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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.

Read this in full.

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.

The goal was to explore what could be done in a fast-changing environment. Rather than whining about the loss of the status quo, I thought it would be interesting to help invent a new status quo and learn some things along the way. Here are a few of my takeaways:

Permission is still the most important and valuable asset of the Web (and of publishing). The core group of 50,000 subscribers to the Domino blog made all the difference in getting the word out and turning each of our books into a bestseller. It still amazes me how few online merchants and traditional publishers (and even authors) have done the hard work necessary to create this asset. If you're an author in search of success and you don't pursue this with singleminded passion, you're making a serious error.

Godin says, “permission” doesn’t mean “might be interested;” it means that “if you didn’t show up, they would want to know where you were.”

Read this in full.

In its article “Is Seth Godin Right About Book Publishing?,” Digital Book World (@DigiBookWorld) says

The book business, for its part, is listening to Godin. The many industry experts we spoke with today read what Godin has written and followed The Domino Project closely in its short life. They praised him for his insights and agreed with many of his ideas – or, at least the general gist. In addition to building their own “tribes” and gathering “permission,” the book business still has other ways of selling books.

Read this in full.

Another DBW article, “Hachette Document Explains Why Publishers Are Relevant,” reports on Hachette Book Group’s (@HachetteBooks) (multiple Twitter streams) response to Godin in a document it circulated to its employees, which begins:

“Self-publishing” is a misnomer.

Publishing requires a complex series of engagements, both behind the scenes and public facing. Digital distribution (which is what most people mean when they say self-publishing) is just one of the components of bringing a book to market and helping the public take notice of it.

It goes on to say publishers are important because they offer an array of services to authors: Curator, Venture Capitalist, Sales and Distribution Specialist, and Brand Builder and Copyright Watchdog.

Read this in full.

You may also be interested in reading how Thad McIlroy (@ThadMcIlroy), of The Future of Publishing, reacts to Godin’s announcement in terms of allowing libraries to lend ebooks.

Stay up-to-date in the world of publishing news by bookmarking and using daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard of more than 300 links and RSS feeds specifically for publishing and marketing professionals.

On BookRiot (@BookRiot), Jeff O'Neal (@readingape) reflects on the basic elements all readers want in a book, whether it’s in digital format or print.

The medium that best serves most of the desires of most of the readers will win. It seems then that some discussion of what readers want, abstracted from any particular medium, might be useful.

As I see it there are seven broad things readers want, regardless of their specific taste. Each reader will rank and weight these categories differently, but I think there might be a particular profile of “the common reader” that will shape the future of publishing. I’m not sure what that profile is exactly, and I even think it still is being formed as digital publishing matures.

1. Diversity

2. Quality

3. Economy

4. Discovery

5. Convenience

6. Experience

7. Flexibility

Read this in full.

iPad storyteller Joe Sabia (@joesabia) introduces his TED (@tedtalks) audience to Lothar Meggendorfer (Lothar Meggendorfer at University of North Texas Libraries), who created a bold technology for storytelling: the pop-up book. Sabia shows how new technology has always helped tell stories.

Also see our previous blogpost, “Infographic: The Periodic Table of Storytelling.”

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you tell your story and promote your brand.

Christian books once available only at independent-niche Christian bookshops...are now sold online and in mainstream stores everywhere. As recognition of the popularity of Christian books has grown, with some titles holding a steady spot on the nation's best-seller lists, Christian publishing companies and their audience have grown, too, expanding globally and into the electronic marketplace. Now the formerly fringe products have a home in mainstream popularity....

A 2005 Baylor University study shows 11% of Americans spend $50 or more a month on religious products, including non-book items....

Nielsen BookScan, which provides information for The Wall Street Journal’s best-seller list, tracks 75% of book sales in America from traditional retailers, independent bookstores, and Amazon.com — but the company only tracks 50% of sales from Christian bookstores, specifically. That should change with the addition of key Christian retailers and Walmart in 2012, says Jonathan Stolper, vice president and general manager of Nielsen BookScan (@NielsenWire).

“It’s certainly conceivable that those Wall Street Journal charts will change dramatically,” Stolper says. “I think The Wall Street Journal will see some Christian books pop up on there when we complete the panel.”

Read this in full.

Remember to daily use the SomersaultNOW online dashboard to read the latest news in Christian and general book publishing.

This article for independent ebook authors on The Savvy Book Marketer (@bookmarketer) by Mark Coker (@markcoker), founder of ebook distributor Smashwords, says “it’s important to consider price as only one of several factors that influence a reader’s purchase decision. We have many free ebooks that earn few downloads, and many priced books that get more paid downloads than some of the freebies. In the end, if a book doesn’t honor the reader with a great read, you can’t pay a reader to read it.” Coker says the pricing decision should be made within the context of these other important factors:

1.  Length
2.  Reader passion
3.  Author platform
4.  Reader trust
5.  Series or not
6.  Author marketing
7.  Perceived value
8.  Platform building or harvesting?

Read this in full.

A separate article on The Shatzkin Files is for established publishers. “The ebook value chain is still sorting itself out, and so are the splits” by Mike Shatzkin (@MikeShatzkin) examines how publishing pricing strategy and author royalties are dramatically changing in light of the digital revolution.

Right now for ebooks we have two “standards” for the publisher-retailer division of revenue. For agency publishers across all retailers and for all publishers selling to (or perhaps we should, with respect for the agency logic, say “through”) Apple, the retailer share is 30% of the purchasing customer’s payment for the ebook, or the publisher’s “digital retail price.” For non-agency publishers selling to everybody else but Apple, the normal offer is 50% off the publishers “suggested retail price”....

What if one retailer (B&N? Kobo? Google?) were to offer publishers a deal where a discounted version of an ebook were offered through them on a temporary exclusive — say, the first 60 days the ebook was out — during which they would help subsidize the discount by taking a smaller percentage themselves during the promotion. Would publishers find it tempting to accept such an arrangement to poke a hole in the 30% standard?....

Read this in full.

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you establish your ebook publishing and pricing strategy. And use the SomersaultNOW online dashboard to stay current with publishing news.

Do you have Writer’s Block? Consult this Infographic to break through. ☺

Click for a larger version.

By the way, today is the National Day of Listening (@StoryCorps).

Matthew Richtel (@mrichtel) and Julie Bosman (@julie_bosman) write in their New York Times article that print books “have a tenacious hold on a particular group: children and toddlers. Their parents are insisting this next generation of readers spend their early years with old-fashioned books.”

This is the case even with parents who themselves are die-hard downloaders of books onto Kindles, iPads, laptops, and phones. They freely acknowledge their digital double standard, saying they want their children to be surrounded by print books, to experience turning physical pages as they learn about shapes, colors, and animals.

Parents also say they like cuddling up with their child and a book, and fear that a shiny gadget might get all the attention. Also, if little Joey is going to spit up, a book may be easier to clean than a tablet computer.

Read this in full.

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you identify and understand your consumers. And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard designed especially for publishing and marketing executives.

For a fee of between $99 and $549, plus a cut of any sales revenue, Penguin's subsidiary Book Country (@Book_Country) will offer an array of tools — ranging from professional ebook conversion to a cover creator — to help a writer make their work available through digital book outlets and print-on-demand services.

The self-publishing venture could help Penguin discover new writers while creating an additional revenue stream.

Penguin Group (USA) has invested “a substantial amount of money” in technology to launch the new service, said Chief Executive David Shanks. “If some of these books hit the best-seller lists, it could be very successful.”

Read this in full.

Also see Laura Hazard Owen's (@laurahazardowen) article in paidContent (@paidContent), "Self-Published Authors Sharply Criticize Penguin's Book Country."

Other self-publishing services by major publishers include WestBow Press (@WestBowPress), a division of Thomas Nelson (@ThomasNelson), CrossBooks (@CrossBooks), a division of LifeWay (@LifeWay); Dellarte Press, a division of Harlequin (@HarlequinBooks); and Balboa Press (@BalboaPress), a division of Hay House (@hayhouse). HarperCollinsPublishers (@HarperCollins) sponsors Authonomy (@authonomy), a “community of discovery where writers become authors.”

Also see Huffington Post Books’ (@HuffPostBooks) “How Will We Read: A Book by You?” where Cathy Rubin (@CMRUBINWORLD) interviews Kevin Weiss, CEO of Author Solutions (@authorsolutions), (the white label service providing the backend operations to several publishers above) about “new technologies and services that are helping more authors achieve their personal publishing goals, as well as helping traditional publishers and passionate readers discover new talent.”

Back in 2006, CBC’s (@CBC) series “The End” explored the future of such media as print and television. Much of that exploration is still relevant. Print- and video-on-demand is a dominant force in the media choices of consumers. You’ll find these videos interesting background to the continuing revolution we’re experiencing in content production and consumption.