Infographic The Books of the Bible by Tim Challies (@challies).
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.
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.
In an effort to explore the essence of what it means to create an enhanced ebook, this article [profanity alert] in the Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) showcases Moonbot Studios (@moonbotstudios), “a rousingly successful production company for children's entertainment.”
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.
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.
Book lover Sean Ohlenkamp (@ohkamp), an associate art director at Lowe Roche (@loweroche), spent 4 nights at independent Canadian bookstore Type Books (@typebooks) shooting this whimsical stop-motion video tribute to books.
The above video was inspired by the one below, which Ohlenkamp and his wife created last year with the books in his home.
Read The Huffington Post (@HuffPostCanada) story in full.
Bookmark and use daily our (@smrsault) SomersaultNOW online dashboard, designed for book lovers.
Video by TO-FU Motion Graphics Studio (@tofu_design).
Bookmark and use daily our SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Innovation tab.
On Harvard Biz Review (@HarvardBiz), Michael Schrage observes that “the following 6 ideas emerged this past year as powerful ‘innovation invitations.’ They seem certain to intensify in global power and influence. They'll be sources of — and resources for — innovation differentiation this coming year.”
1. The Slacktivism Co-Opt: As much a term of derision as global sociological phenomenon, slacktivism has emerged as social media’s way of making support for a cause as easy as a re-tweet or clicking Facebook’s “like” button....
2. Counting on Self-Quantifiers for Growth: Mobile, digital, and networked devices have created a global sub-culture of self-quantifiers — that is, individuals who rigorously count every step they take, every calorie they eat, every minute they sleep, every email/text they send/receive, and every schedule change they make....
3. Gerontabletification: Mobile phones are too small; their screens too tiny and keyboards too minute. But tablets have emerged as ideal media platforms for those requiring larger fonts and bigger keys. The iPad has ceased to be a symbol of youth and vitality. It’s now how silver haired executives — and 75 year old grandmas — read the news, manage their email and play games with the kids....
4. Globalizing Grand Challenges: Over the past decade, America has been a leader in the design, development, and marketing of competitions and prizes for technical innovation. But it's time the so-called emerging economies stepped up....
5. Handheld Augmented Reality: Who, or what, will be the Foursquare of Augmented Visualization and Interaction?....What's next is the first wave of mobile devices becoming augmented reality viewers for their users. Expect to see QR code/augmented reality mashups as a 2012 investment to facilitate the virtual transition....
6. The Greenlash Arrives: Is there a Greenlash emerging that’s pushing populations worldwide to reconsider so-called fossil fuels as better, safer, and more reliable than their renewable counterparts? There's little doubt that they’re proving to be cheaper....The green promises of eco-tech are taking longer and costing more than many of its champions promised. As energy-dependent economies chug along with growth far lower than expected or desired, green options are looking rather gray....
Bookmark and daily use Somersault’s (@smrsault) SomersaultNOW online dashboard, including our Innovation tab.
In the September/October 2011 issue of Outreach (@Outreach), Bobby Gruenewald (@bobbygwald), pastor and innovation leader at YouVersion (@YouVersion), offered trend analyses to help church leaders be more effective in 2012:
1. Trend: Permanence to Mobility. Question: If people are increasingly mobile now, how does this shape the opportunities we offer to engage them in ministry?
2. Trend: Consumer to Producer/Consumer. Question: How can we move content creation beyond just our team and harness the creativity of the church?
3. Trend: Content to Conversation. Question: How can we build conversation around our teaching and what’s happening in our church?
4. Trend: Programmed to On-Demand. Question: How can we make what we do more adaptable? How can we go from one-size-fits-all programming to something that is highly customizable—when and where people need it?
Bookmark and use daily Somersault’s (@smrsault) SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Leadership and Innovation tabs.
Co.Design (@FastCoDesign) editor Belinda Lanks (@BelindaLanks) has selected the following essays as a way of sparking #innovation in the coming year:
· What Made Steve Jobs So Great? by Cliff Kuang (@cliffkuang)
· 4 Ways To Spot Markets Ripe For Disruption by Luke Williams (@LukeGWilliams)
· The 6 Pillars Of Steve Jobs's Design Philosophy by Cliff Kuang (@cliffkuang)
· There Are 3 Types Of Innovation. Here's How To Manage Them by Conrad Wai (@sventured)
· Why Do B-Schools Still Teach The Famed 4Ps Of Marketing, When 3 Are Dead? by Jens Martin Skibsted (@jmskibsted) and Rasmus Bech Hansen (@rasbech)
· The 3 Biggest Barriers To Innovation, And How To Smash Them by Luke Williams (@LukeGWilliams)
· Why Do We Hold Fast To Losing Strategies? by Tim Harford (@TimHarford)
· Branding Is About Creating Patterns, Not Repeating Messages by Marc Shillum (@threepress)
· Wanna Create A Great Product? Fail Early, Fail Fast, Fail Often by Jeremy Jackson (@jeremy_jackson)
· 4 Keys To Creating Products For The Lady Gaga Generation by Sarah Nagle (@SmartDesign)
· The Mac Inventor's Gift Before Dying: An Immortal Design Lesson for His Son by Aza Raskin (@azaaza)
Be sure to bookmark Somersault’s (@smrsault) SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Innovation tab.
The New York Times Company Research & Development Lab (@nytlabs) has built an interactive mirror, called Reveal, that displays headlines, the weather, and even a current outside view, so you can stay up-to-the-minute while brushing your teeth.
As the physical world becomes increasingly digital, computing is becoming more connected to our physical selves
We've designed Reveal to explore how the relationship between information and the self is evolving and how media content from The New York Times (@nytimes) and others might play a part.
It uses a special semi-reflective glass surface, so that
users of the mirror are able to see both a normal reflection of the real world as well as overlaid, high-contrast graphics. We've dubbed this "augmented reflection." Conceptually, the idea is that our mirror can reveal the halos of data around real-world objects, including ourselves.
Envisioned as a key fixture in your home, the mirror uses face recognition to call up personalized data, including health stats, a calendar, news feeds, and other information relevant to your morning routine. Voice commands switch between views, and gestures (via an embedded Kinect) activate content, including fullscreen video messages from other mirror users. An RFID-enabled shelf responds to objects that are placed on it, such as medications and personal care products, revealing personalized data. The mirror will recognize certain behaviors, such as when you schedule a trip or fail to get enough exercise, and recommend contextually-relevant content. If you're interested, you can tap your phone on the mirror to sync the article for reading on the run or on our Surface Reader application.
How will this type of innovation affect other content creators, such as you? What ideas does this prompt for you as you consider your publishing agenda and how your consumers will interact with your content?
Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you navigate the churning waters that make up 21st century publishing.
Be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Futurist news tab.