Today Google emailed their Book Search participants (among others, I'm sure) with a notice that a preliminary agreement has been reached in regards to their digitization of materials still under copyright, without the copyright-holders' permission.
I haven't had time to read all of it yet, and doubt if I ever make it through.
It raises more questions than answers.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Someone tell Sheboygan how the Web works
I haven't posted much recently because I'm so busy at work and at home, but this is a short-enough story that I can comment on it. Plus, it's one I don't want to forget.
MediaPost has a short article today on a link take-down command from the police department of Sheboygan to a private citizen.
This shows two things, 1) Scary authoritarianism right here in the U.S., 2) Scary ignorance of people in authority of exactly how this new-fangled computer stuff works.
MediaPost has a short article today on a link take-down command from the police department of Sheboygan to a private citizen.
This shows two things, 1) Scary authoritarianism right here in the U.S., 2) Scary ignorance of people in authority of exactly how this new-fangled computer stuff works.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
The "cloud" produces rain
In this article in the NYTimes, the publishing of the names and birthdates, along with other information about 34,000 minors. The only sanction against the company even hinted at in the article is a possible lawsuit that might be brought against them by a rival whose data, which may or may not have been obtained legally, was revealed during the same oopsie.
Seriously, that's the best America can do? Corporations "accidentally" release credit card numbers, social security numbers, and now private data on minors, and as long as they cry "sorry" it is okay with us.
Seriously, that's the best America can do? Corporations "accidentally" release credit card numbers, social security numbers, and now private data on minors, and as long as they cry "sorry" it is okay with us.
Friday, July 18, 2008
"New" online bookstore
I received an email promotion from Borders today with the lofty tagline, "introducing a real bookstore. Online." If only it were.
I clicked on the "books" tab of the landing page, well, since they were promoting that it's a bookstore, right? The tab leads to a list of topsellers, with star ratings, covers, and basic bibliographic information. To get to non-bestsellers, or most other titles, various links are offered across the top and left side bars to navigate, etc. Then I clicked on the link to "Are you there vodka, it's me, Chelsea." I'm not a fan of Chelsea Handler's, so her marketing department did a great job suckering me in with the nostalgic Judy Blume reference.
The book page in no way suggests a "brick" bookstore. The book description consists of three paragraphs, and given the title, I would bet that the marketing department that handled the book is equally disappointed in the presentation here. Oh, wait, after a minute of searching I've found the skimpy "Customer Reviews" link. I suppose in that way it's like a bookstore--sometimes it takes a few minutes to find someone else who's read the book.
So, this is not a real bookstore--online. There are no books to browse, it takes one a while to find a way around the "bookstore," and there are no books to browse! Amazon's not perfect, but at least they have that part right.
I clicked on the "books" tab of the landing page, well, since they were promoting that it's a bookstore, right? The tab leads to a list of topsellers, with star ratings, covers, and basic bibliographic information. To get to non-bestsellers, or most other titles, various links are offered across the top and left side bars to navigate, etc. Then I clicked on the link to "Are you there vodka, it's me, Chelsea." I'm not a fan of Chelsea Handler's, so her marketing department did a great job suckering me in with the nostalgic Judy Blume reference.
The book page in no way suggests a "brick" bookstore. The book description consists of three paragraphs, and given the title, I would bet that the marketing department that handled the book is equally disappointed in the presentation here. Oh, wait, after a minute of searching I've found the skimpy "Customer Reviews" link. I suppose in that way it's like a bookstore--sometimes it takes a few minutes to find someone else who's read the book.
So, this is not a real bookstore--online. There are no books to browse, it takes one a while to find a way around the "bookstore," and there are no books to browse! Amazon's not perfect, but at least they have that part right.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
ChunkIt! ChuckIt?
I don't get it. Christopher Bell praises a new beta program, ChunkIt!, which shows previews of websites before one clicks on them. I admit to a love/hate relationship with Google, but doesn't it do that, anyway? I know there aren't any pretty pictures, but the one or two sentences are usually enough to tell me if I'm going to arrive at aaupnet.org or aaup.org.
What he doesn't mention, but may be implied by his writing for School Library Journal, is that this could benefit those with problems reading, be they 5-year-olds or impatient 36-year-olds.
What he doesn't mention, but may be implied by his writing for School Library Journal, is that this could benefit those with problems reading, be they 5-year-olds or impatient 36-year-olds.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Reports from AAUP
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
The Future of (Self/Academic) Publishing
Today Chronicle of Higher Ed features an article on up-and-coming textbook piracy websites, Textbook Piracy Grows Online, Prompting a Counterattack From Publishers.
As I said earlier, I'm looking forward to seeing how some experiments in ebooks turn out. We can't follow the example of the RIAA, and I'm skeptical of Ithaka and their recommendations, even when I agree with them.
I wonder if the survivors of the "new economy" of print might be those who translate the services provided by old companies into a new format. What I mean is that we currently look at ourselves as book publishers. That's what we do. But part of what we do (as has been mentioned many places by others) is add value to academics' work--editors and reviewers, typesetters and designers, marketers and royalty experts. It might be that those who succeed are those that offer the value-added services, say, blind reviews, for a fee, through an easy-to-access web interface. And, if a manuscript passes the reviewers, the author might be offered an opportunity to purchase additional editing, and to choose how she or he wishes to make the book available. I know, there are plenty of self-publishing services, but I don't think there is anything like this model, yet. A Google search for academic self-publishing returned, first, Self-Publishing Textbooks and Instructional Materials, available as a paperback for $32.95.
As I said earlier, I'm looking forward to seeing how some experiments in ebooks turn out. We can't follow the example of the RIAA, and I'm skeptical of Ithaka and their recommendations, even when I agree with them.
I wonder if the survivors of the "new economy" of print might be those who translate the services provided by old companies into a new format. What I mean is that we currently look at ourselves as book publishers. That's what we do. But part of what we do (as has been mentioned many places by others) is add value to academics' work--editors and reviewers, typesetters and designers, marketers and royalty experts. It might be that those who succeed are those that offer the value-added services, say, blind reviews, for a fee, through an easy-to-access web interface. And, if a manuscript passes the reviewers, the author might be offered an opportunity to purchase additional editing, and to choose how she or he wishes to make the book available. I know, there are plenty of self-publishing services, but I don't think there is anything like this model, yet. A Google search for academic self-publishing returned, first, Self-Publishing Textbooks and Instructional Materials, available as a paperback for $32.95.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
An Owie, again, from Ithaka
This morning's Inside Higher Education features and article by Kevin Guthrie, president of Ithaka and former president of JSTOR, entitled "Thinking Like an Entrepreneur." The article touts the behavior the title names, suggesting that online ventures from academia should follow the same basic models as as online ventures from, well, undergraduate students. From what I've seen, they certainly practice what they preach. This article is an example, a reminder to read the report they just published in spite of its length and my long reading list.
From my perspective, I had a slightly dog-eared moment where I heard, "Sustainability, funds . . . marketing . . . impact and value . . . marketing . . . planning marketing . . . flexibility and responsiveness . . . marketing." What they don't mention is that [in]flexibility within the academy (or government, in general) is challenging in itself. As a small department within a large university, our hands are frequently tied by regulations created and maintained by entities that regard multi-million dollar projects as typical, when our usual transactions run to the hundreds of dollars. It is the same mindset that shut out small restoration companies and housing providers after Katrina, when single contracts were given out for huge projects which rightly should have been regarded as many small projects which could have been more efficiently managed.
On that note, what does it indicated when access to current issues of the Journal of American History through the History Cooperative (a cooperative which the U of I Press is largely responsible for managing) is no longer available through the U of I Libraries? One has to use the (much more expensive) provider EBSCO. Ah, the economics of scale.
From my perspective, I had a slightly dog-eared moment where I heard, "Sustainability, funds . . . marketing . . . impact and value . . . marketing . . . planning marketing . . . flexibility and responsiveness . . . marketing." What they don't mention is that [in]flexibility within the academy (or government, in general) is challenging in itself. As a small department within a large university, our hands are frequently tied by regulations created and maintained by entities that regard multi-million dollar projects as typical, when our usual transactions run to the hundreds of dollars. It is the same mindset that shut out small restoration companies and housing providers after Katrina, when single contracts were given out for huge projects which rightly should have been regarded as many small projects which could have been more efficiently managed.
On that note, what does it indicated when access to current issues of the Journal of American History through the History Cooperative (a cooperative which the U of I Press is largely responsible for managing) is no longer available through the U of I Libraries? One has to use the (much more expensive) provider EBSCO. Ah, the economics of scale.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Google a "Destination"?
One way librarians are lightyears ahead of most Internet observers and analysts is the way they split items by function, first. I don't recall ever being in a library without a reference section.
This morning's Newsbrief from Online Media Daily, Google Remains Internet's Top Draw. Imagine this headline in LJ, "Phonebook remains most-used book in the library." Or, better yet, "Map of Disneyworld Biggest Draw at Theme Park." Google's not a destination, or a draw. It's probably the best directory since a real-live person could connect you to "Jefferson 4-3-8," but it isn't a destination in the same way that IRS.gov, also on the list of most-visited sites, is.
This morning's Newsbrief from Online Media Daily, Google Remains Internet's Top Draw. Imagine this headline in LJ, "Phonebook remains most-used book in the library." Or, better yet, "Map of Disneyworld Biggest Draw at Theme Park." Google's not a destination, or a draw. It's probably the best directory since a real-live person could connect you to "Jefferson 4-3-8," but it isn't a destination in the same way that IRS.gov, also on the list of most-visited sites, is.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
The First Step is to Acknowledge There is a Problem
I don't know if anyone's done a study of list crawl (sprawl, migration, something), but that's how I got on the "NIH Update/Newsletter" list. The spring Newsletter features their "review of peer review." Their Implementation Plan Report sounds like good applied common sense. I'm not sure how well it will be received. The guidelines themselves would actually seem to apply to any peer-review process (including publishing), not just applications for NIH funding.
(Though I have heard some complaints about the review process, most of the complaints seem to be about the application process itself. No word in this newsletter about reforming the forms.)
(Though I have heard some complaints about the review process, most of the complaints seem to be about the application process itself. No word in this newsletter about reforming the forms.)
Google Books vs. [Academic Library Catalog]
Yesterday's LJXpress features an article by two academic librarians who compared search results from SUNY's new(ish) BISON catalog to Google Book Search. Unsurprisingly, Google returned more hits. My question, along with other responders, is whether the hits are better than a traditional catalog?
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
You're Either With Us, or Against Us
Today's LJ Academic Newswire gives the highlights from a recent (apparently unpublished) advisory memo from the ARL to academic library directors.
I think the "mission drift" that they discuss, referring to the comments in the Ithaka Report, is a problem in many universities. The author of an article in this morning's IHE sees universities as the ones drifting from their mission. If anything, the UP "drift" from their university's mission is similar to the drift many libraries find themselves taking. Neither make the kind of money that has become the true primary mission of many universities, with research and education coming in a distant second and third. If I remember the Ithaka Report correctly, it emphasized the practicality of making nice with the money-focused elements of the university rather than holding to concepts of liberal education that both libraries and UPs still try to cling to.
Because libraries and presses seem to be sliding to the margins of the universities, of course they are going to end up fighting each other for resources. As UPs try to bring themselves in line with expectations From Above, rifts with libraries will become more common.
Of course, I don't believe that the walled garden model of academic publishing has a real future.
I think the "mission drift" that they discuss, referring to the comments in the Ithaka Report, is a problem in many universities. The author of an article in this morning's IHE sees universities as the ones drifting from their mission. If anything, the UP "drift" from their university's mission is similar to the drift many libraries find themselves taking. Neither make the kind of money that has become the true primary mission of many universities, with research and education coming in a distant second and third. If I remember the Ithaka Report correctly, it emphasized the practicality of making nice with the money-focused elements of the university rather than holding to concepts of liberal education that both libraries and UPs still try to cling to.
Because libraries and presses seem to be sliding to the margins of the universities, of course they are going to end up fighting each other for resources. As UPs try to bring themselves in line with expectations From Above, rifts with libraries will become more common.
Of course, I don't believe that the walled garden model of academic publishing has a real future.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Global Results?
Last month I commented on the problems that the U of I Global Campus is having. The Powers That Be are concerned because enrollment is much, much lower than expected.
Today's IHE "Quick Takes" noted that Western Governors University just passed the 10,000 enrollment milestone, eleven years! after opening its website doors.
Today's IHE "Quick Takes" noted that Western Governors University just passed the 10,000 enrollment milestone, eleven years! after opening its website doors.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
The Dog & Pony Show
From this morning's Shelf Awareness:
"Incidentally overall attendance at BEA was 28,494, which was up compared to the last BEA in Los Angeles, in 2003, when attendance was 27,143. By contrast, attendance last year in New York, traditionally the most popular site for BEA, was 36,112.
. . .
Total attendance of booksellers, librarians and other non-exhibitors, including the press, was 9,250."
9250! I think this just might explain how they can even think about meeting in Las Vegas next year. I wonder how the ratio of attendees to performers rate against other trade shows?
"Incidentally overall attendance at BEA was 28,494, which was up compared to the last BEA in Los Angeles, in 2003, when attendance was 27,143. By contrast, attendance last year in New York, traditionally the most popular site for BEA, was 36,112.
. . .
Total attendance of booksellers, librarians and other non-exhibitors, including the press, was 9,250."
9250! I think this just might explain how they can even think about meeting in Las Vegas next year. I wonder how the ratio of attendees to performers rate against other trade shows?
Monday, June 2, 2008
Self-interest & Profit
What's the difference between money-making and profit-taking? Are the for-profit mega-publishers who print obscene numbers of textbooks for equally obscene profit any different than Halliburton and their ilk?
This morning's Inside Higher Ed in their "Views" section (essentially an op-ed) featured Robert Brooker, a textbook author, discussing "The Value of a Textbook." If you're paid to do a full-time-plus job, when do you find time to write a textbook? Aren't you already being paid, to some extent, to write the text, as it flows from teaching and learning obligations inherent to the title "professor?"
Many online "textbooks" have been made available for "free." Basically any programming you want to learn can be learned online--it might not be as clean as an edited book, but frequently there are tips and real feedback from real people that can solve problems faster than any book ever could. For more traditional learning, there are programs such as Connexions, which allow for seemingly "interactive" teaching without any actual interaction. Again, much better than a static text.
This morning's Inside Higher Ed in their "Views" section (essentially an op-ed) featured Robert Brooker, a textbook author, discussing "The Value of a Textbook." If you're paid to do a full-time-plus job, when do you find time to write a textbook? Aren't you already being paid, to some extent, to write the text, as it flows from teaching and learning obligations inherent to the title "professor?"
Many online "textbooks" have been made available for "free." Basically any programming you want to learn can be learned online--it might not be as clean as an edited book, but frequently there are tips and real feedback from real people that can solve problems faster than any book ever could. For more traditional learning, there are programs such as Connexions, which allow for seemingly "interactive" teaching without any actual interaction. Again, much better than a static text.
Friday, May 30, 2008
IHE on Microsoft , Digitization, and Libraries
Andy Guess reported a little on the future of libraries' digitization efforts in this morning's Inside Higher Ed.
I find myself back to questions from earlier blog posts. Why does everything need to be digitized? Why does everything need to be 'saved' with such evangelical fervor?
I find myself back to questions from earlier blog posts. Why does everything need to be digitized? Why does everything need to be 'saved' with such evangelical fervor?
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Watermarking (DRM) and Privacy
MediaPost's Daily Online Examiner today comments briefly on the Center for Democracy & Technology's "Privacy Principles for Digital Watermarking," which can be downloaded from this page.
The E-Publishing Circuit
Last week David Pogue's Circuits article covered his experience with giving PDFs of his books to scammers who proceeded to post the items online. This week he follows-up, as he frequently does, with readers' responses to his article.
I'm a bit surprised that he didn't go to any "experts" who have experimented with book epublishing. That said, the responses he published seemed to cover most of the ground experts would, from recommendations to refer special-needs readers to Bookshare to various distributors who are experimenting with book DRM.
I'm a bit surprised that he didn't go to any "experts" who have experimented with book epublishing. That said, the responses he published seemed to cover most of the ground experts would, from recommendations to refer special-needs readers to Bookshare to various distributors who are experimenting with book DRM.
And More . . . (but no mention of Live Search Books)
Fortune Magazine (via OnlineMediaDaily) in an interview with Kevin Johnson of Microsoft, unveils a tiny part of the overall strategy of Microsoft in the epic battle, Microsoft vs. Google. The recent closure/reorganization of Live Book did not even rate a mention. There is some scary big-brother-esque "engagement mapping" mentioned.
And More . . .
The Chronicle of Higher Ed this morning featured a story, "Microsoft's Book-Search Project Has a Surprise Ending" By ANDREA L. FOSTER (nearly a week after the event, and I've included no links because it will disappear behind a wall after 5 days, both reasons why Chronicle is loosing ground to Inside).
I'm still not convinced Microsoft ever meant this project to be more than a pain in Google's side. Their "Surprise Ending" has the hallmarks of an attempt to "monetize" the effort in a more efficient way for them--with proprietary software and a deal to lease it to another company (Ingram), rather than proprietary algorithms and walled information. I never thought I would be defending Microsoft, makers of Outlook (ick).
Thanks to Lisa Bayer for the forward from CHE.
I'm still not convinced Microsoft ever meant this project to be more than a pain in Google's side. Their "Surprise Ending" has the hallmarks of an attempt to "monetize" the effort in a more efficient way for them--with proprietary software and a deal to lease it to another company (Ingram), rather than proprietary algorithms and walled information. I never thought I would be defending Microsoft, makers of Outlook (ick).
Thanks to Lisa Bayer for the forward from CHE.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
More on Microsoft Going Scan-Free
Library Journal's Academic Newswire today did a slightly-more in-depth piece on Microsoft's intentions to drop LiveSearch.
They seem a bit ticked off, but reported that Open Content Alliance (OCA) founder Brewster Kahle wasn't, though the quotes they attribute to him sound like he's disappointed to be loosing the future funding (and who wouldn't be).
They're keeping the equipment and training. With costs for server space declining, and so much of it available for free, I can't see that this will be a huge hardship until it comes time to update the software. But then again, I'm probably naive. I also tend to be skeptical about the need for new non-profits; and about the need for preserving every single book ever printed (a check in the why-I'm-not-a-librarian box).
They seem a bit ticked off, but reported that Open Content Alliance (OCA) founder Brewster Kahle wasn't, though the quotes they attribute to him sound like he's disappointed to be loosing the future funding (and who wouldn't be).
They're keeping the equipment and training. With costs for server space declining, and so much of it available for free, I can't see that this will be a huge hardship until it comes time to update the software. But then again, I'm probably naive. I also tend to be skeptical about the need for new non-profits; and about the need for preserving every single book ever printed (a check in the why-I'm-not-a-librarian box).
Friday, May 23, 2008
Take that, Google!
Microsoft's latest volley in their match with Google: They are ending the "Live Search" book digitization and search project, and making the digitized books available for free to the original "owners."
Global Problems
The Chicago Tribune reports on the troubles the U of I's Global Campus is facing.
To me the Global Campus initiative resembles a scaled-up, tacked-on version of the online degree that the Graduate School of Library and Information Science has offered for at least the past ten years. The "tacked-on" element is the problem.
Inside Higher Ed pointed to this article.
To me the Global Campus initiative resembles a scaled-up, tacked-on version of the online degree that the Graduate School of Library and Information Science has offered for at least the past ten years. The "tacked-on" element is the problem.
Inside Higher Ed pointed to this article.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
More on Orphan Works
Yesterday's LJ features a short piece on the forthcoming Orphan Works legislation.
I understand why libraries interested in digitizing and making available books are for it, and I understand the enthusiasm of big corporations interested in digitizing and using so-called "orphan" works to pad their lists without paying the creators. I'm not sure how this legislation enforces the constitutional protections of the rights of the creators to their works of science and art.
I understand why libraries interested in digitizing and making available books are for it, and I understand the enthusiasm of big corporations interested in digitizing and using so-called "orphan" works to pad their lists without paying the creators. I'm not sure how this legislation enforces the constitutional protections of the rights of the creators to their works of science and art.
EarlyWord.com
Today in Shelf Awareness:
"How Libraries Buy: Librarians Reveal Their Methods for Collection Development, Saturday, May 31, 9:30-10:30 a.m. A panel of librarians will discuss how they buy books, what they're looking for, how publishers can best reach them and more. Moderated by Nora Rawlinson, founder of EarlyWord.com, the Publisher/Librarian Connection."
I was excited, until I took a look at EarlyWord.com. It's okay. Basically a clearing house of links and "how-tos" for beginner and/or non-MLS librarians. I was interested to see that they have a publisher-catalog links page. Then let down with their disclaimer, "This list is NOT in alpha order. Use “find on this page” to locate specific catalogs." To be fair, the sidebar links are alphabetized. I would love to see some programming and/or innovation in presentation on this site. Alphabetizing would be good, too. Of course, I'm not working as a librarian.
"How Libraries Buy: Librarians Reveal Their Methods for Collection Development, Saturday, May 31, 9:30-10:30 a.m. A panel of librarians will discuss how they buy books, what they're looking for, how publishers can best reach them and more. Moderated by Nora Rawlinson, founder of EarlyWord.com, the Publisher/Librarian Connection."
I was excited, until I took a look at EarlyWord.com. It's okay. Basically a clearing house of links and "how-tos" for beginner and/or non-MLS librarians. I was interested to see that they have a publisher-catalog links page. Then let down with their disclaimer, "This list is NOT in alpha order. Use “find on this page” to locate specific catalogs." To be fair, the sidebar links are alphabetized. I would love to see some programming and/or innovation in presentation on this site. Alphabetizing would be good, too. Of course, I'm not working as a librarian.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Google Health (AHHH!), NYTimes
Why, Google, why?
Do I want my private health records held by Google, who I do not see as being terribly responsible or responsive when it comes to accuracy? No!
Do I want my private health records held by Google, who I do not see as being terribly responsible or responsive when it comes to accuracy? No!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Who makes a book?
Late last week Book Business announced that a "Community-Sourced Book Publisher Launched" called WEbook, kind of a fiction-focused Wikipedia for-profit. As I scrolled through the proposals, I was reminded of another article in CTIAdvertising, When Did It Bekome Acxeptable to Spell Incuhrrectly? WEbook admits that they want to do for book publishing what "American Idol did for music." So, the WEbook "active projects"/proposals section is obviously the humiliation part of the program, where people who should be learning how to use their spell check are instead learning how to use WEbook, convinced they can write a book without knowing how to write a sentence.
There is something of an "ivy-league" and cliquish mentality in publishing, whether it is academic publishing or, from what I have read and heard from published fiction authors, literature, or even mass-market. There has also been a process to getting published which isn't completely dependent on breaking in to the clique. It's largely dependent on learning to write so that someone wants to read it.
Which brings me to this NYTimes article, "He Wrote 200,000 Books (but Computers Did Some of the Work). Did he "write" the books? I don't think so. He wrote the code that wrote the books. Because Google writes the algorithms that compile the data about websites doesn't mean that they wrote the data. He compiled the books. So, he's an author without being a writer.
Both these publishing models produce commodified books. Books-by-the-pound, at some point probably worth less than the value of the recyclable paper they are printed on. I don't think the models are inherently bad, but there is something shifty about their implementation. I think if P.T. Barnum were alive, he would approve.
There is something of an "ivy-league" and cliquish mentality in publishing, whether it is academic publishing or, from what I have read and heard from published fiction authors, literature, or even mass-market. There has also been a process to getting published which isn't completely dependent on breaking in to the clique. It's largely dependent on learning to write so that someone wants to read it.
Which brings me to this NYTimes article, "He Wrote 200,000 Books (but Computers Did Some of the Work). Did he "write" the books? I don't think so. He wrote the code that wrote the books. Because Google writes the algorithms that compile the data about websites doesn't mean that they wrote the data. He compiled the books. So, he's an author without being a writer.
Both these publishing models produce commodified books. Books-by-the-pound, at some point probably worth less than the value of the recyclable paper they are printed on. I don't think the models are inherently bad, but there is something shifty about their implementation. I think if P.T. Barnum were alive, he would approve.
Monday, March 31, 2008
More Googlization
I had not been aware that Google has entered the web bookmarks/social sharing arena until I noticed a link from my last post, "Share what you read: You can display your Google Reader shared items on your blog." Well, one can do that with their "Links" feature, too. Oh, this is soo tempting. Similar to the prospect of using the "Shoppers Card" at the grocery store. Google as the Wishmaster--"Just wish for it, and it can be yours." I'm still not certain what the price will be.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Copy Rules
It's Launch Season again, which means that I'm alternately irritated, amused, and enlightened by the wide range of titles that we have to learn and plan for in just over two weeks. We actually have a good copywriter, so these "rules" are not aimed at him, but were a way to blow off steam after reading frequently optimistic descriptions of many of our titles.
Denise (the Cynic)’s Academic Press Marketing Copy Rules (That Everyone Breaks)
1. Be realistic. Every academic title “examines,” “illuminates,” or otherwise “reveals” something, but they are rarely “riveting,” “exciting” or “groundbreaking,” let alone an “instant classic.” Only use the word “stunning” if a stun-gun is involved because chances are, at best, the “revelations” are plodding and coherent.
2. Don’t use words that hurt. “Extensive” and “exhaustive” exhaust extensively. And “painstaking” says the author was in pain as she wrote it, and intends to pass it on.
3. Every frontlist book in the catalog should be “new,” but then so should every piece of copy.
4. Use the news writer’s rule: Don’t “bury the lead.” The main point of the book should appear in the first two sentences of copy. If you’re unsure what the point of the book is--it should be the part of the book that is not already known by everyone in the discipline. If you’re still unsure, ask the author or acquiring editor “What prompted you to write/acquire this title?” (That always goes over better than “Why the hell are we publishing this crap?”)
5. Another gem from news writing: “Who, what, where, when, why and how.” If you can’t identify these, refer to rule #4.
6. Repeat the title, author, and other bibliographic information only if space is unlimited, because chances are the people who came up with the title think that it is.
7. If you have a say, do campaign for a title and/or subtitle that has some relation to the content of the book. Otherwise be prepared for the reader to be completely lost before the first sentence of copy.
8. Don’t use “the human condition,” or any variation thereof. It usually means someone else’s life sucks, but probably not in the same way that yours does, no matter what you think, and that you’re secretly glad that you’re better than they are.
9. Don’t ask the reader to make leaps of logic, even if the book does.
10. If a word that must be in the copy is not in the dictionary, first italicize, then delete.
If brevity is the soul of wit, I’m at wit’s end.
For more pointers, see:
http://alt-usage-english.org/humorousrules.html
http://www.ameinfo.com/34480.html
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/133379/2067029
Others?
Denise (the Cynic)’s Academic Press Marketing Copy Rules (That Everyone Breaks)
1. Be realistic. Every academic title “examines,” “illuminates,” or otherwise “reveals” something, but they are rarely “riveting,” “exciting” or “groundbreaking,” let alone an “instant classic.” Only use the word “stunning” if a stun-gun is involved because chances are, at best, the “revelations” are plodding and coherent.
2. Don’t use words that hurt. “Extensive” and “exhaustive” exhaust extensively. And “painstaking” says the author was in pain as she wrote it, and intends to pass it on.
3. Every frontlist book in the catalog should be “new,” but then so should every piece of copy.
4. Use the news writer’s rule: Don’t “bury the lead.” The main point of the book should appear in the first two sentences of copy. If you’re unsure what the point of the book is--it should be the part of the book that is not already known by everyone in the discipline. If you’re still unsure, ask the author or acquiring editor “What prompted you to write/acquire this title?” (That always goes over better than “Why the hell are we publishing this crap?”)
5. Another gem from news writing: “Who, what, where, when, why and how.” If you can’t identify these, refer to rule #4.
6. Repeat the title, author, and other bibliographic information only if space is unlimited, because chances are the people who came up with the title think that it is.
7. If you have a say, do campaign for a title and/or subtitle that has some relation to the content of the book. Otherwise be prepared for the reader to be completely lost before the first sentence of copy.
8. Don’t use “the human condition,” or any variation thereof. It usually means someone else’s life sucks, but probably not in the same way that yours does, no matter what you think, and that you’re secretly glad that you’re better than they are.
9. Don’t ask the reader to make leaps of logic, even if the book does.
10. If a word that must be in the copy is not in the dictionary, first italicize, then delete.
If brevity is the soul of wit, I’m at wit’s end.
For more pointers, see:
http://alt-usage-english.org/humorousrules.html
http://www.ameinfo.com/34480.html
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/133379/2067029
Others?
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Day JaVue
My recent post to "Denise the Idealist" referenced this article that points to the yet another report about the "University as Publisher". I need to read the whole thing, but can't get past the first couple of paragraphs and an overwhelming sense of deja-vu all over again.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Harvard OA Mandate: The Death Knell
Library Journal, and many others, reported last month that Harvard is mandating that any work by their scholars should be available for free (to paraphrase wantonly). I'm not sure whether to place this in "Idealist" or "Cynic." One would expect Harvard to be a leader in the Humanities and Social Science move towards electronic, and open access, publication. Given the power that the big publishers have over scholarship, the necessity of a mandate towards OA is unfortunate, but not unsurprising.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Catch-up
During a month of flu and it's aftermath, I've read, but not blogged. Here's some of what I missed:
--An excellent essay on the future of the scholarly monograph by Colin Steele, Emeritus Fellow (Librarian), Australian National University, forwarded by Sandy Thatcher
--LJ Academic Newswire Newsmaker Interview: Student Open Access Activist Gavin Baker
--The NYTimes article on Twine, the data organizer. We'll see. I've tried CiteULike, and have used it inconsistently for the last 18 months or so. I have Zotero loaded at home and work, but until I'm able to use the two "as one" as promised, I don't see it working for the way I work. I have a third type downloaded at work, but it took so long to be "approved" for the BETA version, I lost enthusiasm and never installed it. I know, the three I've named aren't exactly the same types of programs, but realistically serve much the same function (similar to this blog, as a matter of fact).
--This posting to Academic Commons: A Day of Scholarly Communication: A NERCOMP SIG Event .
--And, yesterday, one of the many reports that Harvard is leading the way on open access.
Now back to learning a little JavaScript for my day job.
--An excellent essay on the future of the scholarly monograph by Colin Steele, Emeritus Fellow (Librarian), Australian National University, forwarded by Sandy Thatcher
--LJ Academic Newswire Newsmaker Interview: Student Open Access Activist Gavin Baker
--The NYTimes article on Twine, the data organizer. We'll see. I've tried CiteULike, and have used it inconsistently for the last 18 months or so. I have Zotero loaded at home and work, but until I'm able to use the two "as one" as promised, I don't see it working for the way I work. I have a third type downloaded at work, but it took so long to be "approved" for the BETA version, I lost enthusiasm and never installed it. I know, the three I've named aren't exactly the same types of programs, but realistically serve much the same function (similar to this blog, as a matter of fact).
--This posting to Academic Commons: A Day of Scholarly Communication: A NERCOMP SIG Event .
--And, yesterday, one of the many reports that Harvard is leading the way on open access.
Now back to learning a little JavaScript for my day job.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
RE: "Death of the Corporation"
The Bits blog at the NYT sees the increase of consumer-generated content and the willingness of companies to incorporate "amateur" content into their marketing as the harbinger of the "Death of the individual corporation." I can't agree. Companies might need to be increasingly flexible in their marketing and sales strategies in order to sell their media (content), software, and hardware, but I don't think this empowers the individual. Rather, their conglomerations just continue to feed in to the accumulation of wealth, and of taste, into the hands of a few. In order to get control into citizens hands, people will have to have control of their media without corporations acting as the gatekeepers. I'm not sure that's possible.
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