Online versus Offline Digital Content

As publishers are told to go vertical, direct and create a direct dialogue with the consumer you start to see differences of approach. The pages of Facebook, Second Life, My Space, and the myriad of social network wanabees have publishers knocking on their door wanting to piggyback on their audience. Last week Penguin made all the headlines with their online match making alliance.

We have long argued the logic of taking someone such as JK Rowling and publishing the story by instalment online first and The Bookseller today covered the news that Dutton, a Penguin imprint has embarked on a digi-novel with Anthony Zuiker, the creator of the TV CSI series. The three book multimedia series due in 2009 will demand readers to read the book, view clips, and participate online in order to complete the story.

The interesting question this raises is not about ebooks but what publishers may feel is the digital end game. To us it is clear that the current one dimensional ebook readers are mere transient technology and will be replaced by either laptops or mobiles that are permanently connected with unlimited data contracts. Why on earth do you need to download a digital copy that you can do nothing with except store, when you can access it online from anywhere at anytime? Hello, why do you need a library on a reader when you can have a library in a cloud? The only strength of the Kindle is its wireless connection, the weakness was it choose this to merely download content not render it.

When will someone wake up and realise that one of the best digital alliances today is with the service providers? I’ll provide the content you provide the service. You sell lots of unlimited data contracts; I’ll sell the subscriptions or rentals. You have a huge subscriber list, we don’t and haven’t a clue how to grow and maintain one.

Another interesting question is why it will take a year to create the experince? Surely the new novel is not tied to print schedules, publication schedules and by its nature its more fluid in its construct. Maybe the old 13 week publishing window still prevails and we therefore must wait?

The one thing that is certain is change and that says that future will be different. Merely replicating today's models and processes for the sake of it means the journey takes longer and the risks are higher. We already have the Orange book prize, so why not in the words of their slogan - make the future Orange!

We welcome the continued experimentation of the likes of Penguin. We may not always agree with the steps taken but we respect that they are taking them.

Childrens' Second Life?

When we think of children’s entertainment with think books, games, TV, toys, films etc. We often automatically think of the format before we think of the content itself. Is Peter Pan a book, game, film, cartoon, merchandise or all rolled up into one? How do children want to see their favourites, as books as films or as an ‘experience’?

We read today in the New York Times about the growing success of web sites like Club Penguin and Webkinz, were entertainment companies are building virtual worlds for children. Not only can they experience but they can participate and belong in a part online role-playing game and part social scene. These children’s versions of Second Life are proving much more popular and Debra Aho Williamson, an analyst at the research firm eMarketer, estimates that 20 million children will be members of a virtual world by 2011, up from 8.2 million today.

More than six million unique visitors logged on to Webkinz in November, up 342% from November 2006. Disney last month introduced a “Pirates of the Caribbean” world aimed at children 10 and older, and it has many themed worlds on the way. Nickelodeon, has the successful Neopets and is spending $100 million to develop a string of worlds. Coming soon are Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera and worlds based on D. C. comics properties from Warner Brothers. Not to be left out toy manufacturers Lego and Mattel are entering the market along with many technology companies. There are now over 10 virtual worlds that involve caring for virtual pets.

Disney’s largest online world is Club Penguin, which it bought in August for $700 million and at the time it already had 700,000 members paying fees of $5.95 a month and delivering annual revenue of almost $50 million.

The interesting question all this activity throws up is what comes first? In olden days the books created the story that moved onto the film and then spun out to the merchandise but does this still hold firm? Will we see the virtual world coming first? What will be the impact on the development of new content and the trading of rights? Many questions will be answered by the money. We will always have books that go on to be successful films but will we have ‘worlds’ that go on to sell books?