Why am I so late to the blogosphere?
Well, actually I’m late in actually writing a blog, but I’ve been actively involved with new media and blogs since they became widely known as blogs in 2002 or so. I work in the public relations industry, and in 2002 I was working at Trylon SMR. My team at Trylon SMR was at the forefront of pitching blogs. Yet, we prided ourselves on intelligent pitching – sending bloggers info that they would specifically care about.
As a result, we had a lot of success. Now, most of those co-workers at Trylon SMR have moved on to other PR firms in NYC. And, back in September 2006, I started my own PR consulting firm – Jeff Rutherford Media Relations. And, now I’m starting this blog.
What am I going to blog about? Well, I’m not 100% sure. But here are a few things. I’m passionate about the book publishing industry – and specifically the future of eBooks. I still have and use my old Gemstar Rocket eBook, and I have a Sony Reader as well. And, this past weekend, I downloaded Fictionwise’s eReader for my iPhone.
I haven’t bought an Amazon Kindle yet. The form factor of the Kindle still bothers me. Jeff Bezos is obviously in it to win it, so why would he turn his back on compelling design? Despite what any one may argue, Apple is still the undisputed leader in compelling design of consumer electronics and computers. Would Steve Jobs have approved the Kindle? We all know the answer to that one. He would have sent Bezos scurrying back to his cubicle following a horrible tongue lashing if he would have had the temerity to present the current Kindle design in a meeting.
So, this blog will probably spend some time exploring the future of eBooks, the future of book publishing as a whole. In my spare time, I’m a passionate reader – fiction, non-fiction, newspapers, magazines, and cereal boxes if nothing else is at hand.
What have I read lately? I just finished The Film Club by David Gilmour – a recent memoir about a Canadian journalist who spent several years watching movies with his son after the son dropped out of high school. I enjoyed this book, but I couldn’t stop thinking about and anticipating watching a lot of these classic movies with Zachary, my son who is 4 1/2 years old.
Hit and Run by Lawrence Block. Do you enjoy crime novels? If so, have you read Block’s three novels re: Keller, a hitman who is passionate about stamp collecting. If not, run, don’t walk to your nearest library or bookstore. Block is a master, and I guess that’s why he’s scheduled to receive a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America soon.
So, this initial post has gone on long enough. Stay tuned for more . . .