Google's eReader - What's Missing?

Google eBooks – What’s Missing?

By Guy Borgford

The flurry of digital publishing activity and prevalence of eReaders out there has a new high-profile kid on the block. With Google’s long-anticipated entry into the market, there’s now a platform-agnostic player in the game, with the potential to further revolutionize the publishing industry. At first blush, Google eBooks seems to offer it all: it works on pretty much any platform, it offers the latest best sellers and it’s got a large free offering as well. But what’s missing?

What isn’t really touched on is how will Google’s free experience be monetized via the Google advertising machine? Call me crazy, but I’m hoping for some innovation in the space, with the ability to build in rich, animated advertising, offline tracking and integrated promotional platforms such as sweepstakes and interactive contests to make eReader advertising something advertisers can sink their teeth into. This revolution in electronics and publishing deserves a new advertising model that turns print upside down along with innovation in the digital space. With behavioral targeting in danger of getting the proverbial rug pulled out from under it by privacy advocates, the digital space is going to need to innovate and provide some real value in order to get people to opt-in to their cookie drops.

If we look at the publishing industry from a macro level, we of course go far beyond books. Magazines have taken a huge hit from the digital space, with subscription numbers plummeting, titles closing shop and ad pages struggling under the new competition of new media and shifting media habits. This could be a whole, new game for the magazine trade, with archive issues, free in exchange for a bit of information and a few ads. Me thinks a great way to push subscription offers too. And don’t forget newspapers – there are multiple ways to monetize issues that may have slid past their 24 hour temporal shelf life.

At the end of the day, a large part of the publishing industry has lived in the world of perishable inventory – that’s a touch game to play. With the world moving over to digital via eReaders, perishable becomes a much more subjective term and the 2D, static world of print has new possibilities. Think about a digital library, not funded by dwindling public funds but by advertising and sponsorship dollars.

If anyone finds any information on what Google plans to do with the eReader space from an ad perspective, please let me know! Free books and mags for all - for a price…

Email me your thoughts at: guywborgford@gmail.com
Follow me on twitter @gborgford

A New Global Dream...

You see it everywhere – the ads telling you to read on to get rich. Click here to find out how you can get rich working from home, get rich secrets of the super rich, Richie Rich’s Quickest Way to Get Rich Quicker Than the Next Guy…etc…

In the boom of the industrial age, it’s fair to argue that perhaps this was the American Dream and in some developing nations, people are struggling to gain a shred of that dream as they see it through the lens of popular mass media. Was this a carefully crafted construct of the media elite to promote conspicuous consumption of goods and services beyond any real human need? Or is this an innate human need to not only keep up with the Joneses but do better than them – some primal animal instinct, like a human version of the biggest, brightest plumage or the loudest mating call. I think the argument could be made that it’s a hybrid of both – cultural learning and species/lineage propagation that leads humans to want/need to acquire beyond any rational true needs.

Granted, financial independence would be nice to have. What would you do with the freedom that could bring? Travel? Get that vacation home on the beach? Send your kids to the best schools money can buy? Build a McMansion with a 5 car-garage stuffed with cars that cost as much as most folks’ condos? I believe this last ‘dream’ is becoming a thing of the past. As we as a species become more aware of our precarious position on this beautiful planet, we know that dreams founded on conspicuous consumption are simply not sustainable. And if we as individual consumers have any semblance of selflessness or benevolence, we would already have dreams that are less focused on material wealth and possessions and more focused on the experiences and the freedom to make a difference.

Don’t get me wrong. I am a capitalist through and through. And I also am a true proponent of a system built on meritocracy. However, as we move from the rusted over-indulgence of the industrial age, to one built on information and technology, I think our dreams, goals and ambitions are shifting to less material and selfish, to more experiential, humane and sustainable. Call me an optimist.

With this shift, I see a world of minimalism and distilled experiences that heighten the now. Products and services that cater to getting more out of the present with less are going to be the big winners – think modern, pure, minimal, seamless, empowering and sustainable.

Materialism will become a dirty word. We’re already seeing evidence of that with the current economic crises around the planet. The super rich aren’t advertising as much with their overt displays of wealth. Not too long ago I submitted a script idea for a new investigative journalism program called ‘Carbon Footprints of the Rich and Famous”. I think it was ahead of its time. How many super rich have multiple homes, with massive strains on resources just to keep the grounds watered and the internal humidity in check? It’s a crime against this planet and their fellow human beings – several of whom are funding their extravagance by purchasing their albums, seeing their movies and buying their products. I think we need to bring it all down to Earth and not to pick on those fortunate ones of material fortune, but to show the audience that the real dream should be to still have a beautiful, blue planet for our children and the generations of the future.

A guy can dream...

This post was inspired by:

The Meaning Organization
Traditional businesses are struggling to recover from the economic downturn. They'll need to shift their focus from profits to authentic social engagement to have meaningful impact in the world.
By Umair Haque

http://designmind.frogdesign.com/articles/and-now-the-good-news/the-meaning-organization.html#new

A Day Without Social Is Like A Day Without...

A random Tweet telling of Twitter’s Top Tweeters taking time out of the tweetosphere in recognition of World AIDS Day, December 1, 2010, inspired me to take my own break from my connection to an ever-growing number of people, characters and news sources. Granted I’m no Kim Kardashian, with millions of followers [I still have no idea why so many are interested in her] but I think an issue of such importance to the human race needed to be supported, however seemingly small my gesture.

I started by replacing all my head shot images to the symbolic red ribbon in the very early hours of December 1, changing gears from the freakish light bulb head creature I decided to go with to represent my personal brand – it’s really not that far off reality, but anyway…

Then throughout the day I abstained from all postings, tweets, retweets, Likes, comments, links, thank you notes and other feed-based activities in support of this symbolic and important day.

Celebrity endorsement of social movements within the world of social media has the ability to touch a lot of lives. The viral impact of such simple and minimal gestures holds massive implications for the needs of non profits, political movements, human rights efforts and lobbying efforts, both ‘good and bad’.

Personally, I took the opportunity to take the day off Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn – yes I had to respond to email and messages, but I resisted my usual soap box rants to support the possible ground swell social media can pose on general public knowledge, opinion and support.

It wasn’t easy. Social media plays a huge role in my life, being the primary channel for setting up both business and personal real-life engagements and abstaining from its magnetic charms was like a day in solitary confinement. So rather than brood around the machine, I took a ‘me’ day and took time to do some things that always seem last in line. It was a nice change, but man do I feel better I’m back on my soapbox no longer having to resist that tempting, little retweet button.