesses, like product images from a retailer's site. But it hasn't been that easy for brands themselves to post that content, let alone pay to promote those organic posts as ads on Pinterest. Pinterest is now trying... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2015-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
App-install ads continue to be a lucrative business for Facebook and Twitter, and now Google wants a bigger piece of the market. Today Google is rolling out two new tools aimed at making it easier for marketers to plug mobile apps. The first change is that advertisers can extend AdMob... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2015-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Technology can be daunting for users of a certain age, but Intel and AARP are offering help with a simple-to-use tablet.The RealPad tablet is aimed at users who are 50 and older, the age range for AARP membership, and shy of technology. Simplicity is key: The tablet provides quick access to... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2014-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Gone are the days when, if you wanted to read a book in bed, you'd need to take a torch with you. Nowadays, as long as you've got a Kindle Paperwhite, the books will happily illuminate themselves. The device's even front-lighting and engineering... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2014-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
With its eye firmly fixed on a return to profitability, Sony's been making extensive cuts to its business arms in recent days (bye bye, VAIO!). So it's no surprise the company would train that cost-cutting eye onto another underperforming unit -- its... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2014-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
LAS VEGAS—PC maker Asus is taking the Windows-Android hybrid concept to another level with a convertible laptop that can switch between the two OSes with the click of an on-screen button. The Asus Transformer Book Duet TD300 comes as a 13.3-inch notebook with a detachable keyboard, which when... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2014-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Microsoft is continuing to fill in the gaps in its Windows Store catalog with the arrival of Flipboard for Windows 8.1. Just like its iOS and Android counterparts, Flipboard's Windows 8.1 app offers digital “magazines” culled from websites large and small. After setting up an account, users can... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2013-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
When it comes to reading, I use a Kindle PaperWhite. I hate paper books with a passion -- they take up space and are obsolete. The Kindle is wonderful because it allows me to easily bookmark pages, look up definitions, and scan the book for certain words with the x-ray feature. An Amazon Prime... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2013-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
When it comes to referral traffic from social networks, there's Facebook and Pinterest — and then there's everyone else. Facebook accounted for more than 10% of overall traffic to publishers in September, by ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The new Kindle Paperwhite is like the old one, but with a better backlight and upgraded software. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2013-10-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Campaign group Europe-v-Facebook received Facebook's response to complaints about the social networks' privacy policy on Tuesday, but was barred from publishing them by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner. Europe-v-Facebook wrote to the DPC over two years ago alleging that a lack of... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2013-10-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
These days there's something extra revitalizing about cracking open a book. I don't just mean in a strictly geektastic, hooray–for–reading kind of way. I mean, it's actually mentally refreshing. For those of us who live online, there's no better way to wrap up a hyper–connected day of status... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
"I'll give up my printed books when you pry the last one from my cold, dead hands." That's what I tell people when they ask me what kind of e–reader I have. As a technology journalist, author, and novelist, they expect me to own the latest Kindle or be an iBooks aficionado, and most seem... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Both readers and writers in Mexico have a reason to rejoice today, as Amazon has just launched the Kindle Store and Kindle Direct Publishing in their country. The ebookstore will feature over 70,000 Spanish-language titles, as well as ebooks in indigenous tongues like Nahuatl. To help fill up... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Reports from China say Amazon will launch both the Kindle Paperwhite and Fire devices in China this June, prices range from 849 RMB ($134) for the Paperwhite and 1400-1500 RMB ($222-238) for the Fires. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
When I wrote Why I Love Kindle back in February I said I was intending to upgrade to a Kindle Paperwhite soon. Three weeks later, timed so I can buy a Kindle copy of my own book (my publisher only supplies free paperbacks), and that’s exactly what I’ve done. The Kindle is one of those very rare... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2013-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Canadians have had to be content with a form of Kindle Store limbo until now. They could buy Kindle ebooks, but they've had to rely on a US-centric portal that scarcely acknowledges their literary tradition. As of this weekend, they don't have to cross the virtual border: Amazon Canada now has... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this