Toluu : publishing talk

publishing talk

mashing up books and social media

I’ve had a few requests recently for advice and workshops on how to use Facebook in publishing. It’s no surprise that the ubiquity of Facebook has finally reached the publishing world: it’s cheap, it’s effective, it’s easy. So how should you use it?

Most of your staff probably already have their own Facebook profiles. A lot of your authors probably do too. That’s a good thing, because you need to have a presence in the social media space if you want to use it authentically. Being active on Facebook gives you ‘permission’ to be there and promote your wares to interested people. But be careful how you use it. Facebook is a community, not a shopping mall.

Here is my top 10 Facebook checklist:

1. Profiles are for people, not products. There’s no reason why your author shouldn’t use their book jacket as a profile picture, at least around publication. But don’t create a profile for a book or a company. Real profiles, real people, real names are the order of the day. Both publishing staff and authors can - and should - have Facebook profiles in order to start using Facebook marketing.

2. Groups are for communities of interest. Groups are great. People like to join groups. Easy to set up and manage (almost no maintenance time involved), they allow people to have forum discussions, post images, videos and links, write on your wall. Make sure you include your web address, and f

Nature’s new islandsOctober 10

Well, the offices never looked like this when I worked at Macmillan. Last night, Nature Publishing Group unveiled the new enhanced Macmillan presence in virtual world Second Life at a champagne and canapé fuelled launch in London.

One of the questions raised in the discussion afterwards was ’should we make virtual worlds more - or less - like real life’? I’m very pleased to see that the new islands aren’t modelled on an industrial estate in Basingstoke. In fact, the Elucian Islands (not to be confused with Random House’s Elysian Isle), are rather lovely.

I had to read the email twice to realise that the launch was in Real Life. As anyone who has spent any time in SL will know, we quickly come to think of it as a physical place where one attends events. The RL event, howeve

online video viewing doublesSeptember 29

I’ve been saying for a while that online video is the Next Big Thing in social media. Recent research seems to bear this out. A study released on Friday by ABI Research shows that online video viewers - in the US at least - have doubled over the last year:

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The number of Americans watching video on their computers has doubled over the past year and growing numbers of younger viewers are enjoying movies and TV shows online, according to a study released Friday by ABI Research.

The study found that the number of American consumers watching video streamed through a browser had soared over the past year, from 32 percent a year ago to 63 percent today.

ABI Research said growth in consumption of online video was due to a number of factors, including an increase in the amount of rich content available and more broadband connections.

Continue reading…

The growth of broadband - and YouTube - have helped this of course; but also the fact that video is so passonable these days, through blogs, social networking sites and other websites. Hands up those who posted that Tina Fey spoof of Sarah Palin on their Facebook pro

the end of book publishingSeptember 22

Before you switch off from another doomsaying prophesy, this is actually quite an interesting article from New York Magazine:

The book business as we know it will not be living happily ever after. With sales stagnating, CEO heads rolling, big-name authors playing musical chairs, and Amazon looming as the new boogeyman, publishing might have to look for its future outside the corporate world

…

The demise of publishing has been predicted since the days of Gutenberg. But for most of the past century—through wars and depressions—the business of books has jogged along at a steady pace. It’s one of the main (some would say only) advantages of working in a “mature” industry: no unsustainable highs, no devastating lows. A stoic calm, peppered with a bit of gallows humor, prevailed in the industry.

Survey New York’s oldest culture industry this season, however, and you won’t find many stoics. What you will find are prophets of doom, Cassandras in blazers and black dresses arguing at elegant lunches over What Is to Be Done. Even best-selling publishers and agents fresh from seven-figure deals worry about what’s coming next. Two, five years from now—who knows? Life moves fast in the waning era of print; publishing doesn’t.

Continue reading at:

don’t go changin’September 14

Did you miss me? We’re back from our little summer recess, with a couple of new features on the site: our latest del.icio.us bookmarks, the latest book trade news from Book2Book, and the latest comments and trackbacks from readers. So now there will always be something new to read on the site. There’s also a little tally of how many of you are following us on Twitter or subscribing to our RSS feed (thanks for signing up!)

Just a few small changes. Nothing too unsettling. Nothing that warrants a re-brand to New Publishing Talk, or Publishing Talk 2.0. But what about the real social media change this summer? Facebook fans will have noticed the move to ‘New Facebook’ (www.new.facebook.com). Having initially run the two alternative layouts in parrallel, New Facebook is now the only show in town.

People don’t like change. When you’ve integrated Facebook into your social life, a major change can feel like someone redecorating your front room while you’re out without asking you, like a crack squad of home makeover guerillas. New Facebook has provoked the sort of revolt and fury that social networkers are so good at.

By my reckoning, there are currently around 450 Facebook groups along the lines of “New Faceboo