Entries tagged with “toc '09” from Tools of Change for Publishing
Photos from New York Times R&D Lab
Andrew Savikas
February 12, 2009
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Nick Bilton was a hit yesterday at the TOC Conference, and during his keynote he talked about what they're working on with content at the NYT R&D Lab. Nick was kind enough to give a few of us a private tour earlier this week, and here's some photos from the trip:
Best of TOC Collection Now Available as Free Ebook Bundle
Andrew Savikas
February 11, 2009
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Hit a glitch with the cover image, but the full ebook bundle (PDF, EPUB, and Kindle-compatible Mobipocket) is now posted for the Best of TOC collection (details on the content here). They're also shutting the Espresso machine down within the hour, so you can still try to grab a print one while/if they're available (no promises, sorry).
At TOC: Best of TOC Writing
Andrew Savikas
February 10, 2009
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One of my favorite books of 2007 was The Best of Technology Writing, edited by Steven Levy. We decided to try something similar for this year's TOC Conference, and over at the O'Reilly booth we have (hot off the Espresso Book Machine) the Best of TOC, a collection of writing from on publishing from around the Web:
It includes writing from TOC speakers:
... and more from around the Web, like John Siracusa.
Because all of the writing in here was born on the Web, it's full of hyperlinks, which we've presented in the print version as footnotes (done automatically, BTW). The shear number of links (there are more than 600 in 126 pages) illustrates how differently we write when it's for the web. Now that all writing is really writing for the web, it's important to both incorporate more links within the content you create, and be sure your print designs and workflow can easily accommodate those links in print (footnotes is one way, but not the only way).
For the digital/production geeks among you, we used DocBook XML and a customization layer of the open-source DocBook XSL Stylesheets. That means we can use the same source to get print, web-friendly PDF, and EPUB, here's a snippet of the source XML:
As soon as we can, we'll also make this available for free download, so don't worry if you don't get a copy from the booth. Thanks to all the writers who agreed to let us share their work.
Open XML API for O'Reilly Metadata
Andrew Savikas
February 10, 2009
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In addition to Bookworm, O'Reilly Labs now includes an RDF-based API into all of O'Reilly's books:
Most publishers are familiar with the ONIX standard for exchanging metadata about books among trading partners. Anyone who's actually spent time working with ONIX knows that its syntax is abstruse at best. While ONIX does use XML, there are more modern, more general, and more immediately comprehensible standards out there, particularly for the basic details like "author," "title," and "edition." One of those standards is RDF, or "Resource Description Framework." This experimental O'Reilly Product Metadata Interface (OPMI) exposes RDF for all of O'Reilly's titles, organized by ISBN.
If anyone onsite (or otherwise) puts anything interesting together with the data, we'll be happy to feature it here on the TOC Blog, just let us know in the comments.
At TOC: Video from Yesterday's Kindle Announcement
Andrew Savikas
February 10, 2009
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Courtesy of Phil Torrone at makezine.com, here's video from yesterday's Kindle announcement:
At TOC: Bookworm Online EPUB Reader Now Part of O'Reilly Labs
Andrew Savikas
February 10, 2009
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Update: There are now 400+ shiny DRM-free EPUB books from O'Reilly if you want to give Bookworm a test drive. Much of what's on our complete list with a green "E" next to it is available in EPUB and is Bookworm-friendly (the rest is just PDF for now, but you'll get the EPUB as a free update when it's available). (And get an extra 20% off through Feb. 20 with code EBKDSC, which is 40% off the print price.) More about our ebook bundles (free lifetime updates! No DRM! Kindle-compatible!) over here.
Regular readers know we're big fans of the Bookworm online EPUB reader. With Bookworm, you upload and organize your ebooks, and can read them online as well as a variety of mobile devices (iPhone shown below). It's open source, and built on top of well-documented and supported frameworks and standards:
You can even pick up where you left off reading as you move across devices.
As more content becomes available in EPUB format, tools like Bookworm encourage standards compliance (by rejecting invalid EPUB), and offer an alternative to proprietary ebook management reading/management systems like Digital Editions or Sony's eBook Library Software. (There's also Calibre, an open-source desktop ebook management system, which like Bookworm is built with Python.)
We liked Bookworm so much that we invited principal developer (and TOC speaker) Liza Daly to bring it into O'Reilly Labs, the R&D space that we're re-launching at this year's TOC Conference. From her post on the Labs blog:
From the beginning, O'Reilly has been an enthusiastic supporter of the project. Uniting the two under the Labs banner is a natural fit.
What does this mean for Bookworm's future?
Most importantly, core Bookworm code will remain open-source. If you would like to use Bookworm code, even commercially, you're encouraged to do so.
As part of the Labs project, we may add some features that won't be part of the core open-source package. Most other changes will be free and BSD-licensed. We're just beginning to think about where we can take this project.
I'll remain as the primary developer of Bookworm, but I hope that the added exposure O'Reilly brings to the project will encourage wider participation, not just of code but of ideas. I'm looking forward to taking ebook innovation to new places in 2009.
In addition to Bookworm, we've also opened up an RDF-based view of the public metadata for our books. Nearly all of this data was already available in a scattershot way from our catalog pages, the book's copyright page, Safari Books Online, and other sources -- our new "O'Reilly Product Metadata Interface" brings it all together in a standard, computer-friendly format.
This is just the beginning of a variety of experiments and pilot projects we have planned for the months ahead.
At TOC: A Different Way of Doing Booth Books
Andrew Savikas
February 9, 2009
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At most of our conferences, we sell books from our booth, and last year's TOC Conference was no exception. This year we're trying something a bit different -- including a way to browse those books virtually:
- Test drive the Espresso Book Machine. Near the O'Reilly booth we've arranged a very special debut of the 2nd-generation EBM, and pre-loaded it with about 10 O'Reilly titles (including keynoter Jeff Jarvis' new book, What Would Google Do?, and a special "Best of TOC" compilation of some of the best writing from the past year about the future of publishing from our blog and around the Web.) You can buy any of the available titles, and have it printed on the spot. We did our best to pick titles that were well-suited to the Espresso.
- Try all the books on Safari. You'll hear a lot about digital books and reading at TOC, and while standalone ebooks and devices are a hot topic, Safari Books Online has been delivering subscription-based access to digital books for nearly a decade. We've set up something special for TOC attendees, and started off your virtual "bookshelf" with 10 of the titles on display at the O'Reilly booth. It's a chance to experience a successful digital delivery model (now on your mobile phone too) while exploring thousands of books, videos, and articles.
The EBM is brand new, so thanks in advance for your patience when checking it out -- it'll be on display next to the O'Reilly booth in the exhibitor room next to the main ballroom. The exhibit space is open from 10 am - 4 pm on Tuesday (plus the exhibitor reception from 6-7:30 pm), and then 10am - 5pm on Wednesday.
At TOC: Drawing for Pre-loaded Sony Reader Signed by Tim O'Reilly
Andrew Savikas
February 9, 2009
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Though much of the ebook buzz today has been around Kindle and Plastic Logic, the Sony Reader has a real following, and the company's new touch-screen version is by far the most elegant-looking reader I've come across (check out this session on Wednesday for a look at the device landscape). Because Sony (wisely) supports EPUB natively, it's a great fit with our ebook bundles.
Sony has kindly donated a PRS-700 for the TOC Conference, and to celebrate crossing the 400-title milestone for titles available as ebook bundles today, we're giving it away, pre-loaded with as many of them as I can fit on an 8GB SD card in EPUB format, and signed by Tim O'Reilly. Here's a photo of the reader:
That's more than $12,000 in ebooks! All paid TOC attendees (sorry speakers, press, and staff) are eligible, and we'll announce the winner on Wednesday (you must be present to win).
Safari Books Online Goes Mobile
Allen Noren
February 9, 2009
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Like much of the publishing world, I'm eager to hear about Amazon's latest version of the Kindle. But that's not the only news today. I'm sitting here at TOC and talking to John Chodacki from Safari Books Online and, with a smile on his face, he's showing me beta version of m.safaribooksonline.com. (In full disclosure, Safari is a joint venture between O'Reilly and Pearson.)
The smile is well deserved. It looks great, it's fast, and I love the stripped-down navigation and lack of clutter. It's got a couple of bugs, and I don't like that I can't read our highly designed Head First books, but it's a Beta.
The mobile version will be released on 23 February, and if you're a Safari subscriber and have feedback, send it to safarimobile AT safaribooksonline DOT com. If you're not already a subscriber, you can get a free trial.
TOC 2009 (Almost) Sold Out!
Andrew Savikas
February 8, 2009
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The 2009 TOC Conference, starting tomorrow in New York, is now Sold Out almost sold out. We rearranged some of the seating to make room for a few more. Get in before we really sell out. It's encouraging to see so much excitement about the future, despite the challenges of the present.
Stay tuned to this blog throughout the week for updates from the show, or for realtime coverage, follow hashtag "#toc" on Twitter. We'll also have coverage (including video if all goes well) of tomorrow's Amazon announcement.
Neat TOC-Inspired Videos on the Future of Learning
Andrew Savikas
February 4, 2009
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Last May, Rutgers Univeristy English Dept. Chair Richard E. Miller sent in a nice note about how the 2008 TOC Conference had inspired him and his colleague, Paul Hammond:
The conference that my collaborator, Paul Hammond, and I attended in New York this winter was transformative for us. We returned to the university with a very clear sense of what we needed to be doing to bring the humanities to the table for discussions about the future of higher education.
Richard sent me a follow-up note recently, and though regrettably he won't be attending this year, he's posted a delightfully optimistic video discussing the present and future of writing, reading, learning, and publishing:
I am sorry that Paul and I won't be attending TOC this year. Last year's event was one of the most influential, transformative experiences I've had at a conference. Alas, in a story I'm sure you're hearing everywhere, the collapse of the economy and the state of New Jersey's educational budget makes it impossible to fund the trip this year.
The most recent work that Paul and I have completed reflects how much TOC has influenced our thinking about the future of academic publishing. I presented this at the Modern Language Association's national conference late in December. Paul and I have presented it together at Apple's national sales meeting in November and will be presenting it at national meetings of Apple CIO's in February and in April. We'd love to know what you think of it.
It's called "This is How We Dream."
Part 1:
Part 2:
(Here's Part 1 and Part 2 if you can't see the embedded videos.)
Extraordinary Piece on the Future (and Past) of Digital Books
Andrew Savikas
February 2, 2009
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Over on Ars Technica, John Siracusa revisits the history of the ebook, and explains why he thinks there's very much a future in digital reading:
If you remain unconvinced, here's one final exercise, in the grand tradition of a particular family of Internet analogies. Take all of your arguments against the inevitability of e-books and substitute the word "horse" for "book" and the word "car" for "e-book." Here are a few examples to whet your appetite for the (really) inevitable debate in the discussion section at the end of this article.
"Books will never go away." True! Horses have not gone away either.
"Books have advantages over e-books that will never be overcome." True! Horses can travel over rough terrain that no car can navigate. Paved roads don't go everywhere, nor should they.
"Books provide sensory/sentimental/sensual experiences that e-books can't match." True! Cars just can't match the experience of caring for and riding a horse: the smells, the textures, the sensations, the companionship with another living being.
Lather, rinse, repeat. Did you ride a horse to work today? I didn't. I'm sure plenty of people swore they would never ride in or operate a "horseless carriage"--and they never did! And then they died.
Siracusa goes on to eloquently elucidate why this market is extremely attractive for a publisher:
What are the publisher's costs for this deal? Well, there may be a one-time, fixed cost to prepare a digital incarnation of the book to hand over to the e-book seller. But the publisher probably already has such a thing, e.g., for use in the editing process prior to traditional print publishing. In fact, these days, most authors produce the original work in digital form to begin with.
Let's see, what else? Um, that's it. The publisher hands over a file. Then, every month, a check arrives from the e-book seller. There is no additional cost to the publisher per unit sold. There are no printing costs, no warehousing, no trucks or planes to deliver merchandise. There's no forecast of demand, with the accompanying dire consequences of unsold inventory or unrealized income if the predictions are wrong one direction or the other. There's no tracking of and accounting for unsold books, no retailers cutting the covers off of paperbacks and shipping them back to the publisher as proof of their destruction. (These days, an affidavit is accepted as proof of the books' destruction, which is only slightly less wasteful and absurd.)
In short, the terms are unbelievably favorable for publishers. It essentially moves them from print publishing margins to software publishing margins: pay once for the creation of the content, sell an infinite number of times with no additional per-unit cost.
The full post is lengthy, but well worth a full read.
(And of course ebooks and digital publishing will be a big part of the program at next week's TOC Conference in New York. If you haven't signed up yet, register today while there's still space left.)
Spots Still Open for TOC Roundtables
Andrew Savikas
January 21, 2009
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Despite a grim few months for the industry, attendance for the 2009 TOC Conference has remained consistently ahead of last year's numbers (and remember -- we sold out last year, so reserve your spot now). Last year's show made it clear New York was the right place to be, and this year's program and speaker lineup are shaping up to be an amazing three days (I'm admittedly partial, so don't just take my word for it).
One of the best things about a conference like this is the chance to connect in person with people you've perhaps only met online or follow via a blog or Twitter. It's also a chance to get key players at the same table to agitate for new standards or practices. We added Roundtables this year to the program to give you a chance to schedule informal meetings of like-minded attendees. For example, there's a great panel scheduled for Wednesday afternoon on the universal standards that goes beyond just typical sales and distribution -- a companion roundtable to try and flesh out some concrete next steps would certainly be of interest to a lot of attendees. Sound like something you'd sit in on? Sign up to lead it.
There's limited slots open for the Roundtables, which are scheduled for Tuesday evening, Feb. 10. Plan to grab a drink at the sponsor reception, check out a few of the lightning demos, and then take a seat at one of the Roundtables.
Early Registration for TOC Conference Ends Tomorrow Today
Mac Slocum
December 18, 2008
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The $200 early registration discount for the Tools of Change for Publishing conference, held Feb. 9-11 in New York, ends tomorrow today. Event information and registration details are available at the conference site.
The roster for the third annual TOC conference is nearly complete, and we're excited by the caliber of tutorials, sessions and speakers (and we aren't alone in that regard).
Confirmed sessions include:
- Keynotes from Tim O'Reilly, Jeff Jarvis, Sara Lloyd, Cory Doctorow, Jason Epstein, Nick Bilton, and Jason Fried
- Half-day tutorials covering ebooks, social media, community building, XML, print on demand, and copyright
- "Google Book Search and Copyright" with Jon Orwant
- "CEO Roundtable" with Eileen Gittins, Clint Greenleaf, Michael Hyatt and Bob Young
- "Building a Better Web-based Book" panel discussion
- "Managing the Human Side of Change" with Scott Berkun
- "What's Your Mobile Strategy?" panel discussion
- "The Rise of eBooks" panel discussion
- "The Long Tail Needs Community" with Gavin Bell
- "Greening the Book Industry" panel discussion
- "Success Stories and Failures in Digital Publishing" case study session
Additional speakers and sessions can be found at the Tools of Change for Publishing conference site. Be sure to register now to save $200.
Registration Open for Tools of Change for Publishing Conference '09
Mac Slocum
October 29, 2008
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Registration is now open for the next Tools of Change for Publishing conference, being held Feb. 9-11, 2009 at the Marriot Marquis Times Square in New York City. From the press release:
The third annual TOC Conference will decipher the tools of change for the industry and help cut through the hype in order to reach a more profitable future in publishing. From authoring, editing, and layout to distribution and consumption, new technologies will continue to change all aspects of publishing. TOC 2009 will focus on industry-wide strategic issues, like the changing retail and supply-chain landscape. In addition to examining "long-view" trends, the conference will also supply practical tales from pioneers already experimenting and innovating on the digital frontier of paid content.
Confirmed speakers include:
- Laurel Touby, founder and CEO of MediaBistro
- Jeff Jarvis, blogger and author of What Would Google Do?
- Nick Bilton, New York Times R&D Lab
- Chris Baty, creator of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)
- Jason Epstein, chairman, OnDemand Books
Here's a sampling of planned sessions:
- "What Does the Future Look Like for Book Publishers?" by Sara Lloyd of Pan Macmillan
- "The Rise of eBooks" by Mark Coker of Smashwords, Inc., David Rothman of TeleRead.org, Joe Wikert of O'Reilly Media, Russell Wilcox of E Ink, and author April L. Hamilton
- "Smart Women Read eBooks" by Kassia Krozser of Booksquare.com
- "Youth and Creativity: Emerging Trends in Self-Expression and Publishing" by Julie Baher of Adobe and Bill Westerman of Create with Context
- "eBooks: How Soon Is Now?" by Peter Balis of John Wiley and Sons
- "If at First You Don't Succeed: Using Agile to Relaunch XML at Cengage Learning" by Greg Shepherd of Cengage Learning
- "Lessons from a Book's Simultaneous Publication in Print and on the Web" by Stephen Smith of Crossway Books
- "The Long Tail Needs Community" by Gavin Bell of Nature
- "What Happens When Anyone Can Edit Your Book, Online?" by John Broughton, author of O'Reilly's Wikipedia: The Missing Manual
- "Speaking the Same Language: Universal Technology Standards in Publishing and Bookselling" by Lila Bailey of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Otis Chandler of Goodreads.com, Aaron Miller of BookGlutton.com, Kevin Smokler of Booktour.com, and Tim Spalding of LibraryThing
- "Making an Impact with Travel Content--in Print, Online, and Mobile" by Ensley Eikenberg of Frommer's
- "Where Do You Go with 40,000 Readers?: A Study in Online Community Building" by Ron Hogan of Beatrice.com, Patrick Nielsen Hayden of Tor Books, and author John Scalzi
- "Crafting a Digital Road Map: One Publisher's Path to Success" by Adrienne Kinney and Andrew Malkin of Rodale
- "If Shakespeare Had a Hard Drive: The Challenge of the Born-Digital Belletrist" by Matthew G. Kirschenbaum of the University of Maryland
- "Building Old World Publishing Values into New World Automated Workflows" by Phil Zuckerman of Applewood Books
Early registration, which offers a savings of $200, will end Dec. 18, 2009. Registration information and additional details are available through the Tools of Change for Publishing Conference site.
Share Your Success Stories and Failures (and Get In Free)
One of the ongoing goals for the TOC Conference is to encourage the sharing of success stories and of the lessons learned from failed experiments and initiatives. For 2009, we're going to try something a bit different to add to the discussion, and we want your help.
Tell us about your experience with a new technology, technique, or strategy based on the shifting publishing landscape. We're particularly interested in efforts based on what you learned at a previous TOC Conference. We'll pick four submissions to present as part of a panel at the 2009 TOC Conference. If you're selected, you'll receive a complimentary admission to the full conference.
We're looking for personal accounts. We want to hear the key actions that led to success or failure, as well as what you've learned from the experience. Submissions can be in whatever format best suits your story: text, video, etc.
Send your story to toc AT oreilly.com before Nov. 10.
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