Many publishers want to monetise their books and reference content by making these materials available online. And a common strategy to drive sales is to combine book and journal content within a single platform; synergies between different types of content should drive discovery and increase usage.
Some publishers choose to adapt an existing off-the-shelf journals platform to meet their needs for consolidation. However there can be technical problems inherent in this approach. view this post
Publishers must widen their frame of reference in order fully to understand the change in business models that taking their content online might necessitate – looking beyond traditional pricing models and text formats within their particular field of publishing.
This was one of the key finding of the inaugural Semantico Symposium, held recently in London to discuss implications of the shift to mobile for publishers and information providers. An invited audience of publishing industry leaders debated the issues under Chatham House rules, covering the following three themes:
It was a stimulating event with a high calibre guest list, delegates attending from organisations including Oxford University Press, Nature Publishing Group, Macmillan Education, Wiley-Blackwell, CrossRef, CABI, BSI Group and the Institute of Engineering and Technology. To do justice to the discussion, we’re reporting it over three blog posts. This post is on the theme of business models.
Queue for the launch of iPhone 4.0 in Brighton
Clearly not everybody knows about ‘The Apple Effect’. While I was taking this picture outside the O2 shop in Brighton, a bystander asked me what the queue was for. I told him it was for the new Apple iPhone 4.0, which is launched today in the UK. ‘So is that free or what?’ was his incredulous reply.
Er, no. There is no free lunch – not this year anyway – as George Osbourne, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer was at pains to tell us this Tuesday, though perhaps not in so many words. In tune with the new spirit of austerity and restraint we also learned recently that O2 is putting a cap on data downloads, replacing its previous ‘unlimited’ data contracts, for all new and renewed iPhone contracts. Though the download limits are fairly generous, those eager early adopters queuing up for their new iPhone’s will be getting a marginally less good deal than iPhone users have enjoyed previously. Although they will of course enjoy a more richly-featured handset.
view this post
John Scott, Earl of Eldon
Rushed into law in the dying days of the Labour government, The Digital Economy Act has been described by Guardian Columnist Cory Doctorow as establishing an unprecedented realm of web censorship in Britain.
This is not what the Act seeks to do, ostensibly at least, but it is seen as an inevitable if perhaps unintended consequence of a badly framed, hurriedly passed piece of legislation. The Act has many aims, not least among which is combating illegal
file-sharing.
Critics have pointed out that Sweden’s similar attempt to legislate in this area recently suffered an epic fail due to that pesky law of unintended consequences. An initial 30% dip in internet traffic was followed within months by a surge to yet higher levels– only now much of the traffic was encrypted and untraceable, presenting the authorities with even bigger problems than before.
In researching previous blog posts on the history of copyright, I came across an interesting earlier example of the law of unintended consequences leading to outcomes directly opposite to those which had been intended, in the area of copyright and censorship.
Enter Lord Eldon.
This year’s Semantico User Group Event in Oxford was a practical and forward-looking day, with presentations from Semantico’s staff and clients.
Originally held as a means for informing customers about the technical development of Semantico’s products, the event has since grown to become a forum for knowledge sharing and debate about a wide range of issues around online publishing.
S3UG 2010 focused primarily on project management with a secondary theme on the growing importance of mobile devices and the future of publishing. view this post
Semantico News
Richard Padley
Managing Director,
Semantico