My article on Triple Pundit on the latest raid on Gibson Guitars

Here's an update on a new article I published today on Triple Pundit on lat week's raid on Gibson Guitars, the second one in two years, following suspicions the company violated the Lacey Act.

The article is entitled "Is Gibson Guitars Unfairly Bullied or Have They Really Screwed Up… Again?". Here's the first paragraph of the article:

Last week, for the second time in two years, federal agents raided the facilities of Gibson Guitars, probably the most well-known guitar maker around the world. Although the two raids are the result of different cases, the accusations then and now are similar – violations of the Lacey Act, a law requiring that all wood products and plants imported into the U.S. come from legal sources.

To read the full article go to http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/08/gibson-guitars-wood-lacey-act/

Links to other articles I wrote for Triple Pundit can be found at http://www.triplepundit.com/author/raz-godelnik/

Image credit: jacksonpe, Flickr Creative Commons

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant trees for your books!

Five signs Barnes and Noble is heading for bankruptcy following its latest quarterly report

Barnes & Noble released today its results for the last quarter, ending July 30, 2011. Although B&N's price went up almost 15% following the release of the quarterly report, I see in this report many signs that worry me, as they indicate the company is on its way to bankruptcy, just like Borders.

Here are the most prominent signs:

1. B&N doesn't have a strategy to transform its brick and mortar bookstores from a liability back into an asset and as a result sales continue to decline - "Revenue in stores open at least one year, a key indicator of a retailer's health, fell 1.6% at regular stores and 1.8% at college bookstores." (Reuters).

2. The Nook itself won't save the company - "Sales of the Nook group of devices, which includes a standalone as well as a touch-screen reader, rose 140 percent to $277 million in the quarter..Barnes & Noble Inc forecast sales of its Nook e-reader and e-books would more than double this fiscal year to $1.8 billion".

According to Reuters, "if the Nook and the e-books sales it generates live up to Barnes & Noble's expectations, they would account for a quarter of the chain's sales and all of its growth." Not only that putting all the bets only on the Nook is a risky move, but even if it will succeed the company still have 75% of business in trouble. The Nook itself just won't save the company, no matter how well it will perform.

3. B&N seems to think only about the short term, ignoring the long-term - "Barnes & Noble says it expects to get a lift in sales of $150 million to $200 million after Borders, which declared bankruptcy in February and said it would liquidate in July, completes liquidation sales and closes."We're convinced this holiday will be the biggest traffic we've had in the stores over five years," Lynch said in a call with analysts." (USATODAY.com) - What will happen after this holiday season and after some Borders' customers will switch to B&N? Lynch has no answer.

4. The stores become a burden on BN.com - "revenue from the website rose 37%, driven by sales of Barnes & Noble's Nook Color and Nook Simple Touch Reader, and digital content." (USATODAY.com). The success of BN.com only demonstrates the weakness of B&N's brick and mortrar stores, which are still the core business of B&N.

5. When toys are your best idea to promote sales in stores you're in trouble - "While traditional physical book sales declined during the quarter, the stores posted large increases in sales of the NOOK product line and Toys & Games." Yet, the stores to remind you are still losing, which means that increasing toys sales do not compensate for declining books sales in the stores. Next idea, please.

And finally, did I mention that there is no buyer to the company? If the picture is so rosy as CEO Lynch presents it, how come no one wants to buy the company and enjoy the fruits of the we-invest-only-in-the-Nook strategy? Maybe it's not as brilliant strategy as B&N wants us to believe?

You can check our updates on Barnes and Noble Bankruptcy Index on our website.

You can also find more resources on the future of bookstores on our website at www.ecolibris.net/bookstores_future.asp

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you buy!

How do we know that paper books and newspapers are losing market share to tablets?

Yesterday I read on Environmental Leader that "By 2015 paper use in North American magazines, newspapers and books is expected to fall between 12 and 20 percent from 2010 levels, as the use of tablet devices and e-readers rises, according to a report by paper industry information source RISI."

The report, "The Impact of Media Tablets on Publication Paper Markets" sounds very interesting but if you want to read it you'll need to pay $5,900. Now, if you a free of charge evidence, a bit less scientific maybe, but still very convincing that paper is loosing its hegemony to electronic formats, all you need to do is to check a new survey published by Staples.

The survey, as CNN reported, asked 200 tablet-using professionals about their preferences and habits. There were several interesting findings, but one of them sticks out:

"More than one-in-three respondents -35% - fessed up to using their iPad, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy or other tablets while in the bathroom."

That's it, ladies and gentlemen. Game over. If books, newspaper and magazines lost 35% market share at the bathroom, it's just a matter of time until paper reading will lose the rest of the battle, becoming eventually only a niche market for paper lovers and those who can't still go to the bathroom without a piece of paper or a good book.

Image credit: dalboz17, Flickr Creative Commons

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant trees for your books!

My article on Triple Pundit on Bibliotaxi, a new book-sharing service in Brazilian taxis

Here's an update on a new article I published on Triple Pundit on Bibliotaxi, a new service that is looking to transform taxis in Sao Paulo, Brazil into both libraries and community connection points.

The article is entitled "Bibliotaxi Transforms Cabs into Local Libraries". Here's the first paragraph of the article:

On a survey published earlier this year by NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission, 31.3% of the respondents picked the Taxi TV as the worst thing about cab riding today. Although so many New Yorkers hate these TV sets, the commission’s reply is actually adding another channel with more shopping and cooking shows. Maybe the commission should learn from a taxi service in a neighborhood in Sao Paulo, Brazil that thought there might be a better alternative to provide cab riders with: Books.

To read the full article go to http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/08/bibliotaxi-brazilian-cab-riders-good-book-connect-community/

Links to other articles I wrote for Triple Pundit can be found at http://www.triplepundit.com/author/raz-godelnik/

Image credit: Bibliotaxi

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant trees for your books!

Why John Malone does not want to buy Barnes and Noble?

Bloomberg reported yesterday that "Liberty Media Corp., controlled by billionaire John Malone, invested $204 million in Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS) after dropping its offer to acquire the largest U.S. bookstore chain"

So why did Malone decide not to buy B&N and purchase only 17 percent of the company's stock (at $17 a share)? Here are few possible answers:

1. He finally understood that B&N has become a risky business operating in a volatile environment.

2. He understands that B&N is still mostly a brick and mortar retailer and as such is very vulnerable to the changes in the book industry, from the rise of e-books to increasing competition from discount retailers such as Wal-Mart (Just a reminder: Comparable store sales at its consumer bookstores fell last quarter 2.9% amid a decline in trade books).

3. He knows that B&N has no winning strategy on how to transform its 700+ stores from a liability into an asset. Apparently he doesn't know it either.

4. He learned the lessons from Borders' bankruptcy and liquidation.

5. All replies are correct.

So why does Malone invest $200 million at B&N? I guess he believes this way he is limiting his risks this way and gives himself a ticket to the world of digital reading, tablets and other future gadgets that will take control of our life in the near future.

On Bloomberg, Bill Kavaler, a New York-based analyst at Oscar Gruss & Son Inc., is quoted saying:

“John Malone likes to buy low-cost calls on interesting potential and ideas and Barnes & Noble is interesting as the only national book chain that’s standing,” Kavaler said. “For $200 million, he’s got a shot at seeing what happens.”

Well, I am not sure if this $200 investment is a cheap bargain. We'll have to see about it. As of today, Friday's stock price of $9.98 results in a $80 million paper loss for Malone.

In any event, there's no doubt this is still a very risky investment - not only because of the stores, but also because on the digital side of the business B&N competes with companies that are more technological oriented and have deeper pockets, such as Amazon and Apple.

We hope Malone won't regret it. We'll keep updating you on it.

You can check our updates on Barnes and Noble Bankruptcy Index on our website.

You can also find more resources on the future of bookstores on our website at www.ecolibris.net/bookstores_future.asp

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you buy!

Amazon is moving forward to become a publisher - Is it good or bad for publishers and readers?

The New York Times has a story today on the growing efforts of Amazon to publish books. Amazon is for a long time much more than a book seller, but apparently its efforts to establish itself as a publisher are getting many publishers and other players in the book industry worried. Amazon, they fear is becoming too big and too strong and will be able soon to take bigger and bigger bites out of the market.

According to the article Amazon publishing books is not news as it has been publishing books for several years. Its efforts went up several notches in visibility when it brought in the longtime New York editor and agent Laurence Kirshbaum three months ago as head of Amazon Publishing, but this is not the news either. The news is that Amazon announced yesterday that Amazon Publishing's made its first major acquisition - it has signed Timothy Ferriss, the wildly popular self-help guru for young men.

Ferriss, the press release added is author of the #1 New York Times best sellers "The 4-Hour Body" and "The 4-Hour Workweek". He will publish with Amazon Publishing the next book in his "4-hour" series, "The 4-Hour Chef."

Ferriss explained that "My decision to collaborate with Amazon Publishing wasn't just a question of which publisher to work with," said Tim Ferriss. "It was a question of what future of publishing I want to embrace. My readers are migrating irreversibly into digital, and it made perfect sense to work with Amazon to try and redefine what is possible. This is a chance to really show what the future of books looks like, and to deliver a beautiful experience to my readers, who always come first. I could not be more excited about what we're doing."

On the NYT article Ferriss added two interesting observations:

"Amazon has a one-to-one relationship with every one of their customers. You can just imagine the possibilities that opens up.”

and

“The opportunity to partner with a technology company that is embracing publishing is very different than partnering with a publisher embracing technology."

Basically, Ferriss is saying that Amazon is better geared to be a publisher in the digital age than other publishers, providing readers a better reading experience and authors with better chances to sell more books. Is it true? It's not clear yet, but Amazon's technological capabilities and customer engagement experience give them a substantial advantage in the age of multi-reading platforms.

Should publishers be worried? Yes and No. Yes, because Amazon can create value for authors publishers can't and authors know it. No, because publishers also have added value and experience and if they will know to adjust themselves to the new technological demands of the market and readers they can still give Amazon a good fight.

Bottom line: Although this step might make publishers' life more difficult, it has the potential to move everyone forward and eventually readers will only benefit from it, as they will have more options and enjoy an enhanced reading experience.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant trees for your books!

My article today on Triple Pundit on the new recycling offers coming from Apple

Here's an update on a new article I published today on Triple Pundit on the new additions to Apple's reuse and recycling program.

The article is entitled "Apple Will Recycle Your Old PC for Free". Here's the first paragraph of the article:

Last week Apple announced it is expanding its reuse and recycling options to computers from any manufacture. According to AppleInsider, if your product qualifies for reuse — meaning it has monetary value — you’ll receive an Apple gift card equivalent to its fair market value. If your product does not have a monetary value, Apple will recycle it at no cost to you. The website MacRumors reports that Apple also expanded its trade-in program to allow users to send in their used iPhone and iPad devices for gift cards.

To read the full article go to http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/08/apple-recycle-computer-free-ewaste/

Links to other articles I wrote for Triple Pundit can be found at http://www.triplepundit.com/author/raz-godelnik/

Image credit: Ron Wiecki, Flickr Creative Commons

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant trees for your books!

Reduced Load Ballistics Research Manual has joined the 100 trees Project!

Are you into guns? I don't talk about shooting necessarily, but more about interest in high accuracy loading, ammunition design, safety and science behind reduced noise and recoil loads. If this is your cup of tea, you'll have a great interest in the new book 'Reduced Load Ballistics Research Manual' by Tom Halstead, AAGSR. We're also happy to update you that this great book has just joined the "100 Trees Project"!

This joint program was launched by Infinity Publishing, a leading self-publishing company together with Eco-Libris to promote environmental sustainability among its authors. Through the program, authors that publish with Infinity are able to plant 100 trees for the title they publish. These authors also have the option to add a special "100 trees planted for this book" logo to their book's design, as a way to showcase their commitment to environmental sustainability.

What's this book is about?
AAGSR's Reduced Load Manual is a groundbreaking research report on gallery loading, reduced ammunition loads, and unique new low and displaced sound signature technologies. It is the culmination of 5 years of testing at Smith Tactical Labs, emphasizing ballistic acoustics and load variances. Packed with tips for future research and intriguing new load technology possibilities, the study is equally applicable to home based individual research contributors, reloaders and gunsmiths, as it is to professional ballistics research labs.

Reduced Load Ballistics Research Manual is available for sale on Infinity's website.

Other books on the "100 Trees Project":

My Name is Grace

The Last Original Idea: A Cynic's View to Internet Marketing

Buffalo on the Ridge by Deanna Meyer

What Love Is...A-Z by by Elle Febbo

Raven Wings and 13 More Twisted Tales

Ishift- Innovation Shift

Good Management is Not Firefighting

Play on Words

This is Your Brain on God

DRIVEN! Remembrance, Reflection, & Revelation

X-POSED: The Painful Truth Behind Yoga & Pilates

Last Male Born: Revenge

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read!

What's the best way to read a book? Nick Bilton compares the Kindle, Nook, iPad, iPhone and a paperback

Nick Bilton is writing great pieces on the New York Times, many of them related to our favorite subject - books. This week he writes about another favorite subject of ours - the multiple options you have today to read a book, from the Kindle and smartphones to good old paperback. In other words - what's the best format to read a book?

As he mentions this question becomes no less important than the question what book to read as we have a growing number of options available.

So Bilton went out and checked couple of popular options: The Amazon Kindle, the first- and second-generation Apple iPads, the Barnes & Noble Nook, an iPhone, a Windows Phone, a Google Android phone, a Google Android tablet and a laptop computer. Oh, and yes, he also compared it with reading on a paperback.

How he did it? He bought a book, “The Alienist,” by Caleb Carr, and read a chapter on each format. He's sharing his experience on this piece and you're welcome to read it all, but here are just couple of conclusions from his non-scientific yet so realistic experience:

1. Reading on the Amazon Kindle is a joy in many respects.

2. If you don't want distractions or you're the type that it's easy to destruct don't use a tablet, or otherwise you'll soon find yourself "sucked into the wormhole of the Internet and a few games of Angry Birds."

3. The Barnes & Noble Color Nook ($250) does allow you to surf the Web, but it is a little slow, though, and that sometimes frustrated Bilton. In other words, if you want to surf use the iPad 2, and if you don't use the Kindle. Nook's effort to provide you the advantages of both worlds is not really working.

4. Regular mobile users should be fine - "Despite the small screen on a mobile phone, I find reading on one to be simple and satisfactory. Maybe this is because I have become accustomed to mobile screens, using them for hours at a time to check the news, sift through e-mail and navigate social networks." One comment - I still have a feeling that reading a book on your mobile device is so much fun for your eyes, so be good to your eyes (you can't really replace them, right?) and just use a tablet or an e-reader.

Finally, Bilton says "but if money is tight, go for print. My used paperback cost only $4." He just forgot another option, even cheaper - taking it in your local library, either in a paper or an electronic format. Not only it's cheaper, it's even greener!

Photo: Nikkorz, Flickr Creative Commons

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant one tree for every book your read!

Dr. Anne Hallum of AIR receives the J. Sterling Morton Award from the Arbor Day Foundation

We are very proud of our three planting partners, RIPPLE Africa, SHI and AIR, who are doing a great job fighting both deforestation and poverty in developing countries. We feel even more proud when we hear about another award or recognition they received that is joining the long list of awards they already have.

So it is our pleasure to update you that Dr. Anne Hallum of the Alliance for International Reforestation (AIR) was presented with the J. Sterling Morton Award, the highest honor given by the Arbor Day Foundation!

Award winners according to the Arbor Day Foundation are recognized for their leadership in the cause of tree planting, conservation,and environmental stewardship.

Congratulations to Dr. Hallum! She definitely deserves it for her ongoing efforts and endless work at AIR. Just to remind you, only last February she has been named one of CNN’s 2011 Heroes!

Here's more about why the Arbor Day Foundation awarded her with the prize (from their website):

Anne Hallum of the Alliance for International Reforestation (A.I.R) in DeLand, Fla., was presented with the J. Sterling Morton Award, the highest honor given by the Arbor Day Foundation. Hallum founded her nonprofit organization to help people in Guatemala by establishing a better, more sustainable quality of life through tree-planting.

The Morton Award is named after J. Sterling Morton, who founded Arbor Day in 1872.

Under Hallum's direction and guidance, the Alliance for International Reforestation has been educating residents in Guatemala and Nicaragua since 1993, working with 25 to 30 villages at a time, each for a period of five years. The staff (all native residents) educates indigenous volunteers about proper tree-planting and agroforestry that will provide sustainable farming as well as protection from frequent and dangerous mudslides. Through proper tree-planting, mountainside erosion is controlled and mudslides are avoided during the harshest of storms.

The native trees planted by local volunteers and farmers help preserve important forests, which have a tremendous impact on the villages. These trees improve nutrition for people and livestock, provide animal habitat, clean the air, protect local water, supply firewood, shade homes and fertilize crops. A.I.R. has worked with more than 110 villages in rural Guatemala and Nicaragua, adding more than 3.7 million trees to the region's rain forest.

You can find more information on AIR at http://www.air-guatemala.org/

Photo credit: Arbor Day Foundation

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read

Independent bookstores find ways to compete in the digital age, but will it save them?

Yesterday I read an interesting article on JSOnline ("Independent bookstores find ways to compete in the digital age") describing some of the challenges of indie bookstores as well as the strategies they employ to overcome these challenges.

These strategies are mostly based on finding ways to offering "enough extra value and a sense of community." This is a very good strategy, which is utilizing the indies' best strengths, but the question to be made is - will this be enough? My answer is - probably not.

The reason is that even though "book club meetings, appearances by bestselling authors, discounted books for students" are all good ideas and provide customers with benefits they're not substantial enough for most readers to outweigh the easiness of ordering book online or the better price they'll probably get on an online store. And we haven't mention the purchase of e-books, where there isn't much incentive for readers to go online to their favorite indie and purchase an ebook there.

In any event, readers need more incentives. It might be not fair to demand it from indie bookstores or even from Barnes & Noble, but this is the reality and we need to face it.

Just read this part out of the article:

"I'm a book lover," Thiel said, adding that the Borders closings saddened her. She travels to Milwaukee often, she said, and had shopped at the Borders store on Brown Deer Road.

If brick-and-mortar bookstores no longer existed, she said, "you no longer can browse the bookstore shelves and find that hidden gem. You can't do that online." Yet Thiel buys books from Amazon when the online seller offers a percentage discount and she also buys e-books for her iPad.

So the bottom line is that price and convenience win almost every time or enough to keep too many readers at home buying their books online. If independent bookstores want to win this war they need to find a way to offer more convenience and even more important - better prices. The later can come for example from collaborations with other local businesses that can provide discounts that customers will appreciate and take into consideration when deciding if they want to make the trip to their nearest indie bookstore.

You can find more resources on the future of bookstores on our website at www.ecolibris.net/bookstores_future.asp

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read!

Last Male Born: Revenge by Roberto DiVincenzo is joining the "100 Trees Project"!

Have you have considered a revenge attack on an individual or a group? Well, Roberto DiVincenzo did. He is actually consumed with hatred for the South Philly mob for what they did to his family. He wants revenge and he gets it in the most unorthodox way. It's all part of his new book 'Last Male Born: Revenge', published by Infinity Publishing. And the news is that this great book has just joined the "100 Trees Project"!

This joint program was launched by Infinity Publishing, a leading self-publishing company together with Eco-Libris to promote environmental sustainability among its authors. Through the program, authors that publish with Infinity are able to plant 100 trees for the title they publish. These authors also have the option to add a special "100 trees planted for this book" logo to their book's design, as a way to showcase their commitment to environmental sustainability.

What's this book is about?
The only cure for hatred is revenge. In this third installment of his trilogy, Robert DiVincenzo finally exacts his revenge on the South Philly mob. He concocts an ingenious plan that appeals to their intrinsic greed. He doesn’t need thugs or guns to bring then down. His unorthodox weapon of choice is the computer room of a bank run by a corrupt bank president. In this fast paced story, he plays on the mob mentality of distrust to settle the score for the wrongs inflicted on him and his family. Along the way he manages to make amends for other innocent victims whose lives were shattered by the mob and the bank president.

About the author: Roberto DiVincenzo was a kid that grew up on the tough streets of south Philadelphia in the 1940’s and 50’s. Although the world was perhaps a more innocent place at that time, it was Philadelphia’s equivalent of “hells kitchen.” As a young boy Roberto excelled in football, basketball, baseball, drawing and his love of singing.

As he grew into a young adult the street took a shot him. Aside from south Philly girls, the lure of a fast buck through indoctrination with organized crime was perhaps one of the greatest temptations facing a young man in his shoes.

But somehow there were stronger principles in his make up that led him down a very different path than those of his “wise guy” contemporaries so abundant and over sensationalized. Although not many viable opportunities where available to him, Roberto made a self inspired endeavor to advance his education. He ended up on the cutting edge of something called “machine accounting” technology. This was the precursor to what we know today as modern computing.

During the Korean War Roberto was in the United State Marine Corps where his stamina, skills and intellect were challenged and put to thorough use. After the war Roberto along with his young wife founded and operated a business school. Their mission was teaching the intrinsic design and practical application of IBM equipment in the business world of the early 1960’s. This evolved into Computer Programming, System Analysis and his tenure as manager who developed ground breaking commercial computer systems for a corporate giant.

Roberto, still married to the same wonderful woman, has enjoyed sharing the parenting of four children, all of who are now adults with diverse careers. The children possess many of Roberto’s principled beliefs and practices as accomplished adults. In fact in some ways, Roberto reflects some old world principles himself. He believes in honesty, knowing his ancestry and social origins, close family ties and the ongoing education of his offspring and the family’s generations to come. After all, I should know, ... I’m his First Male Born.
Last Male Born: Revenge is available for sale on Infinity's website.

Other books on the "100 Trees Project":

My Name is Grace

The Last Original Idea: A Cynic's View to Internet Marketing by Alan K'necht and Geri Rockstein

Buffalo on the Ridge by Deanna Meyer

What Love Is...A-Z by by Elle Febbo

Raven Wings and 13 More Twisted Tales

Ishift- Innovation Shift

Good Management is Not Firefighting

Play on Words

This is Your Brain on God

DRIVEN! Remembrance, Reflection, & Revelation

X-POSED: The Painful Truth Behind Yoga & Pilates

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read!

Free webcast - Digital Textbooks: Innovations from the Academic Business Model

I wanted to share with you an update I received on an interesting free webcast entitled Digital Textbooks: Innovations From the Academic Business Model that will take place next Tuesday. It is presented by Digital Book World and Publishers Weekly and sponsored by Aptara. You can register here.

Here are the details:

In the trade, the digital transition has upended the marketplace, changing the entire publishing process. In academic publishing, the challenges of digital are no less seismic. Factors like piracy, a growing secondary market, and an environment that demands greater customization and speed to market present real tests to academic publishers. There are also great opportunities: ebooks, enhanced and otherwise, offer academic publishers a chance to make textbooks more relevant to students and potentially increase adoption rates. In this free WEBcast, Digital Textbooks: Innovations From the Academic Business Model, academic and trade publishers can learn from the lessons of big and small innovators at the forefront of digital.

We'll talk to start-ups and large publishers to find out how digital innovation has reshaped the academic marketplace.

Join us on Tuesday, August 9th at 1PM ET / 10 AM PT for this free WEBcast presented in partnership with Publishers Weekly and sponsored by Aptara.

AGENDA

• New business models for selling content to educators and students by the chapter and by the format.
• What "open textbooks," or free online versions of course material, have done to curb attrition rates of textbook purchases by semester.
• How academic enhanced ebooks have added video, audio, and interactive features that go beyond bells-and-whistles publishing and improve the learning experience.

This WEBcast will primarily appeal to publishers in both academic and trade who are interested in new ways of selling and delivering content.

ABOUT THE PANELISTS

Matt MacInnis
Raised in rural Nova Scotia, Matt attended Harvard University where he earned a degree in Computer Engineering and Chinese Language. He moved to California and pursued an eight-year career at Apple where he managed the company's international expansion into international education markets. During that time, Matt saw a lot of misuse of technology in the classroom, and in 2009 his frustration drove him to start Inkling. With a vision for reinventing the textbook, Matt has led Inkling into partnerships with the world's largest publishers, building engaging, interactive learning content from the ground up for iPad. Both Matt and Inkling are based in San Francisco, CA.

Eric Frank
Eric brings an 11 year track record of success in higher education publishing to Flat World Knowledge, an eTextbook customization firm. He has held positions in sales, editorial, and marketing at Thomson and Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. Recently, Eric was Director of Marketing for Prentice Hall Business Publishing, a division with annual sales in the hundreds of millions. There, he managed a team of marketing managers and marketing communications staff, and had overall responsibility for strategy, budget, staffing and execution. Eric's group had dotted line responsibility for training and supporting over 160 sales representatives.

Sponsor
Apatra provides digital publishing solutions that deliver significant gains in quality, time-to-market and production costs for eBook publishers. Having converted tens of millions of pages to eBook formats for the world's leading publishers, Aptara offers end-to-end solutions across all content source types and delivery media, including the Amazon Kindle, Apple iPhone, Sony Reader, and Blackberry devices. With partnerships that span the entire production and distribution supply-chain, including relationships with mobile channel partners, Aptara helps publishers stay ahead in this rapidly changing market space.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant one tree for every book your read!

Have paper books become just an intellectual decoration in the age of ebooks?

Nick Bilton has an interesting piece on the New York Times' Bits, where he's presenting his dilemma - he's moving from NY to SF and not sure what to do with all the hundreds of books he have? Should he take them with him or not?

He's explaining:

"Although I love my print books, e-readers, in one form or another, have become my primary reading device over the last few years. I barely touch my print books, although they are still beautiful and important to me. But they sit on my bookshelf as a decorative and intellectual art form...

As I packed for the move, I questioned whether it made financial sense to ship my several hundred books across the country, and more important, if I went through the trouble of doing this, what was the point when they would only sit untouched in a different city, just as they have for so many years in New York?"

This is a dilemma I'm sure many readers who are became mostly e-readers share. I find it a very interesting as this is not just a question of space and technology - I believe it's a much broader question about our culture and identity because for so many of us, the paper books are still a significant part of who we are. So can we move on and leave this part behind us now that we can have these books in an electronic version within seconds? Tough question.

So what Bilton did eventually? He reports: "In the end, I decided to leave 80 percent of the books behind, donating them to bookstores and even throwing some old, tattered volumes in the garbage. I still feel guilty about it, but I also feel vindicated by the practicality of my actions."

I can understand Bilton, although I really wish he would put the old, tattered volumes in the recycling bin instead of throwing them to the garbage.

What do you think? What would you do or have done in similar situation? Please comment and share your thoughts with us!

Photo: Books on the floor, Flickr Creative Commons, Toni Girl

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant one tree for every book your read!