Monday, September 29, 2014

BookShout! Sells 9.4 million Bulk eBook Codes

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BookShout is getting a solid reputation in the publishing industry by delivering eBooks in bulk. The eBooks are redeemed by by using their official app for Android or iOS and many television stations are using the allure of eBooks as an incentive to people during telethons.  Today, the company has announced  that they have distributed 9.4M ebook codes in the past 12 months, and expects to double that number by early 2015.

With more than 3,000 bulk ebook orders placed by major corporations and universities, BookShout! has experienced accelerated growth as more and more organizations request mass quantities of ebook for events, corporate rewards, and client retention. BookShout! has served Microsoft, Intel, CareerBuilder, Lockheed Martin, Marriott, and Teach for America to name a few.

BookShout! works with more than 2,000 publishing partners worldwide, including HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan, Perseus Books Group, Simon & Schuster and Workman Publishing—as well as corporations throughout the U.S., U.K., and Canada.

Authors are also getting in on the action by taking eBook cards and text-to-buy campaigns to their speaking events and live online chats. Campaigns may even be set up to allow all attendees of an event to buy the book individually at a pre-set price determined by the publisher.

BookShout! Sells 9.4 million Bulk eBook Codes is a post from: Good e-Reader

The New Yorker’s First Animated GIF Cover

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German artist Christoph Niemann has created The New Yorker’s first-ever animated GIF cover. This is the first time the publication has ever done something like this.

"When I arrived in New York for the first time, it was pouring” said Niemann. “Maybe that's why, to my mind, there's no place on earth where being stuck in traffic on a rainy day is more beautiful."

“One of the ways that he expresses himself recently has been in animated GIFs,” says Françoise Mouly, art director at The New Yorker. Mouly had given thought to using one of his earlier GIFs for the cover, but held off until now.

The New Yorker apparently had big problems integrating the cover and making it work on their website and line of apps for Android and iOS. At one point there were technical issues that caused the GIF to render as a blank space on the web. Mouly says she became “distraught.” But the team persevered and the GIF was brought to life.

The New Yorker’s First Animated GIF Cover is a post from: Good e-Reader

eBook Authors Rejoice, Crowdsourced Editing has Arrived

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Indie Authors have their hands full with crafting a novel with the intention of selling it on Amazon. Not only do they have to research and write the book, but also have to play the role of editor. Poorly edited books can be the kiss of death and this has prompted a new start-up Advance Editions, to "make good books better" by drawing on the wisdom, knowledge and proofreading skills of readers around the world.

Here’s how it works: Advance Editions posts half of the edited book online a few months ahead of publication and then opens up a feedback forum for that book in which the author participates.  Users can check facts or simply contribute some bright ideas and in exchange they are rewarded with being credited in the book. For crowd-editors who get beyond the first half of the book and want to take on more, they are offered a 60% discount of the complete book at a number of online retailers.

Many authors are not only having their books edited, but people are weighing in on fact checking as well. Hector Macdonald is looking to hear from”spies, experts on drug reform, from residents of Brasilia, from anyone who knows the interior layout of Brazil's Palácio do Planalto or SIS's Vauxhall Cross headquarters. My characters come from all over the world – have I got their speech patterns right? If you're into rock climbing, or handy with a motorcycle or a weapon, you'll have a lot to contribute. You may have served with the French Foreign Legion, treated gunshot wounds, lived in Cyprus or worked as a physiotherapist – all relevant experiences. Or perhaps you just know what works in a story and what doesn’t, and you have an instinct for what could make this one better.”

Another book available on the site is Heidi Kingstone's non-fictional account of her time in Afghanistan entitled, Dispatches from the Kabul Café. Kingstone is looking for contributions from those with particular expertise in Afghanistan and Kabul, the NATO invasion of Afghanistan, Afghan culture and language, soldiers and mercenaries and aid workers and advisers. Macdonald, meanwhile, is looking for insights into intelligence services, drug reform, Brasilia, motorbikes, weapons, climbing and Canadian speech.”

I think this new crowdsourced editing and contribution platform is totally valid and they really may be onto something. The trick, is how do you convince the type of people that these authots are looking for to join the platform? It might be an easy sell to students looking for a career in the publishing industry and having accredited works under their belts to help them land that first job.

eBook Authors Rejoice, Crowdsourced Editing has Arrived is a post from: Good e-Reader

Online gaming increasing worldwide, trending towards social and mobile

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The gaming market is set to become a predominately online based pastimes in the years to come, a recent study. Research has found that consumers are moving away from the more traditional PC based games, in favour of an online alternative and the figure is set to rise by a high one-digit percentage in the years leading up to 2017.

With social media platforms becoming increasingly popular, the amount of users partaking in social gaming has also risen. Users are able to play against their friends or family via the social network with the ability to "share" the result, leading to this becoming a more attractive approach to gaming. The developments in smartphone technology has also led to a hike in the figured for games played online and on social spaces.

According to a recent survey, the introduction on online gaming has given a dramatic boost to the number of web gamers, with over 40% of internet users partaking. The results have proven how fast growing the industry is, spanning across a range of various platforms and devices. Gambling games have proved to be particularly popular on social, which have drawn 11,240,000 gamers every day.

On the European market, Germany leads the way in terms of mobile gaming users, with gamers generating an astounding $3.7 billion dollars, with a year year-on-year growth amounting to 5%. China are dominating the Asian industry, with several hundreds of million people who play both mobile and online games, but also South Korea have been engrossed with a messaging app that has recently been transformed into a gaming platform, proving to be one of the most popular of its kind amongst gamers. Mobile gaming is currently the largest revenue consuming segment in the U.S. online gaming market and is set to continue growing in popularity in the next few years.

In terms of the gender divide, men tend to make up the majority of online gaming users, however gaming companies are intending to attract more women players by adding more female characters into their games. Marvel Comics, for example, have made changes to their Thor character and will now be a depicted as a female. By attracting new consumers such as more female gamers, the online gaming market will grow even further. Women tend to be more prone to social gaming so by appealing to them, the audience for online gaming will expand and grow.

Head of Consumer PR at Ladbrokes Casino David Williams discusses that;

"The rate at which social gaming is growing is undoubtedly one of the most exciting developments on our landscape. Being in the right place at the right time to influence consumer behavior and offer discerning customers precisely what they want – and more – will be key to leveraging the cash benefits of social gaming for big firms.”

Online gaming is a great environment for the gambling industry as it provides consumers with the ability to play in a social, fun way and has become a multi-billion dollar business. With women becoming more interested in the trend, social platforms such as Facebook have attracted many social gamblers who try their luck in popular casino-based games.

The future of the gambling business looks to have its eyes set towards online games and internet users. With mobile technology constantly expanding and growing, it is no surprise that the gaming industry will grow alongside it. New markets and targets are emerging with women becoming more intrigued by the industry which sets the gambling gaming industry to have a bright future.

Online gaming increasing worldwide, trending towards social and mobile is a post from: Good e-Reader

Kindle Paperwhite on Sale for $99

This week Staples is running a sale on the 2nd generation Kindle Paperwhite. It’s the Special Offers version that normally sells for $119. Through Saturday, October 4th it’s marked down to $99 at Staples.com. Twenty dollars off may not sound like much, but that’s about as cheap as the Kindle Paperwhite ever gets. Amazon doesn’t […]

CNBC visit Pi Towers

At the start of September, a film crew from CNBC came to visit Cambridge. They spent some time with us at Pi Towers, and came to the Cambridge Jam the next day to talk to some of the kids there who use the Raspberry Pi. They produced two short videos, both full of footage from the Jam and our office – see how many familiar faces you can spot!

Poll Results – What e-Reader is the Most Desirable for the Holidays?

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The march to the holiday season is upon us and e-reader companies have all revealed their complete product lineup. There is a ton of different models to choose from and sometimes it may be difficult to make an informed buying decision.  We ran a poll on Good e-Reader from September 15th to September 29th 2014 and people all over the world weighed on what was most appealing.

During our polling period 1,221 people cast their vote and by a landslide the new Kindle Voyage and Kindle Basic with a touchscreen won with over 469 votes. This really drives home the point that readers everywhere prefer the Amazon line of devices and something is really compelling about their new product lineup.

In second place with 284 votes was the first waterproof e-reader to be issued by a mainstream company, the Kobo H2O. This device features a very vibrant 6.8 inch display and can be used on the beach, bath or on vacation. For the first time ever, literary fiends will be able to use their device in all environments.

3rd place is where the field got fairly even with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus garnering 81 votes, followed by the first tablet that Barnes and Noble has issued in awhile, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook.

The full list of devices and statistics are in the above picture, so I want go into much more details.  What surprised me the most though, was the fact there is a severe lack of demand for the next generation Kindle Fire tablets. Amazon made a huge announcement with five new devices, one appealing to kids and others hitting every conceivable price point possible. Only 32 people had any sort of plans to upgrade to or buy one for the first time.

Poll Results – What e-Reader is the Most Desirable for the Holidays? is a post from: Good e-Reader
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