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In a dramatic final quarter of Super Bowl XLVI, the New York Giants came back from a halftime deficit last night to route the New England Patriots with a final score of 21-17. See the NFL (@nfl) Super Bowl Game Highlights.

The close score throughout the night kept viewers watching to the end, which was good news for advertisers, who paid $3.5 million per 30-second spot to air their commercials. If you missed the ads, you can see coverage at

·         SuperBowl-Ads.com

·         Advertising Age (@AdAge) “Instant Replay: See All the Super Bowl Spots Again and Again”

·         ESPN (@espn) "Super Bowl Ads"

·         Adweek (@Adweek) live blogging transcript and "The Spot: Return of the Jedi" and portions of all the spots edited into a 2-minute video 

·         Mashable (@mashable) “Super Bowl 2012 Commercials: Watch Them All Here”

·         Unruly Media (@unrulymedia) Viral Video (@VideoChart) Chart

·         USA TODAY Ad Team (@USATAdBeat) Ad Meter and “Super Bowl Ads Go To The Dogs”

·         BrandBowl (@brandbowl) “Super Bowl Ad Chart” (#brandbowl)

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you advertise your brand.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

Education Week (@educationweek) reports that US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Federal Communications Chairman Julius Genachowski unveiled the new Digital Textbook Playbook, a resource designed by the Digital Textbook Collaborative to help guide educators in their transition to electronic resources, as the pair headlined a national online town hall meeting for the inaugural Digital Learning Day (@DLDay2012) Feb. 1. Specifically noting that South Korea plans to use only digital textbooks by 2013, Chairman Genachowski declared,

If we want American students to be the best prepared to compete in the 21st century global economy, we can’t allow a majority of our students to miss out on the opportunities of digital textbooks. Today, I want to challenge everyone in the space – companies, government officials, schools and teachers – to do their part to make sure that every student in America has a digital textbook in the next 5 years.

He and Secretary Duncan plan to meet with CEO’s of relevant companies to spur movement toward this objective.

Read his remarks in full.

Read the Education Week article in full.

What do you think? Is a digital textbook for every US student in 5 years a realistic and helpful objective? What will it mean for your textbook publishing agenda? Write your comments below.

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you in your textbook publishing and marketing needs.

Bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard, created especially for marketing and publishing executives.

Image: Byook.com

In Salon (@Salon), writer Laura Miller (@magiciansbook) discounts the idea that fiction ebooks must be produced with more and more enhancements to attract and keep readers. In fact, she says those enhancements are distractions to the enjoyment of a well-written book.

Attempts to invigorate books with video and other digital bells and whistles keep bumping up against this fundamental problem: You can’t really pay much attention to anything else while you’re reading, so in order to play with any of these new features, you have to stop reading. If you’re enjoying what you’re reading, then the attentional tug of all these peripheral doodads is vaguely annoying, and if you’re not engaged by the story, they aren’t enough on their own to win you over….

Narrative constructs this alternate reality in your imagination, and narrative sustains it. What matters is not the story on the page — or the screen — but the story in your head. Interactive baubles pull a reader’s attention back to the screen, serving as a reminder of the thing you want to go on forgetting: the fact that all of this is just made up, words on a page. Some enhanced ebook publishers have cottoned onto this problem and as a result they’ve moved away from inserting video or clickable illustrations into their books, and in new directions….

For the most part...fictional narratives, when they work, don’t really need digital enhancements.

Read this in full.

For a counterpoint to this article, see our blogpost “How to Build the Pixar of the iPad Age.”

Bookmark and use daily SomersaultNOW, our (@smrsault) free online dashboard for booklovers.

Their first project, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (@MorrisLessmore), was released for the iPad last May. It recounts the wondrous adventures of a book lover who dotingly cares for a living library before writing a book himself that tells of “his joys and sorrows, of all that he knew and everything that he hoped.” Gorgeously illustrated, Lessmore breaks new ground in the way that it incorporates interactivity. Each page has a wormhole of interaction. Read about a song and perhaps a keyboard will pop up and guide your fingers to plunk out "Pop Goes the Weasel." When Morris Lessmore hand-feeds alphabet cereal to his books, the reader gets a bowl too, with letters that can be dragged along through the milk to spell out words. Each page holds its game like a secret and puzzling out what to do encourages the reader to look harder, knowing they'll be rewarded. The games pull the reader deeper; the narrative pulls the reader farther. The tension between lingering and racing is potent.

Morris Lessmore may be the best iPad book in the world. In July, Morris Lessmore hit the number one spot on Apple's iPad app chart in the US. That is to say, Morris Lessmore wasn't just the bestselling book, but the bestselling *app* of any kind for a time. At one point or another, it has been the top book app in 21 countries. A New York Times reviewer called it “the best,” “visually stunning,” and “beautiful.” Wired.com called it “game-changing.” MSNBC said it was “the most stunning iPad app so far.” And The Times UK made this prediction, “It is not inconceivable that, at some point in the future, a short children's story called The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore will be regarded as one of the most influential titles of the early 21st century.” ....

....But what is it? It's not just a book, nor wholly a movie, nor fundamentally a game. Maybe we can call it a story that's reenacted live by whoever is holding the iPad. It makes parents cry, kids laugh, babies stare, and artists drool.

Read this in full.

Also see our previous blogpost, “William Joyce’s Children’s iPad Book Embraces the Future.”

For a counterpoint to the above articles, see our blogpost “Can Bells and Whistles Save the Book?.”

Bookmark and use daily SomersaultNOW, our (@smrsault) free online dashboard for booklovers.

Thinkmodo (@thinkmodo) dreamed up a publicity stunt for the movie Chronicle about three teenagers who get superpowers and can fly. The stunt? Create people-shaped motorized kites, video record them flying over New York, and hope the video goes viral. It has. In just four days, the video has more than 5 million views on YouTube.  Discovery (@Discovery_News) explains the technology behind it all. And here’s a CNN report about it.

Also see our previous blogpost, “How ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ Reveals the True Meaning of Viral Content.”

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you get people talking about your brand.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard, especially the Social Media/WOM tab.

On Practical Ecommerce (@practicalecomm), contributing editor Paul Chaney (@pchaney) says blogs have advantages over social media platforms when it comes to brand marketing, including the ability to improve SEO results and the chance to add a personal touch by having one person communicate the brand's message directly. Here are his 5 points:

1. Blogging Can Improve Search Engine Optimization

2. Blogs Add a Personal Touch

3. Blogs Help Build Brand

4. Blogs Attract Media Attention

5. Blogs Exploit Marketable Niches

Read this in full.

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you manage your social media marketing strategy.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Social Media/Word Of Mouth tab.

trendwatching.com (@trendwatching) provides an overview of “12 must-know consumer trends (in random order)”:

·         Red Carpet — In 2012, department stores, airlines, hotels, theme parks, museums, if not entire cities and nations around the world will roll out the red carpet for the new emperors, showering Chinese visitors and customers with tailored services and perks, and in general, lavish attention and respect.

·         DIY Health — Expect to see consumers take advantage of new technologies and apps to discreetly and continuously track, manage and be alerted to, any changes in their personal health.

·         Dealer-Chic — In 2012, not only will consumers continue to hunt for deals and discounts, but they will do so with relish if not pride. Deals are now about more than just saving money: it’s the thrill, the pursuit, the control, and the perceived smartness, and thus a source of status too.

·         Eco-Cycology — Brands will increasingly take back all of their products for recycling (sometimes forced by new legislation), and recycle them responsibly and innovatively.

·         Cash-Less — Will coins and notes completely disappear in 2012? No. But a cashless future is (finally) upon us, as major players such as MasterCard and Google work to build a whole new eco-system of payments, rewards and offers around new mobile technologies.

·         Bottom of the Urban Pyramid — The majority of consumers live in cities, yet in much of the world city life is chaotic, cramped and often none too pleasant. However at the same time, the creativity and vibrancy of these aspiring consumers, means that the global opportunities for brands which cater to the hundreds of millions of lower-income CITYSUMERS are unprecedented.

·         Idle Sourcing — Anything that makes it downright simple - if not completely effortless - for consumers to contribute to something will be more popular than ever in 2012. Unlocked by the spread of ever smarter sensors in mobile phones, people will not only be able but increasingly willing, to broadcast information about where and what they are doing, to help improve products and services.

·         Flawsome — Consumers will consider those brands awesome that behave more humanly, including exposing their flaws.

·         Screen Culture — Thanks to the continued explosion of touchscreen smartphones, tablets, and the 'cloud', 2012 will see a screen culture that is not only more pervasive, but more personal, more immersive, and more interactive than ever.

·         Recommerce — It’s never been easier for savvy consumers to resell or trade in past purchases, and unlock the value in their current possessions. In 2012, ‘trading in’ is the new buying.

·         Emerging Maturialism — While cultural differences will continue to shape consumer desires, middle-class and/or younger consumers in almost every market will embrace brands that push the boundaries. Expect frank, risqué or non-corporate products, services, and campaigns from emerging markets to be on the rise in 2012.

·         Point & Know — Consumers are used to being able to find out just about anything that’s online or text-based, but 2012 will see instant visual information gratification brought into the real and visual world with objects and even people.

Read this in full.

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you track trends that impact your brand.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

Brand owners must pay attention to their “digital balance sheet” as the rise of ecommerce, the popularity of mobile devices, and the growth of social media reshape the trading climate internationally, according to The Digital Manifesto: How Companies and Countries Can Win in the Digital Economy by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) (@BCG_Consultant).

The management consultancy says the Internet economy of the G20 countries — a group including Brazil, China, Germany, India, Japan, the UK, and the USA — should hit $4.2tr in 2016, up from $2.3tr in 2010 due in large part to the rapid expansion of the Web user base, which is set to surge from 1.9bn to 3bn during the same period (45% of the global population).

“No company or country can afford to ignore this development. Every business needs to go digital,” says David Dean, a coauthor of the report and a senior partner at BCG. “The ‘new’ Internet is no longer largely Western, accessed from your PC. It is now global, ubiquitous, and participatory.”

The BCG report charts several major shifts in the use and nature of the Internet:

·         From a Luxury to an Ordinary Good.

·         From Developed to Emerging Markets.

·         From PC to Mobile.

·         From Passive to Participatory.

BCG says companies that make extensive use of the Internet — including social media — to sell, market, and interact with their customers and suppliers grow faster than those that do not.

The study recommends that brands focus on their “digital balance sheet:”

digital assets comprised of

·         Information and analytics about customers, suppliers, employees, and competitors

·         Connectivity and feedback loops that lubricate the digital enterprise

·         Intellectual property that bestows a competitive digital advantage

·         The people, culture, and capabilities needed to execute and deliver

and digital liabilities (ways of working that handicap the ability to exploit their digital assets) of

·         Organizational structures, incentives, and cultures that collectively discourage adaptability and risk taking

·         IT systems, processes, and tools that limit flexibility and focus

·         Rigid strategies unsuited to a volatile business environment

Read the news release.

Read The Digital Manifesto (registration required).

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you determine your own brand’s digital balance sheet.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

Since 2002, the United States has lost roughly 500 independent bookstores — nearly 1 out of 5 — due in many instances to the dominance of the Barnes & Noble (@BNBuzz) bookstore chain. Now, however, it’s B&N that’s fighting for survival.

Julie Bosman (@juliebosman), book publishing reporter for The New York Times (@nytimesbooks), writes a behind-the-scenes look at Barnes & Noble, a company that started in 1873 by Charles Barnes in Wheaton, IL.

In March 2009, an eternity ago in Silicon Valley, a small team of engineers here was in a big hurry to rethink the future of books. Not the paper-and-ink books that have been around since the days of Gutenberg, the ones that the doomsayers proclaim — with glee or dread — will go the way of vinyl records.

No, the engineers were instead fixated on the forces that are upending the way books are published, sold, bought, and read: ebooks and e-readers. Working in secret, behind an unmarked door in a former bread bakery, they rushed to build a device that might capture the imagination of readers and maybe even save the book industry.

They had six months to do it.

Running this sprint was, of all companies, Barnes & Noble, the giant that helped put so many independent booksellers out of business and that now finds itself locked in the fight of its life. What its engineers dreamed up was the Nook (@nookBN), a relative e-reader latecomer that has nonetheless become the great e-hope of Barnes & Noble and, in fact, of many in the book business.

Several iterations later, the Nook and, by extension, Barnes & Noble, at times seem the only things standing between traditional book publishers and oblivion.

The article goes on to say B&N plans to unveil another e-reader soon.

At its labs in Silicon Valley last week, engineers were putting final touches on their 5th e-reading device, a product that executives said would be released sometime this spring.

Read this in full. Also on CNBC.com (@CNBC).

Bookmark and use daily SomersaultNOW, our (@smrsault) free online dashboard for booklovers.

Hilary Greenbaum (@HilaryGreenbaum) and Dana Rubinstein (@danarubinstein) write in The New York Times Magazine (@NYTmag) about the history of the highlighter.

Before the rise of the highlighter, says Dennis Baron (@DrGrammar), a University of Illinois professor and the author of A Better Pencil, attentive readers relied on “a combination of underlining and marginal notes.”

Like so much else, that began to change in the 1960s. It was then that the Japanese inventor Yukio Horie created a felt-tip pen that used water-based ink. The following year, in 1963, the Massachusetts print-media giant Carter’s Ink developed a similar water-based marker that emitted an eye-catching translucent ink. They called it the Hi-Liter.

... The highlighter’s appeal has flourished in the digital age. Most word-processing and e-reader software products have a highlighter function. And the hand-held highlighter continues to evolve, too....When the highlighter business saw that it wasn’t being embraced by holdouts who preferred pens, it made the dual highlighter/pen. There are now retractable highlighters. And flat ones. And ones that smell like pizza.

...Due to the thin paper used in most Bibles, typical highlighters often bleed through. For that reason, G.T. Luscombe (@GTLuscombe), a distributor of Bible-study accessories based in Frankfort, Ill., got into the business of Bible-paper-friendly highlighters. John Luscombe, the president and chief executive, explains….

Read this in full.

Bookmark and daily use SomersaultNOW, our (@smrsault) free online dashboard for book lovers.