The above Infographic by Michigan State University (@michiganstateu) identifies leadership qualities to cultivate in 8 areas: preparation, character, principles, personality, performance, experience, expression, and influence.
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The year 2012 would have been public television cooking instructor Julia Child’s 100th birthday. To celebrate, PBS Digital Studios (@PBSDS) commissioned John D. Boswell, aka melodysheep (@musicalscience), to produce the above video, auto-tuning Julia’s cuisine phrases through the years. The result is more than 1 million views. Do you have content you could repurpose to advance your brand?
Also see our previous blogpost, “The 3 Qualities That Make A YouTube Video Go Viral.”
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Book printer Snowfall Press (@SnowfallPress) has developed technology that allows publishers and authors to create an “instant bookstore” by way of printing books on demand. Information for publishers and developers describes the tools for consumer engagement that allow publishers and authors to automate the sales/printing/distribution process in a true print-to-order environment.
In the above video, David Sheets, vice present of sales, explains Snowfall’s program.
Social media connection is rapidly becoming a necessary tool for authors. Authors have a chance to engage their fans like never before. The Snowfall Facebook bookstore application allows authors and publishers to open an e-commerce bookstore right on the Facebook fan-page. Authors can bypass the cost and hassles of other online commerce methods and connect directly with readers and fans. Not only will they be able to browse titles, but also add them to a shopping cart and check out through the PayPal network.
The biggest feature, however, is that authors and publishers won't have to ship them. Leave the printing and shipping to Snowfall Press. Order confirmations will automatically transmit to the Snowfall Press server, and print/ship order directly to the end reader/fan.
Read more information about this new service.
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Barcodes are a standard application on books today. BBC News reports that October 7 is the 60th anniversary of the barcode patent, filed in the US in 1952.
However the distinctive black-and-white stripes did not make their first appearance in an American shop until 1974 - because the laser technology used to read them did not exist.
[Standardization entity] GS1 UK (@GS1UK) says the QR code was not a threat to the traditional linear barcode.
A QR (Quick Response) code is an image made up of dots, which can contain more data than a barcode.
"They have different purposes - the barcode on the side of a tin of beans is for point-of-sale scanning. It ensures the consumer is charged the right amount and updates stock records," said Gary Lynch, chief executive of GS1 UK.
"The QR code's main purpose is to take the person that scans it to an extended multi media environment. Technically you can combine the two but nobody's asking for that right now."
The first item to be scanned by a barcode was a packet of chewing gum in an Ohio supermarket in 1974.
Christian fiction readers now have the first “all-in-one” site to discover the latest information about Christian fiction including updates, recommendations, new releases, commentary, and exclusive articles from their favorite writers.
NovelCrossing.com (@novelcrossing), “the Intersection of Faith and Fiction,” is a website aimed at building a community of Christian fiction readers by being the most inclusive site on the subject of inspirational novels.
Developed by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group (@WaterBrookPress), NovelCrossing.com features content from all publishers of Christian fiction, allowing readers to discover new titles from across the publishing universe. Currently the site provides data on 10,000 titles from 50 different publishing houses.
“While there are a number of informative sites featuring Christian fiction book reviews and interviews, no one site combines a searchable database of books and authors, across all publishers in this category, with reviews, interviews, features, and a community component,” says Shannon Marchese, WaterBrook Multnomah senior fiction editor. “We built Novel Crossing to fill that gap. We wanted fans of Christian fiction to have a “one-stop” destination for finding authors and new reads, for leaving comments and making friends who love the books they love.” She explains more in the following video.
See our previous blogposts on book discoverability.
Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you publish and market your brand content in the new world of digital publishing.
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For Creativity (@creativitymag), Rupal Parekh (@rupalparekh) compares the 1962 television cartoon show The Jetsons with today’s technological reality.
In honor of The Jetsons' 50th anniversary, we decided to take a look to see how far we've come. And based on where we are so far, by 2062, the year the show is set in, we may just achieve all that the show's writers envisioned and then some. One thing that's massively important to us today and wasn't reflected that way on the show is our powerful mobile phone technology and the importance to us of how small those devices have become, as well as what they permit – constant access to the Internet (not conceived back then) and a variety of useful apps.
The article highlights the following elements from the show: robots, short workdays, trips to the moon, flying cars, video chat, pop stars, floating cities, Jane’s electric dress, human cloning, and vacuum tube transport.
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The American Christian Fiction Writers (@ACFWTweets) conference (@ACFWConference) (#ACFW) is being held in Dallas, TX and Somersault (@smrsault) is here telling authors, agents, and publishers about
Congratulations to Allen Arnold, winner of the ACFW’s 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award “in recognition of his impact on the Christian fiction industry, its authors, and its readers.” He’s the former publisher and senior vice president of Thomas Nelson Fiction, having launched the Fiction group in 2004.
ACFW’s other awards are Julee Schwarzburg - Editor of the Year, Nicole Resciniti - Agent of the Year, Allison Pittman - Mentor of the Year, Genesis winners for the best unpublished Christian fiction projects, and the Carol Awards for the best Christian fiction published in the previous calendar year.
If you’re attending the conference, please come to our exhibit booth and say hi!
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A report by Laura Hazard Owen (@laurahazardowen) for paidContent (@paidContent) says, “On Demand Books, the company behind the Espresso Book Machine (@espressobook), and Kodak (@kodakCB) are partnering to add print-on-demand technology to Kodak Picture Kiosks (@KodakKiosks) [of which there are 105,000 nationwide]. That means consumers will be able to print paperback photo books, self-published books, and the seven million backlist and public domain titles in On Demand’s catalog from retail chains such as CVS (@CVSCaremarkFYI).”
About 30 Espresso Book Machines are installed in stores around the US, with 30 more being readied for installation.
HarperCollinsPublishers (@HarperCollins) says it will make about 5,000 current paperbacks available through the Espresso Book Machine.
Read The Wall Street Journal article.
On Demand also announced a partnership with ReaderLink (@Readerlink), which distributes books to grocery stores, drugstores, mass market and club stores, to make more titles available through the Kodak Picture Kiosks.
“We envision an integrated solution that can substantially redefine the publishing industry and bring exciting new solutions to customers," says Dane Neller, CEO of On Demand Books.
But according to USA TODAY (@usatodaytech), "this all comes with one huge catch — Kodak is in the midst of selling its photo kiosk business as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy."
Neller said the Kodak agreement, though announced [Sept. 12], was signed before the Rochester printing and imaging company announced last month it had decided to sell a set of businesses that include its photo kiosks, document scanners and still camera film operations. He said On Demand's hope is that whatever company buys Kodak's kiosk operations would also continue the Espresso arrangement.
See our previous blogposts “Mardel Acquires Espresso Book Machine” and “3D Printing a Gun.”
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Occasionally publishing professionals may tend to view books as commodities rather than the individual works of value that they are; especially with the onslaught of nearly 1,000 books being published every day. The sheer volume can make marketers lose focus. And if that challenge isn’t enough, today’s market is demanding more and more personalization and customization. Marketers must appeal to consumers needs in more personal and social ways.
The above video offers a lesson in innovative “custom mass-marketing” from the marketers of the vodka brand, Absolut. Engineers and designers created rules that allowed machines to behave randomly to create 4 million uniquely designed (“personalized”) bottles.
What can we learn and adapt from this marketing approach? Write your comments below.
Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you create innovative ways to strategically communicate your brand’s message.
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In Fast Company (@FastCompany), leadership experts Ken Blanchard (@kenblanchard & @LeaderChat) (blog) and Scott Blanchard write, “There is a big difference between identifying the cause of a negative outcome and looking for someone to blame it on. Identifying the cause of a negative outcome is productive. You can use that information to avoid the situation in the future and also help people take responsibility for fixing it and moving on.”
Finding fault and assigning blame, on the other hand, creates a situation where people become stuck and paralyzed. It’s a negative approach that assumes neglect or malfeasance that requires punishment. This type of attitude produces a risk-averse organization where people play it safe instead of stepping out and trying new ideas.
Now your organization takes on a culture similar to the classic arcade game, Whac-A-Mole, where most employees keep their head down except for the unsuspecting novice who pops his head up only to have the oversized mallet pound him or her back down if their initiative fails. Once an organization develops that type of culture, it is very difficult for innovation to take hold.
Holding to the value of leadership and innovation, Somersault (@smrsault) is here to help you identify blue ocean strategy for your brand.
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Above Image: Education Consulting Coaches