Saturday 28 May 2011

Who wants what from whom..?

When I dipped into Twitter this morning, a blog post (from @wayzgoose) entitled What Publishers Want from Book Bloggers, Reviewers & Readers piqued my sense of irony. It's a good piece of writing and like the best blog posts, brief (something I rarely manage), on point and reasonable. But what prompted my own wry response is that last night I was reading Robert B. Cohen's recent book Changing the Face of the Internet. (Note to American readers: don't be put off by the mention of Europe in the subtitle: the content is still relevant). Cohen is an economist with a particular interest in the impact of the Internet and virtual worlds. Those of us who take the Internet for granted, use it in our day-to-day personal and business lives, but don't think much about how it will continue to change, and (more to the point) will continue to change us - would do well to engage with this challenging read.

Cohen points to the fact that developments in online technologies are fundamentally altering the ways in which people organise themselves professionally and socially - and are increasingly drivers to both a different kind of service economy and new, less hierarchical corporate structures. Until last night I thought of software companies as product manufacturers. Now I think of them as service providers. Cohen shows how cloud computing has given rise to SaaS (Software as a Service). A change in the ways users access and utilise software that has restructured the business models of software companies. Just two of the many significant economic benefits arising are (i) that the cost base (capital investment in I.T. infrastructure) of start up businesses will be substantially reduced and (ii) work groups from across the globe can work simultaneously and collaboratively.

So what, you may ask, does this have to do with a post about what publishers want from bloggers, reviewers and readers? My thought is, simply, that it is a question that spotlights the tipping point publishers are heading for in a digital world that challenges our old workflows and self-images. A tipping point that is going to turn the question the other way around: what do bloggers, reviewers, readers (our audience) want from publishers? It seems to me that the answer - as with the software industry - is going to be delivered, and monetized, as service, not product.

11 comments:

  1. Very interesting. Thanks for the post. Sometimes I feel like a bit of a moocher when requesting review copied. Sometimes I forget that we are offering a service to publishers that they need.

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  2. Another phenomenon I've noticed is the disappearing boundaries between authors and reviewers. Authors who genuinely cultivate relationships with readers and bloggers through social networking are at an advantage. The caveat is that the relationship has to be genuine and not forced. Just trying to create a *presence* on social media is not what I mean. Examples of writers who do this well: Beth Hoffman, Rebecca Rasmussen, Alan Heathcock-there are many others I can think of.

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  3. theguildearlobe - Don't feel that way!

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  4. Bibliophiliac - I think you are right and it is disappearing boundaries period. Perhaps this will change the convention of the artist as a solitary figure. It also challenges publishers who have traditionally facilitated and mediated between writer and reader.

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  5. Bibliophalic also agree about social media presence not being forced or artificial. It's a tough arena for writers who may not be naturally gregarious - but to others a wonderful new world of opportunities.

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  6. It exciting to be taking part in this revolutionary change, but who knows where it will all go. I think the only certain thing is that publishing and books are changing drastically.

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  7. I agree that service (and solutions) are the future of publishing. Actually, it's the present of publishing, even if publishers still focus on selling physical objects. Most people buy cookbooks to help them make something to eat, not to read the recipes.

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  8. Thanks for your comment, Brian. I think that readers of cookery writers such as Nigella Lawson (where the books have narrative as well as instruction) might disagree. But your wider point about service being the present of publishing is spot on. We need to think in terms of the service and experience we provide.

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  9. Sheila, Many thanks for citing my book in your post. Since I wrote it, I have become even more convinced that we are witnessing the early stages of a new services revolution where how we make things available and how networked we are in disseminating ideas will make a tremendous difference in a digital world. If people want to read the book, its previous incarnation is availble at the www.athenaalliance.org web site for free. I'd be glad to discuss some of this services revolution with you and others.

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  10. Robert - thank you for your comments. The fact that you as an author and thinker can respond to what I posted and participate so quickly in the subsequent discussion is a neat (if very modest in scale) illutration of the way in which published content is no longer as static as it was in the old print-only world. A key challenge for those of us in the service sector of that old print book encoomy is how to develop sustainable business models around the service aspects of what we provide. It is a challenge rendered all the more complex because our clients' perceptions of what we provide - and are therefore paid for - often centre around the physical aspects of servce provision (in my case putting a warehouse roof over the head of books, and then sending them out to customers in cardboard boxes). Whereas in the new economy the really crucial aspects of what we provide are positive customer service interactions and reliable, accurate and fast data & financial tranactions. For outsourced service providers under constant downward margin pressure, to invest in quality in these areas is an uphill challenge.
    Thanks for your offer of a discussion. I am sure that this is something that Brian O'Leary (the most revolutionary thinker about the service economy in the publishing sector that I know of) and I (and possibly others) will be very glad to pursue with you.

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  11. I agree that people read Nigella Lawson for reasons that are broader than or different from those that lead people to "The Joy of Cooking". For books of the sort Lawson writes, as well as a large share of fiction, I'd offer that greater use of tagged content may not affect consumption, but it would help change the way people discover content. Cultural links are everywhere, really - Lawson writes about regions, customs, people and places. Those are all hooks for a continuing conversation.

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