Remember when you would receive $50 for listening to a vacation timeshare pitch?  Later it became a vacation club pitch?  Remember when the $50 soared to $100?  Well now the approach is changing.  First of all, I received the pitch through the mail.  This I loved since at least a stamp was involved and the USPS would earn a few cents toward their financial woes (another story!).  OK, so here is the pitch:  I am being offered a Google Tablet with the Android Software AND $100 restaurant gift card if I meet certain qualifications AND attend a 1.5 hour program being held locally.  Of course I have only 72 hours to respond….starting when?  I can’t tell.  Anyway, as mentioned above, the giveaway is for sitting through a vacation club pitch and meeting certain qualifications; in other words, so I could actually pay for the offer.  Lastly, on the return address, Google’s name is placed on the corner–as if the offer is from Google.  Get this—even says “verification of delivery information required..”  Do you think Google would be proud of its brand being used this way?   Would I like a free Google Tablet?  Sure.  Will I go for the pitch?  What do you...

I am monitoring the iPad not only from my personal reaction but also to the value that various apps have in relationship to the publishing business and any affects on printing.  Recently Richard Romano of  WhatTheyThink wrote an excellent article for Printing Industries of America The Magazine, In the article in the Forecast Part 1, Trends and Tactics, Romano’s article, “ E-Books Go Mainstream,”  he opened with a tantalizing  “Trivial Pursuit” question about “Who was the first author to sell one million e-books?”  This question was really a mechanism to illustrate the difficulty in actually paying attention and analyzing the use, purchase, and comparison to book sales that exist.  What all the attributed facts and illustrations proved is that e-books are impacting publishing and print products…not to mention our lives.  The general fact is that e-books are gaining ground in all book categories.   For the Forecast article see http://www.printing.org/page/4508  Since we are exploring the use of an app to download The Magazine and other publications, I am also monitoring the results of magazine subscriptions and use on the iPad.  In a recent article in WWDMedia  http://prnt.in/ZZt , the author points out that actual subscriptions to digital versions are going down rather than up. The author compares the strong initial digital sales to the diminishing numbers now.  So what?  Publishers and printers  (particularly of magazines and books) and cross-media service providers need to watch this trend so that we can match tactics with this knowledge.    So to my own reaction to books and magazines on the iPad:  Magazines.  Yes, I like the magazines on iPad especially since a user can launch into video’s and see more than just read content. On the other hand, I don’t want to pay for a subscription. (A reoccurring theme?) Frankly, as much as I read, I don’t really have the time or interest to click through and experience more fully the content but that is me! Particularly since I receive many magazines in hard copy, I want a complimentary copy of these magazines on the iPad.  Yes, I would be willing to pay for a digital copy but not at this time; and I only wanted to experience the newspaper on iPad. Newspapers fall into the same category as magazines…do you want to pay for a subscription?  I get three newspapers—Washington Post, Washington Times and the Wall Street Journal….the apps for these are available.  (WSJ is free; Washington Post is $1.99; nothing on Washington Times) on my iPhone and  I also get an RSS feed on my Google account  for news and magazines. How many versions in any form can I read and enjoy?      Books.  Readability is terrific, convenience is excellent…but I still have the cost issue and the fear...

Developing a new relationship—business or social, dallying in a crush (illicit or not) or indulging into an affair—all take time and effort. I’ve tried to make the iPad my friend, it has become a crush and borders on an affair—but I’m married to books. Does that make me “disloyal” when I enjoy a good read on the iPad? But I have learned that I don’t want to buy the digital books because the public library is also my friend. I check out both hard copies for the tactile reading adventure and audio books for to accompany my commutes—all free.  My home library, filled with old and new books, is my refuge—this habit is a life long affair of the heart.  I lent my iPad to a colleague, now my heart has grown fonder; I now miss the iPad. Emotions and technology?  Who knew?  In the coming weeks, I will share my experiences with the iPad apps and adapting to the ebook landscape.  What are your...