Amazon Throws Down the Gauntlet
Jim Milliot’s article, Amazon As Publisher, Publishers As E-tailers, opened with the key point that in the rapidly changing publishing industry, the once clear lines between the various parts of the business have become blurred. Last week’s announcements from Amazon and from Bookish–the soon-to-be launched online book platform backed by Simon & Schuster, Penguin, and […]
Freedom of Communication
Happy Birthday to all as we celebrate the birthday of our Nation. I am not sure who said it, but it is a great quotation, “The greatest lesson we can learn from the past. . . is that freedom is at the core of every successful nation in the world.” Freedom of speech is a […]
OCLC in Seattle
It is a privilege to be able to participate and contribute to various boards. It is also a way to learn new things, meet interesting people, and gain new perspectives. That has certainly been the case since I joined the board of OCLC. The board held a special meeting in Seattle this month. I got there a day […]
IBM at 100 – A Day of Nostalgia and Optimism
I was not exactly sure what to expect when I arrived at the world famous T. J. Watson Research Center at IBM last week. I have been there many times over the years but never to a birthday party. I walked in to the arrival tent where light refreshments were being served and the crowd […]
Apple Event – June 2011
The annual Apple worldwide developer conference opening keynote drew a crowd of 5,200. It would have been much larger if the auditorium had the capacity. The extraordinary video is a “must see” if you are interested in either the Apple products or the marketing that surrounds them. The two-hour video is an exemplary model for […]