I’ve wanted to do a Pecha Kucha presentation ever since I heard someone say ‘pe-chak-cha’, and even more since Jon Slack and co. put on Canon Tales at the London Book Fair in 2009. So when he and Aaron O’Dowling-Keane gave me a speaking spot at the launch of the launch of the International New Publishing Network (@INPN_Innovate), I jumped. Continue reading
Author Archives: Arthur Attwell
On making money in publishing
Writing an article for Business Live, Brendan Peacock asked me for some thoughts on making money in publishing today. He had four questions, and I enjoyed thinking through some short answers. Continue reading
My Shuttleworth Foundation Fellowship: six months in
It’s hard to believe I’m already halfway through my Shuttleworth Foundation Fellowship. Only moments ago I was writing up highlights from the first three months. Continue reading
Big-bookstore squabbles drive alternative distribution models
Last week, Amazon stopped selling ebooks by the Independent Publishers Group because the IPG wouldn’t agree to their terms – Amazon ebook terms are notoriously one-sided, which is natural for a company with market share easily over 60%. This week, Apple refused to carry Seth Godin’s Stop Stealing Dreams because it contained hyperlinks to books on Amazon. That’s natural for a company that needs a bite of Amazon’s market share.
The debate so far seems to revolve around the ethics of these decisions: Should bookstores with immense power be limiting access to books? That’s a tricky argument. I don’t think we’ll resolve it.
While it rages on, though, we have a chance to highlight alternative ways the ebook marketplace could work. Ways that don’t rely on massive centralization of the ebook marketplace around companies like Amazon, Apple, and Adobe. Specifically, we get to talk about DRM-free ebooks, the Open Publication Distribution System (OPDS), and retail innovation. Continue reading
When mobile health and mobile money meet, good things happen
The mHealth Alliance has released a fascinating paper called “Advancing the dialogue on mobile finance and mobile health: country case studies”. The case studies are from Ghana, Kenya, the Philippines and Haiti, and explore the important way mobile financial services make meaningful mobile-health initiatives possible.
