You want an idea to survive hundreds or thousands of years? Step one: Don’t write it on paper. Alexander Konta believed this deeply. Paper yellows and withers and crumbles; it is the printed form of Alzheimer’s. “Why not make [text] imperishable by photographing the written word after it has been printed in books and newspapers and preserve the plate in a fireproof vault?” he asked the New York Observer. It was a hell of an idea, considering he said that in 1911. A century later, that’s more or less how those words of his were preserved: They had been scanned and stored on Google Books. Konta was just getting started. He was a wealthy New York banker, and in 1911 founded a group called the Modern Historic Records Association. It billed itself as “the first society ever organized to provide a living history of the times,” and its goal was wildly ambitious: It wanted to marshal the power of the day’s technology--new, exciting machines that captured moving images and recorded voices--to document everything, or at least as much as they could, so that time wouldn’t erase their era as it had at least partially wiped out all of preceding human history.Read Full Story Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2013-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#york observer
#group called
#living history
Apple heads to a U.S. federal court Monday to face civil accusations that it conspired with five publishers to drive up the price of electronic books in the weeks leading up to the 2010 introduction of the iPad. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2013-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#electronic books
#weeks leading
The Jörgits, an indie fantasy novel for kids nine and up, uses interactivity as a supplement to the story, not a stand-in for it. If there’s one reading experience that truly has been transformed by the interactive wonders of the tablet, it’s got to be the children’s book. Apps like The... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#moonbot studios
#main themes
The Commonwealth Book Prize has been won by UK debut author Lisa O'Donnell, while the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
The National Book Critics Circle recently surveyed reviewers about whether ethics guidelines are necessary for the industry. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book critics
An interactive children's book to help kids think outside the box is the May showcase winner of data competition Mix & Mash. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2013-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#interactive children
Book Expo America, BEA, used to be the place to go to get your hands dirty with printer's ink--all the books were hot off the presses. Now the annual industry gathering at New York City's Javitz Center has been increasingly invaded by geeks. I'm one of these geeks, despite the fact that I've... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#things digital
#show floor
#usual suspects
#justice department
#simon schuster
A few years ago, publishers were looking at what was happening to the music industry and saw digital in an apocalyptic light--now they’re racing to join the digital content fray. “There are still challenges and the margins are still smaller on the digital side, but publishers are figuring out... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#digital side
#digital products
#event director
#positive light
Former People by Douglas Smith, published by Macmillan, has won the inaugural £5,000... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Bird Street Books has agreed with Ingram to manage the sales and distribution of their print, ebook, and audiobook titles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Stuff is teaming up with the NZ Post Children Books Awards in an initiative to promote the importance of books and reading, and to inspire New Zealand's future writers and illustrators. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2013-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
The new title for the third instalment in the Bridget Jones Diary book series has been revealed. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2013-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Massachusetts-based publisher Barefoot Books had previously cut ties with Barnes & Noble and Borders. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#barefoot books
#cut ties
#barnes noble
Lea Michele has appeared in several Broadway productions and stars on the Fox musical series 'Glee.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
How can publishers optimize their social media outreach? HuffPo's Andrew Losowsky chats with Ed Nawotka on Twitter about how book marketers can maximize social media networks and influencers. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book marketers
#ed nawotka
Pearson PLC's book publishing business, Penguin Group, has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a dispute in the U.S. over the way it priced electronic books, drawing to a close an investigation into the publishing industry's ebook pricing tactics. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2013-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#penguin group
#pearson plc
#publishing industry
A rare first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone with annotations and drawings by JK Rowling sells for a record £150,000. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2013-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#harry potter
Total book industry sales fell to $27.12 billion in 2012, down by just under 1% from the prior year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#trade books
#prior year
A bookseller who turns unwanted books from charity shops into miniature sculpted works of art, opens a British Academy exhibition. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2013-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#charity shops
Submissions are now being accepted for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize, which is to be re-launched... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
The Orwell Book Prize for political writing is won by AT Williams for his book on Baha Mousa, while Marie Colvin is honoured with a posthumous award. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2013-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#orwell prize
#political writing
#baha mousa
#posthumous award