The Joss Group

Did you get a tablet or e-reader this past holiday season?

Sadly, I did not, but then again I already have a tablet and two e-readers. And, I guess, potential gift givers would have decided if I wanted a new one or the other I could always buy it and mark it down as a business expense. However, according to a recent report by the Pew Research folks, lots of people here in the United States did get one or the other, and according to early numbers from Amazon a lot of those people promptly downloaded a book or two or three from Amazon. No word on how many of the downloads were free books, though.

Publishing on the iPad Without an App

Hmm, an interesting idea. I came across this blog post today (chuckdude,  and immediately felt Chuck might be on to something. He says the reason Amazon is not commenting publically on Apple's 30% demand for sub revenue on the iPad is that Amazon won't need the Apple channel for the iPad much longer.

Amazon is beta testing a Web-based reader for its Kindle books, probably based on HTML5. With such a reader, people could still read Kindle books on the iPad but not have to get them in an iPad app. Which means Amazon could still sell its Kindle books through its store and not pay the 30% highway robber fee to Apple. Safe passage for all Kindle books on all platforms! Yes! Thank you, standards!

Here's the lesson for all publishers--stick to standards such as HTML5 and EPUB for your multi-channel development work, and your content will be available on as many platforms (Web, tablet, smartphone, etc.) as possible with the least investment.

If Publishing is Dying, Why are Google and Amazon So Interested?

This is not a comment specifically on the WSJ's recent article about Google Digital Newsstand taking aim at Amazon. Apple is in the mix, too. Of course, Google has to do this. Amazon got there first, but now Google has the Android platform and needs content for it. What the story makes me wonder, and will make me ask the next time someone tells me publishing is dead: if it is true publishing is dead, why are these two huge tech companies so interested?