(I’m trying to insert a video into this post, and I’m having trouble. Hopefully, I’ll figure it out soon).

I agree with Michael Arrington. Why is Amazon controlling the production of the Kindle? Why not license the technology, provide the digital content for Kindle devices, and let Asian tech manufacturers innovate on a wide range of Kindle devices.

Does Amazon really want to be in the hardware business? Their whole interest here is selling as many digital books as possible. Plus, if Amazon were to give up control of the device’s form factor, maybe we’d get some innovative tech company interested in designing a sleek Kindle that looks and feels as sexy as the Sony Reader or even a MacBook.

This makes a ton of sense. How many of those articles are earning revenue for publishers now? I’m sure the Google ad revenue will be small initially, but it could certainly grow over time into a nice revenue stream.

I was struck recently about the lack of access online to newspaper articles more than a few years old. I grew up in Macon, Georgia and went to high school in the 1980s. A few months ago I was looking online for some articles about Vex, a local punk band, that played in Macon in the mid-80s. But, with the exception of a few very, very obscure music sites, it was like the band never existed - online that is.

It’d be nice to have full and unfettered access to newspaper articles from not only 20 years ago, but 40, 60, 80, and 100 years ago.

Regardless of tomorrow’s performance, it should be up and running fine within a few days or weeks. 

I am excited to see the Netflix streaming functionality featured in the new Xbox Experience, but what’s with the funky avatars? Why rip off Nintendo’s Wii when there’s so much cool technology out there for modeling faces and bodies?

According to Publishers Weekly, Random House has spearheaded a holiday advertising campaign touting books as great gifts - and not necessarily marketing specific authors or titles. Let’s just hope that this effort isn’t half-hearted and forgotten in a few weeks.

The American Library Association has had it’s long-running Celebrity Read posters - using celebrities to tout the joys of reading. Also, the AAP has it’s similar Get Caught Reading campaign.

Why haven’t book publishers done more to brand the experience and pleasure of reading? There has been lots of handwringing and prognosticating about the shrinking attention span for books amidst the Web, video games, TV, movies, etc.. If book publishers want to defend, and hopefully expand, their piece of the media pie, then they have to be proactive about marketing the pleasure of reading.

The Random House Books=Gifts program is a web-based campaign of display ads featuring prominent authors touting the joys of reading and giving books as gifts. Initially, the campaign will feature Random House authors, but there are plans to expand beyond that.

Also, MJ Rose, novelist and expert book marketer, has started a new holiday campaign - featuring book jacket images and the message to buy books as gifts. If you’re a blogger, consider featuring an image from Rose’s campaign.

Again, though, publishers shouldn’t forget these efforts once the economy recovers.  And, to me the important thing here is that publishers should look beyond their obvious audience - existing book lovers. Digital advertising on book related sites is preaching to the choir.

If publishers want to expand their market, they need to think creatively, i.e. market fantasy-science fiction novels on video gaming sites, market street lit on music/rap blogs, etc.

Obviously this gives Google the right to display scanned books and sell ads against those books. And, I’m assuming that there’s some kind of rev share with the authors for that advertising. Or is there a one-time payment?

Here’s the question that I have. Will authors or authors heirs or estates or literary executors, in many cases, be able to get a digital file from Google once Google scans that author’s book? Will those authors have access to the digital files so that they can sell their work digitally in other places - Kindle, Sony Reader, Fictionwise?

Once Google has the scanned book and has the potential to make advertising revenue on that scan, will they be amenable to sharing that digital file with the author? Or will they complain that sharing digital files would be too convoluted - too many authors, too much hassle?

There’s gold in them thar backlists. The beauty of the Kindle or any other digital reading device is in the backlist potential. I’m a huge mystery fan, but right now I can’t walk into a bookstore and buy every Ed McBain 87th Precinct book or Donald Westlake’s Richard Stark novels. The Kindle’s infinite bookshelf will ultimately pay large dividends for Amazon and make Chris Anderson have happy dreams re: the long tail.

Kiss An Angel Good Morning

Whenever I chance to meet some old friends on the street
They wonder how does a man get to be this way
I always got a smiling face any time and any place
And every time they ask me why
I just smile and say

You’ve got to kiss angel good mornin’
And let her know you think about her when you’re gone
So kiss an angel good mornin
And love her like the devil when you get back home

Now people may guess the secret of happiness
Some of them never learn
It’s a simple thing
The secret I’m speaking of
Is a woman and a man in love
And the answer is in this song that I always sing

You got to kiss an angel good mornin
And let her know you think about her when you’re gone
So kiss an angel good mornin
And love her like the devil when you get back home

Kiss an angel good mornin
And let her know you think about her when you’re gone
So kiss an angel good mornin
And love her like the devil when you get back home.

There’s a lot to like about the new Sony Reader - PRS-700 - touch screen, LED for reading in bed or low-light conditions. (As an aside, can someone explain that type of numbered branding to me? Why not call it Sony Reader 3, the Third, Sony Reader - the third chapter. Nope. We’re gonna name it the PRS-700).

But, unfortunately, Sony is missing a key, vital, feature here - there’s no on-board wireless connectivity or built-in Wi-fi. Hence, the title of my post. To get content onto the Sony Reader PRS-700, you have to connect it to your computer. Until Sony incorporates wi-fi or built-in wireless for its 4th generation, they’re going to have a hard time competing with the Amazon Kindle.

Sony is still struggling with content. Sure, they’re supporting ePub, PDF, and other formats. But, they’re still way behind the number of titles available for the Kindle. According to PW’s story today, Sony is planning to increase the number of titles availabe in the Sony Reader store to 100,000 titles from 50,000 now.

However, that still puts them behind the Amazon Kindle by 80,000 titles.

For competition’s sake, I’m excited by the touch features, the LED lighting, and the promised redesigned Sony eBook store. But to truly go head-to-head with Amazon, Sony has to incorporate wireless sooner rather than later.

A new Sony Reader model with built-in wireless? New deals with publishers to expand the number of available titles?

Are they going to end the Sony Connect software in favor of a web-based platform? The search functionality of Sony Connect still leaves a lot to be desired?

I wonder what Sony will be announcing.

What is Maghound exactly? It’s a unique way to subscribe to magazines. Instead of the traditional fill out a subscription form, send in a check, and get your magazine every month, Maghound offers something new.

You select the magazine, or magazines, you want to read, and you pay for them month by month. And, if you realize you’re not reading your Entertainment Weekly each week, and you’d rather keep you finger on the pulse of pop culture and loony vice-presidential candidates by subscribing to People magazine, then you go onto the Maghound website and change your Maghound subscription from EW to People.

What’s the benefit here? You don’t have to endure 6 months of a magazine subscription that you realize you don’t really read anymore. You can either end the subscription the following week or month, or switch to another magazine.

At first, I thought Maghound was a supremely odd, and doomed effort. But, as I’ve written this explanation, I’ve realized it makes a lot of sense. But, here’s my initial reservation, and one that remains - who has the time and energy to manage their magazine subscriptions so closely? If you decide you don’t want a magazine, you toss it in recycling each week, and you don’t resubscribe.

To me, Maghound seems to be an answer to a problem that most people just don’t think about dealing with - except for not resubscribing.

It will be interesting to watch how Maghound fares.