Mac Slocum
Mac Slocum is O'Reilly's Online Managing Editor. He's been writing, editing and producing web content in various forms since the mid '90s. He also dabbles in video interviews from time to time.
Magazines Now in Google Book Search
Google is adding back issues of magazines to its Book Search index. From the Official Google Blog: Try queries like [obama keynote convention], [hollywood brat pack] or [world's most challenging crossword] and you'll find magazine articles alongside books results. Magazine articles are tagged with the keyword "Magazine" on the search snippet. Over time, as we scan more articles, you'll see…
Book Publishing's Scale Issue
In a post looking at the future interplay of content, gatekeepers and consumers, David Nygren touches on a key issue for large book publishers: scale. Mega Publishing Conglomerates Go Bye-Bye: Or at least they will look very different than they do today. Their scale is not sustainable. The partial implosion we saw in the publishing industry last week was just…
[TOC Webcast] Essential Tools of an XML Workflow
Tools of Change for Publishing, in conjunction with StartWithXML, will host "Essential Tools of an XML Workflow," a free webcast with presenter Laura Dawson, on Thursday, Dec. 11 at 1 p.m. eastern (10 a.m. pacific). Webcast Overview This webcast is for those publishers who have made the decision to pursue digital channels for their content. What tools are out…
Penguin 2.0 Mashes Up Essays and Short Texts
Penguin's new project — dubbed "Penguin 2.0" — incorporates elements of customization and remixing found in Web content. Jeff Gomez, Penguin's senior director of online consumer sales and marketing, discusses the program with the New York Observer: … in 2009 the company will introduce a program that allows customers to choose from a variety of short stories, essays, and…
Webcast Video: What Publishers Need to Know about Digitization
Below you'll find the full recording from the recent TOC Webcast, "What Publishers Need to Know about Digitization," with Liza Daly….
Publishers: Let the Containers Go
In a guest post at Boing Boing, Clay Shirky says publishers who focus on book lovers rather than readers are setting themselves up to fail: Businesses don't survive in the long term because old people persist in old behaviors; they survive because young people renew old behaviors, and all the behaviors young people are renewing cluster around reading, while they…
Amazon iPhone App Uses Crowdsourcing for Product IDs
Amazon's new iPhone application has an experimental feature, dubbed Amazon Remembers, that blends product discovery and crowdsourcing. From the New York Times Bits blog: The tool lets users take a photograph of any product they see in the real world. The photos are then uploaded to Amazon and turned over to the far-flung freelance workers in Amazon's Mechanical Turk program,…
Politico Expands Content Sharing Service
Here's a sliver of positivity from the gloomy news business: Politico's content sharing network has added more than 100 clients since launching in September. From Editor & Publisher: Politico Network, which makes the political news Web site's content available in exchange for advertising placement, launched Sept. 9, according to Beth Frerking, an assistant managing editor. Newspapers and broadcast outlets…
[TOC Webcast] Tomorrow: Making the Case for Print on Demand
Tools of Change for Publishing will host a free webcast tomorrow at 1 p.m. eastern (10 a.m. pacific). Presenter Brian O'Leary will discuss "Making the Case for Print on Demand." Webcast Overview Publishers who dismiss the use of print-on-demand (POD) technologies as too expensive may be missing an opportunity to better manage their inventory, total costs and the unit…