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A new report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project (@pewinternet) concludes that 12% of US adults own an ebook reader as of May 2011, up from 6% in November 2010.

Hispanic adults, adults younger than age 65, college graduates and those living in households with incomes of at least $75,000 are most likely to own ebook readers. Parents are also more likely than non-parents to own these devices.

Tablet computers have not seen the same level of growth among US adults in recent months. As of May 2011, 8% of adults report owning a tablet computer such as an iPad, Samsung Galaxy, or Motorola Xoom. This represents just a 3 percentage-point increase in ownership since November 2010. Overall, the highest rates of tablet ownership are among Hispanic adults and those with household incomes of at least $75,000 annually.

Read the report in full.

Also see MediaPost's (@MediaPost) "Tablet, E-reader Owners Also Print Junkies." It says

tablet owners are 66% more likely than the average US adult to be big print magazine consumers and 54% more likely to be heavy print newspaper readers. Similarly, e-reader owners are 23% more likely to be print magazine enthusiasts and 63% more likely to get newsprint on their hands.

One popular e-reader is Barnes & Noble’s (@BNBuzz) new touchscreen Nook (@nookBN). You’ll want to read Rick Mansfield’s (@thislamp) detailed review of it (he likes it).

Chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers, Michael Hyatt (@MichaelHyatt), shares advice on how to make the most of any interview opportunity:

1. Prepare thoroughly for the interview.

2. Remember that the show is not about you.

3. Understand the audience.

4. Don’t expect the interviewer to have read your book.

5. Be able to explain what your book is about in a few sentences.

6. Listen carefully to the questions.

7. Keep your answers brief and to-the-point.

8. Be energetic and authentic.

9. Don’t become defensive.

10. Refer listeners back to your book.

Read this in full.

Another set of good tips are described in this article, "Five Ways Media Training Can Improve Your Marriage" at Mr. Media Training (@MrMediaTraining). 

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help train you or your authors in ways to make your media appearances more effective.

Hitwise (@Hitwise_UK & @Hitwise_US) believes in the benefits of social media and that Facebook in particular is becoming critical to the success of multi-channel marketing. Leveraging its unique data sets, it’s determined that every new fan retailers acquire on Facebook is worth 20 additional visits to its website over the course of a year. Fans are clearly worth the social media effort.

Read the report in full.

According to Business Insider War Room (@tbi_warroom) Facebook fans and Twitter followers have an avalanche effect. “As hard as it is to get that first handful of followers, thanks to news feeds and retweets, your social media fans can grow exponentially. Plus, users are far more likely to ‘Like’ a page that thousands of other people have already ‘liked.’” It offers tips on how to “get millions of business followers”:

• Use targeted advertising on Facebook
• Pay for fans
• Incentivize clicking “Like” or following on Twitter
• Piggyback off hot-button issues
• Notice trending hashtags
• Target popular tweeters
• Create good content
• Update frequently
• Engage customers’ conversations
• Respond to complaints

Read these in full.

According to an analysis by Ben Elowitz (@elowitz), of Digital Quarters blog, Facebook, online video, and mobile consumption are causing the rest of the Web to shrink. He says in the future brands will need to spend less time on SEO and more time optimizing for Facebook.

Read the analysis in full.

As for Somersault (@smrsault), please Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. Then tell your friends to as well. Thanks!

The Business & Books (@businessnbooks) section of the International Business Times reports on "Harry Potter" series author J. K. Rowling announcing she will release for the first time the Harry Potter works in ebook form.

Ordinarily, that would not be big news, an author releasing traditional books in ebook format. But Rowling is taking a different path, releasing and selling the books herself through a new website she named Pottermore (@pottermore). In other words, Rowling, one of the bestselling authors in the history of the world, is bypassing not just one traditional channel with her plan but two -- the publisher and the retailer…. Rowling will be bypassing leading ebook distributors Amazon and Barnes and Noble with the direct, do-it-herself model.

All of Rowling's 7 "Harry Potter" books will be released on Pottermore.com in the fall. She's even giving fans who buy the digital books direct from her site a magical treat -- 18,000 more words that will be distributed throughout the series. So it's not just the Harry Potter of old she's selling, but also the new and revised Harry Potter fans can find at Pottermore.com.

Read this report in full.

Publishers Weekly (@PublishersWkly) says "Although some are likely to see Rowling's decision to be her own publisher for her ebooks as a significant one for the industry at large, Potter is a unique franchise. 'Everything is different with Harry,' says one person involved with the Potter books."

Read the Publishers Weekly article in full.

Shelf Awareness (@ShelfAwareness) reports what other media and booksellers are saying. And Fast Company (@FastCompany) has this Infographic about the Potter empire.

Seven-in-ten evangelical leaders who live in the Global South (71%) expect that 5 years from now the state of evangelicalism in their countries will be better than it is today. But a majority of evangelical leaders in the Global North expect that the state of evangelicalism in their countries will either stay about the same (21%) or worsen (33%) over the next 5 years.

The survey was taken of evangelical leaders from 166 countries and territories who were invited to attend the Third Lausanne Congress of World Evangelization (@capetown2010), a 10-day gathering of ministers and lay leaders held in October 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa.

Overall, evangelical leaders around the world view secularism, consumerism and popular culture as the greatest threats they face today. More of the leaders express concern about these aspects of modern life than express concern about other religions, internal disagree-ments among evangelicals or government restrictions on religion.

Read the report in full.

What content should you be creating to meet the needs of this evangelical market?

In this trendwatching.com (@trendwatching) article, dozens of innovation (#innovation) examples are displayed, along with the (mini) consumer trends that spawned them. Trendwatching.com defines innovation as “anything that will get consumers spending, and preferably the kind of spending that involves *your* products, services, and experiences.” And it says “trends are only good for one thing: inspiring you to innovate, to come up with new goods, services and experiences for (or even better, with) your customers.” Innovations are showcased in the following trend categories:

• hAPPiness
• Cash-less
• Embedded stories
• Life: subscribed
• Now-or-never commerce
• Extreme charity
• Pop-up 4.0
• Professional
• RepYOUtation
• Choice cuts
• Gifting galore
• Real-world Liking
• Bidconomy
• Hyper-personalization

Read the article in full.

Join Somersault (@smrsault) in keeping an eye on innovation and where it’s taking the publishing world by reading the Somersault Innovation Daily News and using the SomersaultNOW dashboard of more than 300 articles and RSS feeds designed for publishers and marketers; especially note the Innovation tab. And please tell your colleagues. Thanks!

For the first time ever, daily time spent in mobile apps surpasses desktop and mobile Web consumption, according to an analysis from Flurry (@FlurryMobile), a mobile analytics firm. Flurry found that the average user now spends 9% more time using mobile apps than the Internet.

As a note of interest, Facebook has increasingly taken its share of time spent on the Internet, now making up 14 of the 74 minutes spent per day by consumers, or about 1/6th of all Internet minutes.

The above chart shows that Games and Social Networking categories capture the significant majority of consumers’ time. Consumers spend nearly half their time using Games, and a third in Social Networking apps. Combined, these two categories control a whopping 79% of consumers’ total app time.

Read the report in full.

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you create a mobile app that fits your publishing strategy. When you use SomersaultNOW, Somersault’s free online dashboard for publishing and marketing executives, be sure to use the Mobile tab from your smartphone. And read the Somersault Mobile News Daily.

Shelf Awareness (@ShelfAwareness) reports “a solid majority of adults in the US believe in the importance of multicultural picture books for children, but many find it difficult to obtain them.” According to a recent survey commissioned by the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, 78% say they believe it’s important for children to be exposed to picture books that feature main characters of various ethnicities or races, while 33% report it’s difficult to find such books.

The survey also shows 73% of parents and 49% of adults have purchased a children's picture book with a protagonist of a different race or ethnicity from the child who will be reading the book, while only 10% consider it important to match the race or ethnicity of the main character of a picture book to the race or ethnicity of the child who will be receiving the book.

The factors adults consider when selecting a children's picture book are:

• Interesting stories (62%)
• Important lessons (61%)
• Eye-catching pictures (41%)

Read the survey news release.

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you discern strategic publishing research that’s important to you. And use the SomersaultNOW dashboard every day; especially the Research tab. Also subscribe to the free Somersault Research Daily News.

Ben Mutzabaugh (@TodayInTheSky) of USA TODAY asks, “What will the airplane of the future look like?” One answer is the concept plane of 2050 unveiled by Airbus (@Airbus): a long sleek fuselage, complete with duel fins flanking each side of the jet's tail area.

Inside Airbus envisions a future where class divisions disappear. Instead of first- business- and coach class, The Telegraph of London notes Airbus' concept plane offers "personalized zones that offer flexible, tailored levels of relaxation, interactivity and working spaces."

Popsci.com notes "when flights are at less than full capacity, unneeded seats at the rear of the plane will collapse and all seats will redistribute themselves to offer everyone an equitable boost in legroom. These seats will also morph to fit passengers' bodies."

What will people be reading on these planes in 2050? And what devices will they be using to enjoy that content?

Read this article in full and watch the video.

Join Somersault (@smrsault) in keeping an eye on how today’s technology will influence our future by reading the Somersault Futurist Daily News and using the SomersaultNOW dashboard of more than 300 articles and RSS feeds designed for publishers and marketers; especially note the Future tab. And tell your colleagues. Thanks!