On April 11th, I ran the Paris Marathon. An event that I trained for over the last six months.

As I was running the marathon, my mind went through all the effort that was needed to get ready for the race. Running 42 kilometers is not easy and it takes a toll on your body. The only way to be ready for it, is the preparation that is required months before the race. The preparation and the discipline to maintain your training schedule allows you to compete and potentially complete the race. My race was going well and I was on pace to get to my 4 hour goal when I hit the wall during the 38 km mark. My legs gave in and I was in severe pain. Physically my body was telling me to let up but mentally I knew that I could not stop because the finish line was so close. The last 4 kilometers was a mental vs. physical battle to get to the finish line. At the end I crossed the line achieving my time goal and gaining a personal victory for myself. Crossing the finish line was an incredible feeling of pure and unadulterated joy!

I realized while running the marathon that what we are building at Impelsys is also like a marathon.  We, at Impelsys have a clear goal in becoming the leader in supporting the global book publishing market to deliver and market their electronic content.  We are passionate and determined to get to the goal and win, not only for ourselves but for our publishing customers.  Our training in the “marathon of business” has been the effort that we have put over the last several years to study the transition of the publishing industry, to understand what traditional publishing was all about and to use this understanding to help them adapt and succeed in the electronic world.  In turn, helping them add revenues through new and previously unexplored business models and building the content delivery infrastructure for the online world.  Just as my marathon training required extreme discipline, achieving this vision too requires discipline, determination and an ever thirsty passion to succeed.

Our industry is a dynamic, ever-changing, ever-evolving one, where almost every day there is something new out there, something more that customers want and something better that someone else is doing.   In today’s competitive business world the secret ingredient to success is in having your consumers win. We have built our capabilities and dedicated our vision towards helping our clients’ win, by ensuring that their customers in turn win. We are determined and confident in getting to our finish line.

With readers increasingly looking to the web and digital media for information search, learning and content needs, publishers have drastically expanded their business models to adapt to new and emerging trends, yet without losing sight of their core competency.

An interesting phenomena is the role social networks play in the publishing industry.

I would say that it impacts the industry in two major spheres

a) Sales

b) Content

Let me delve into this a little further;

Everyone has an opinion, and in the past, well that opinion was just an opinion. But today, opinions can be shared, heard and actually listened to. People share opinions about toothpaste, chocolate and well, most definitely the books they read.

Sales

A 16 year old cheerleader sitting in Austin could well be influencing your sales through her twitter profile, her facebook account or even her shared shelfari/ Amazon reading lists. That famous Harvard professor has the power to influence more than just the students he has spoken to by endorsing a particular book. Your author now has an even more powerful sales strategy that physical book signings in form of a fan page or a blog, managed from the comfort of his writing desk, saving millions of dollars that would otherwise be spent on a book tour.

Viral marketing tools like widgets that can be spread all over the web either by you, by your fans and readers or by authors enable readers to preview a sample of the book, search within the book, view the table of content or be directed to the e-commerce or retail site.

Today publishers are seeing the shift from a traditional B2B business model, where the sales cycle was incomplete without distributors and retailers. Without them, sales were more or less: nil. Publishers are surpassing these middlemen and have the option of selling directly to their readers. Today, it is relatively simple for publishers to create their own delivery platform or end user portal from where they can sell books directly to consumers. This enables them to reach readers spread over vast geographies with minimal investment. It also enables them to study reader behavior and preferences, that enables them to offer readers content chunks at lower prices, rather than the entire book which may not be if use to the reader. This could in way save them from piracy practices such as copying of books or the used textbooks market.

Content

Today readers are influencing and creating content in more ways that one. Not only do they call the shots when it comes to exactly which part of the content they prefer, social networking allows them to share opinions with readers who have the similar interests and expertise. Professors, schools and institutions now have the option of sampling content online. Social bookmarking too gives your content more visibility

Publishers now share a one on one relationship with readers and they have the option of ready reporting tools which tells them everything, from the number of pages read, time spent on each page, number of readers of a particular book old through an institution, notes made, recommendations and opinions shared, ancillary content used. This enables them to build content that is specific to user needs, and gives users the option of buying only that part of the content that they require.

In the education and professional learning sectors, too, social networking plays a vital role in creation of content. Readers of a particular book/topic are able to network with others of similar interests and expertise which allows the learning  experience to be enhanced by asking of questions, sharing of experiences and discussions.

Social networking in business has seen tremendous growth in the past few years, and its full potential, well, we’ll have to wait and watch where it takes us!

source: www.businessinsider.com

The iPad hit homes in the beginning of April and users have been going berserk playing with their sleek and shiny new toy. One single beautiful looking machine, gives them a host of entertainment options, starting from online web surfing, gaming, and most importantly reading and information consumption.

With the launch of the iPad, reader expectations seem to have skyrocketed. Readers now expect so much more from a book than just plain text. The iPad changes the way in which content is created and consumed owing to its video streaming, audio and interactive media capabilities.

The publishing industry for one is abuzz with predictions, hopes and, ambiguity. Many wonder, if the iPad will indeed define the future of books. Will print books eventually die out? Will publishing houses perish or evolve, the questions are endless and the predications aboundless.

Opinions are varied. Quoting Mr. Ulrich Hegge, Managing Director Burda Media Innovation Lab,

“We have to take readers’ view and expectations in regard to start telling stories in a way that suits the new possibilities. We have that potential and we already proved that in the printed publications department. We believe a new era has begun.”

Jim McGregor, who is Chief Technology Strategist at In-Stat believes the significance of the iPad for publishers will be much smaller than some seem to hope for:

“Although the iPad and other tablets are being positioned as next generation e-readers, their value really extends to more multimedia rich content. This may be a boost for audio and video, but it is unlikely to change the fate of the publishing industry which has to adapt to a digital world driven by the Internet. Devices like the iPad will probably accelerate the move to digital content, especially in areas that are traditionally tied to printed material, such as education.”

While both industry leaders question the extent of impact that the iPad will have on publishing they are the first to admit that the iPad cannot be ignored. They both endorse that publishers have recognized the need to adapt to the digitally skewed changes engulfing the industry. Many publishers are migrating towards the ePub format, thus making their content iPad ready. Yet, despite uncertainties, the iPad does open up a market of over 10 million users that publishers can target opening up a whole new business model that could be centered on selling through apps.

Publishers such as Condé Nast announced they were working on an iPad version even before the device became official, and according to a leaked memo will have GQ ready for the April launch, followed soon afterwards by Wired, Vanity Fair, New York and Glamour magazines.

Some publishers have even released demos of their iPad versions already, including the New York Times and Sports Illustrated, while Children’s novels such as the Toy Story and Alice in Wonderland are already on the iPad. In approximately two months, school textbooks will be available on the iPad in the form of highly interactive applications. TSTC Publishing is adding the first e-books to its inventory.

Yet questions still loom, will the iPad really transform publishing – boosting circulation numbers and opening up new audiences? Will selling content through apps and the iPad actually bring in additional revenues from end users?

With over 700000 introductory versions of the iPad already in homes, and thousands of people still awaiting their orders, one thing is clear - the iPad is here to stay. The rising number of apps also suggests that users are enthusiastic about milking this device to its full potential. iPad competitors such as Germany’s WePad, the Google tablet and more such devices, prove that this trend is here to stay, and publishers now have unlimited possibilities when it comes to creating interactive content.

While a huge problem is the investment required to optimize this platform, the sooner publishers realize the need to convert to ePub, (which is emerging as the industry standard, and whose open source features make it the ideal platform, accepted by a wide range of devices) the more return on investment in the long run. With the popularizing and acceptance of the value of e-based consumption of content, it is likely that content publishers will actually leverage interactive media to the fullest. Dynamic links and multimedia content will readily be embraced and supported by those that provide content.

Brief history

In September 2007, ePub became an official standard of the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), superseding the older Open eBook standard. Since then ePub has gained widespread acceptance, starting with Project Gutenberg endorsing it as a preferred standard owing to its free and open source features.

ePub: Catching on

The main reason why ePub seems to have caught on as the most favored format is that this open book format is not owned or controlled by any one company or device as is the case with the Amazon Kindle’s AZW format.  This enables scope for critique and improvement as is the present case where IDPF has invited discussions on how to improve ePub standards so that it is more holistic and suits the needs of, and leverages the capabilities of newer devices such as the iPad.

Not only has ePub been built on existing standards, but ePub specifications or standards are free to be downloaded by anyone with out any licensing costs or restrictions. ePub file can easily be examined by simply renaming it to a .zip file and opening it with any tool or OS that supports the zip archive format (e.g. Windows XP and above, Winzip, gzip, 7-zip, etc).

A typical ePub file contains the following,

• Metadata, an xml file containing information about the ebook, such as the author, publisher, title and a list of all the other files in this ePub file
• A table of contents for the ebook
• One or more html pages, containing the ebook text
• Any images used in the ebook, such as a cover image, and images that accompany the text, stored in standard formats such as jpeg ePub uses the same standard file formats such as xml, html, jpeg that are used to build the web.

This has one indisputable benefit. Since every modern OS or programming language supports these formats, ePub files can be read on any system with an OS. The technology required to create an ePub reader application is the same as that required to display a web page and any modern computing device, be it a PC or a mobile device is compatible to this technology. Another advantage of ePub is that all text is represented in form of text files that can be easily opened with a text editor, viewed or edited. Also, the ePub format is DRM-free, which means that anyone purchasing an ePub file can be certain that they have full access to the content, and are free to convert it to any other format, transfer and display it on any device, print it and importantly in this case, convert it to speech. Yet, ePub does provide the option of adding DRM as an additional layer, if a publisher so chooses to protect the rights of his ebook/content.

Thus, the advantages of ePub format can be summarized as below:

• Compatible with almost any modern OS based device
• Can be created by common softwares such as InDesign and Quark
• Publishers can reduce the cost of conversion by only creating a single ePub file for multiple distribution channels
• Content can be sold from multiple outlets
• Compatible with most mobile devices including the coveted iPad

ePub Patrons

Currently, the ePub format can be viewed by Calibre, Adobe Digital Editions (ADE), Stanza, Aldiko, Sony reader, iPad, iPhone. Google too has 500,000 public domain titles in the ePub format. Many countries such China, Taiwan, Germany and France have chosen to use ePub as their primary electronic book format.

One point worth mulling over is the future of ePub. What could the format finally develop into?  Will it see more animation options, resizing, cross referencing, linked table of contents and footnotes?

The opportunity is endless. The future of ebooks could well be written by the ePub standard and converting to ePub is an investment in the future.

The electronic age has changed the way we explore, access and consume information. Today much of our information needs are fulfilled through the internet, for absolutely no cost. Much of professional and scholarly research is done through data collected from the internet, and through networking with other researchers. Yet, many argue about the perils of free content, as well the authenticity of content. The magnitude of free information, even throws up the argument of the need for books, or data that has a price tag attached to it. What is it about some content, that you can charge a premium for it? How do you get people to buy content rather than rely on free information sought through the internet?

Readers are given the option to search within the book and ensure that they are getting exactly what they are paying for. Up-to date research reports and full volumes of encyclopedias usually only allow for free book previews, through online readers. Access of an entire volume costs the reader, and if the preview shows content that is worthy, readers are indeed wiling to pay a price for it. The new system that is emerging is of “mixed bundling” - offering a product and its components in different permutations to satisfy different consumer needs. In a manner of speaking, your content is no longer just a product, i.e. a book. Today readers are demanding that there are no restrictions on structure and in a way turning your traditional ‘product’ into a service that requires more than just the physical version. Consumers are demanding specifics, and well, today they are getting what they want. Today, content providers give their readers content in the way they wish to consume it. They give them the option of buying part of the content, add supplementary material to the content, allow them to rent content and many more such options. Thus, to some extent curbing the attitude of, “why should I have to pay for something I don’t need/can get free”.

In a way, content, especially e-content, is looked on as an experience. Today, readers want to envision rather than imagine, they want to participate rather than watch. eBooks give them this experience. You can read an ebook, add notes, share notes with friends, discuss with experts, watch videos, take tests, play games, listen to audio and more, with the added advantage of consuming this content, anywhere and at anytime.

The trend of cloud computing, or saving of data on the cloud/internet, enables portability of content from device to device which represents the future of media and content consumption. The device market is constantly evolving, due to changing consumer preferences and the developing electronics landscape. Device manufacturers, marketers and publishers alike are challenged to make content available where, when and how their readers want to consume it—and that is anywhere, anytime and on any device. Multiple devices, numerous access modes and shifting consumer preferences mean, marketers and content owners cannot afford to choose any one single method. Until formats and device platforms get more established, multi-mode, multi-device support remains a must. So the overall expectations have increased and is more about convenience of accessing the content, choice of formats and price. In a nutshell, it’s about enhanced reading experience, and accessibility to needed resources.

The question of revenues for publishing is on top of everyone’s mind. In studying industry trends, and knowing that readers are not willing to pay for content that they can already access for free, the problem needs to be looked at from another angle. The real opportunity could lie in what we have been calling ‘the reading experience’. Publishers need to take on the role of service providers rather than sellers of a product. Real opportunity could lie in options such as is in selling access to repositories of content or in a constant stream of value adds, such as updates, buying in chunks, renting, links, audio, video, networking, gaming, sharing, participation and engagement and giving readers what they are looking for.

It’s been a month since the conference, and I still haven’t gotten over the whole “TOC experience”. My mind keeps going back to all the discussions we had, and I find myself constantly pondering over opinions expressed, predictions made and in general, visualizing what the outlook of our industry might look like few years down the line.

Having worked closely with the publishing industry for over a decade, it was both inspiring and exciting to see publishers from all around the world come together with the realization that change is here to stay. Encouraging, was to note how earnest publishers were towards understanding this change and the focus they have towards preparing themselves for the future.

In this blog, I would like to share a few anecdotes, and what I thought was especially interesting and defining for the future of our industry.  For the past ten years we have studied the dynamics of the publishing industry, its trends, changing reader habits and one session that struck an instant chord with me was by Peter Collingridge from Enhanced Editions. He describes the work he does as “tailor-making books for the iPhone, and the challenge that they set, on how to translate a book to a device in a way that creates a valuable new user experience and adds to the content. He highlighted the fact that the app was being offered as an ‘optional experience’. To quote him, “You don’t have to listen, or read and listen, or watch. Its how the reader wants it to be. We can build stuff around it and online – but the reading should be left between the reader and the content. The app is all about engagement with the content.” The key to their success here is their understanding and empathy towards the reader. His insight into reader behavior is an important lesson for all of us in the content business. The sure win sales strategy is to give your readers the content that they want.

Over the past couple of years we have seen the lightening quick pace at which the industry is evolving and this experience has helped us build innovative solutions such as reporting and data analytical tools that are helping publishers the world over take their publishing to a whole new level. As Tim O’Reilly mentioned in his session, today publishers have a better understanding of their markets with the help of data analytical tools and are building direct relationships with their readers. These tools enable publishers to put reader habits under the microscope, and use this information to tailor make content to suit the readers need. This and the ease through which they can convert their content into digital formats and deliver it through custom built platforms enable them to cash in on the opportunities that the web offers.

This year at TOC, I too had the opportunity to share my thoughts on ‘The new dynamics of publishing’ at the keynote and at a focused session on the ‘Next generation of ebooks’. Publishing has evolved, and now more than ever publishers need to focus on their core area of expertise - Content. Yet, understanding and exploiting the advancements in technology and reader demand and consumption habits could very well be the key factor that defines success. My belief is that in choosing the right strategic partners, publishers can remain focused on their core business, while still being able to implement the right technological strategies that keeps them at the top of their game.

Earlier this month, Apple did something which by now they seem to have mastered - launch yet another killer product that has left everyone spellbound.  Even those who are picking holes in the product can’t stop talking about it.  Because, notwithstanding all the shortcomings (Read, no flash, just one USB port, 4:3 screen display, etc.), everybody knows that it will sell in millions.

For those in the publishing industry the launch of iPad meant a little more. By launching a device that supports rich multimedia, eBooks, eBook Reader, etc. backed by a full fledged iBookstore, Apple has sounded their arrival into the eBook market in style.  While the Amazons, Barnes & Nobles, Sony, etc will go in to a huddle in their respective boardrooms to devise a counter strategy, the Publishing community has much to cheer about.  So, what could be the single most talked about topic in the publisher organization.  May be figuring out how to get their content ready for the iPad.

Isn’t that quite obvious.  Here is a device that packs eBook functionality unlike any of its predecessors.  The leap from e-ink to full color graphics, and complete multimedia support opens exciting opportunities for the publishers. It is said that the iPad supports epub format, and has proprietary DRM in the mix to allay any copyright worries for the publisher.  Publishers that have already have an epub strategy will probably find it easier to capitalize than those that do not.  But, they still have the challenge of devising a strategy for the iPad specifically as their earlier strategies were probably built around the standard devices like the Kindle, Sony Reader, etc. In other words, having their content in epub format is just not going to be enough for publishers; not if they want to harness the power and performance of iPad optimally.

Let’s just give it some thought.  STM Publishers can now have eBooks that are rich in multimedia illustrations, and exciting ancillary content built around their existing content that makes the learning experience more interesting and absorbing.  K-12 publishers can build Talking eBooks, animated storybooks, etc. that redefines the way a child interacts and relates to books and characters in books. There are many that agree that the iPad could be the ultimate plaything for a child. A child likes to touch and feel, hold, push buttons, etc, and the iPad allows all this and more, making a very strong case for more and more interactive content for children. WARREN BUCKLEITNER, in his blog on NY Times, stresses that this is a new outlet for storytellers.  And, publishers are storytellers, and the iPad has just made it more exciting.

Last Tuesday, we proudly announced that Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organization behind Sesame Street, has partnered with Impelsys to convert as many as 900 of its over 5,000 published books into eBooks. The deal got tremendous coverage in the media, that included a feature article in the Wall Street Journal which ran in the print edition of the WJS and on wsj.com. Impelsys was also featured in the Los Angeles Times, LiveMint, Gizmodo, MediaBistro and on ABC news.

We actively pursued this partnership with Sesame Street for more than a year because this deal represents the direction in which the industry is heading. The Kindle and Nook were important steps for the digital publishing industry, in the same way that Pong was a big step for the video game industry, but I contend that the best technology at the moment for digital books is one that most of us already have in our homes – the computer.

I believe that we can learn a great deal from the evolution of the video game industry. In 1975, Atari released the Home Pong console – a hardware-focused, one-dimensional product that captured our imaginations and helped spawn a multi-billion dollar worldwide industry. Pong was an important first step but in the end, the machine played one game and we needed gaming systems with more power, flexibility and interactivity.

The hardware (i.e. Xbox, Wii, PS3) remains important to this day, but its genius lies in the software that runs on these systems. For example, the Wii was a big development, but people loved it because we could go bowling in our living room or play tennis with our kids on a snowy day.

Whether playing Halo with a friend from China on PlayStation 3, doing exercises with your sister on Wii Fit or having Grover personally read for your 3-year old “The Monster at the end of this Book” on ebooks.Sesamestreet.org, consumers want a rich, interactive, 3D experiences, regardless of the gadget it comes in.

This partnership with Sesame Workshop is an important milestone for Impelsys and a great way to end a very productive 2009. I look forward to continuing to push the boundaries of digital publishing and providing publishers and content developers with technologies that enable interactivity and allow their businesses to grow in 2010 and beyond.

I’ve been thinking about last month’s New York Times story, Textbook Publisher to Rent to College Students, and the subsequent NYTimes blog post, A Cheaper Way to Get Textbooks: Rent and I’m a bit confused.

I’m not surprised that companies like Cengage, Chegg or Follett need to take these steps in the hopes of preserving the dwindling revenues that the entire book business is seeing. But I’m surprised that the Times saw fit to stand behind these efforts so blindly in light of the facts.

The basis of this story is that companies are adopting textbook rentals to counter the online sales of used textbooks to outfits like Amazon.com.  They believe this approach will increase profitability because they won’t have to go for additional print runs.

Even if this were a solid deal for students - which most of the blog comments seem to indicate otherwise – the economics just don’t add up. The companies still have to manage lending centers; replace damaged, lost or destroyed books, and they are still limited to a certain geographical area or be subject to large shipping fees.

If we accept that e-books will be the norm sooner or later, this new business can hardly be seen as anything more than a last gasp for the physical textbook business.  (For those doubters still among you, I am reminded of the music industry execs that couldn’t be convinced that digital music would ever replace CDs).

When e-books become the norm:

1. Books become available to all just with an Internet connection.
2. They can sell it at a much lesser price compared to their print versions.
3. They can rent it for a period of time.
4. They can sell content in chunks.
5. They can rent content in chunks.
6. Publishers do not have to worry about the used book market.

I don’t know…maybe I’m over thinking this one.

Like many of us in the publishing industry, I have been closely monitoring the recent wave of e-book coverage in the consumer media. We have seen powerful headlines such as “B&N Launches Kindle Killer” (Wall Street Journal) and “Is Amazon Taking Over the Book Business” (Time Magazine) and questions abound: Are we nearing Malcolm Gladwell’s proverbial tipping point? Will e-books sales capture a substantial share of the overall market in the next few years? Are Jeff Bezos and Steve Riggio going to rumble? Possibly.

Amazon and Barnes & Noble certainly continue to move the needle by developing new technologies, engaging new partners and driving consumer awareness. But I would like to offer a slightly less “sexy” story angle. Perhaps this isn’t a race for inter-stellar domination between two massive companies. Perhaps the story is not about one viewer or one “e-book megacenter” as the NY Times so eloquently described it. Perhaps this isn’t even about Amazon or B&N or Google, Apple, Sony or whoever comes next.

In my opinion, this is not an “either/or” proposition. This is about how publishers can learn from each other; how we all benefit from technological advancements; and, what we can discover from the new business models that are currently being tested.

Beyond the technology, the alliances and the giant marketing budgets of Amazon and B&N, the key to success for publishers of all sizes is building platforms that connect them with their end-users in meaningful ways. Publishers need to harness that data and produce strong, lasting consumer relationships. The publishers who best understand their consumers and grasp what they really want will lead the way.

The future is bright for the Davids and the Goliaths.