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The Oxford Dictionaries (@OUPAcademic) USA Word of the Year for 2012 is GIF (pronounced with either a soft or hard “G”). GIF the noun has been around for years. GIF the verb (“He GIFed the highlights of the debate”) is derived from GIF the file extension.

“The GIF, a compressed file format for images that can be used to create simple, looping animations, turned 25 this year,” notes Oxford University Press’ Katherine Martin, “but like so many other relics of the 80s, it has never been trendier.” (Listen to Studio 360’s (@Studio360show) “'Tis the Season for GIF-ing.”

Word of the Year runners-up include Eurogeddon, Higgs boson, MOOC (massive open online course), nomophobia (anxiety caused by being without one’s mobile phone), super PAC, superstorm, and YOLO (you only live once). Oxford Dictionaries also announced its British “Word of the Year”: omnishambles. Officially defined as a situation “characterized by a string of blunders and miscalculations.”

Read the USA Word of the Year announcement in full.

Read the UK Word of the Year announcement in full.

In its 23rd annual words of the year vote, the American Dialect Society (@americandialect) selected "hashtag" as the 2012 word of the year. Hashtag refers to the practice used on Twitter for marking topics or making commentary by means of a hash or number symbol (#) followed by a word or phrase (#WOTY12).

If you’re a word lover, also see our previous blogposts,

• “'Lolz', 'Ridic' and 'Mwahahaha' Added to Oxford Dictionaries Online”
• “Scrabble Champion Named”
• “The Story of English in 100 Words”
• “A Future of Fewer Words?”
• “Word Warriors' 2012 Top 10 Expressive Words”
• “Words of the Year 2011”

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Worldwide, more than 8-in-10 people identify with a religious group. A comprehensive demographic study of more than 230 countries and territories conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life (@pewforum) estimates there are 5.8 billion religiously affiliated adults and children around the globe, representing 84% of the 2010 world population of 6.9 billion.

The demographic study – based on an analysis of more than 2,500 censuses, surveys, and population registers – finds

·         2.2 billion Christians (32% of the world’s population)

·         1.6 billion Muslims (23%)

·         1 billion Hindus (15%)

·         nearly 500 million Buddhists (7%)

·         14 million Jews (0.2%) around the world as of 2010.

In addition, more than 400 million people (6%) practice various folk or traditional religions, including African traditional religions, Chinese folk religions, Native American religions, and Australian aboriginal religions. An estimated 58 million people – slightly less than 1% of the global population – belong to other religions, including the Baha’i faith, Jainism, Sikhism, Shintoism, Taoism, Tenrikyo, Wicca, and Zoroastrianism, to mention just a few.

Read this in full.

Also see the Religion News Service (@ReligionNewsNow) article, “The ‘nones’ now form the world’s third-largest ‘religion’.”

And see our previous blogpost, "Religiosity Declines Worldwide; Atheism on the Rise."

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Learn about SomersaultSocial, our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. 

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And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Research tab.

According to preliminary estimates by the US Census Bureau (@uscensusbureau), after falling 8% in September, bookstore sales bounced back in October with sales inching up 4.5% to $914 million,. Although, for the first 10 months of 2012, bookstore sales were down 1.3%, to $12.55 billion. All stores where books account for at least 50% of sales are included in the Census survey.

The New York Times (@nytimesbooks) says bookstores report they’re doing well:

There are many reasons bookstores point to for their successful holiday season. President Obama, they note, set the stage when he took his daughters, Sasha and Malia, to One More Page Books in Arlington, Va., on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, where he snapped up 15 children’s books.

Small bookstores report that they are also benefiting from the popularity of Kobo e-readers, which were designed for independent bookstores and allow customers to buy ebooks through the independents’ websites, as opposed to say, Amazon....

One thing independent bookstores seem to have going for them is the close bond they retain with their customers.

Read this in full.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically communicate your brand message through content marketing.

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trendwatching.com (@trendwatching) is predicting 10 consumer trends for the coming year. How will the following affect your publishing agenda?

1. PRESUMERS & CUSTOWNERS: As consumers will embrace even more ways to participate in the funding, launch, and growth of (new) products and brands they love, expect pre-ordering, crowdfunding, and consumer equity to compete with traditional consumption in 2013...

2. EMERGING²: While the last two decades were about developed markets catering to emerging ones, and emerging markets increasingly catering to developed ones, it's now time to get ready for an explosion in products and services from emerging markets for emerging markets...

3. MOBILE MOMENTS: For those wondering where ‘mobile’ will head next, one behavioral insight should give you plenty to run with: in 2013, consumers will look to their mobile devices to maximize absolutely every moment, multi-if-not-hypertasking their experiences, purchases, and communications...

4. NEW LIFE INSIDE: One sign-of-the-times eco-trend for 2013: the phenomenon of products and services that quite literally contain new life inside. Rather than being discarded or even recycled (by someone else), these products can be given back to nature to grow something new, with all the eco-status and eco-stories that come with that...

5. APPSCRIPTIONS: Digital technologies are the new medicines. In 2013, expect consumers to turn to the medical profession and medical institutions to certify and curate health apps and technologies, or to “prescribe” them, much as they prescribe medicines as part of a course of treatment...

6. CELEBRATION NATION: Emerging markets will proudly export and even flaunt their national and cultural heritage in the next 12 months. Symbols, lifestyles, and traditions that were previously downplayed, if not denied, will be a source of pride for domestic consumers, and objects of interest to global consumers...

7. DATA MYNING: To date, the ‘big data’ discussion has focused on the value of customer data to businesses. In 2013 expect savvy shoppers to start reversing the flow, as consumers seek to own and make the most of their lifestyle data, and turn to brands that use this data to proactively offer customers help and advice on how to improve their behavior and/ or save money...

8. AGAIN MADE HERE: The perfect storm of consumers’ ever-greater lust for NEWISM and niches, the expectation of (instantly!) getting just the right product, ongoing eco-concerns, and the desire for more interesting stories will all combine with the spread of new local manufacturing technologies such as 3D-printing and make-on-demand, to trigger a resurgence in domestic manufacturing in established markets in 2013...

9. FULL FRONTAL: So what’s next for the mega-trend of transparency in 2013? Brands must move from ‘having nothing to hide’, to pro-actively showing and proving they have nothing to hide...

10. DEMANDING BRANDS: 2013 will see switched-on brands (i.e., brands that are embarking on the much-needed journey toward a more sustainable and socially-responsible future) demanding that their customers also contribute...

Read these in full.

See Infographic.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you publish and market your ebooks and pbooks.

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Edelman (@EdelmanPR) Millennial consultancy (@Edelman8095) (#Edel8095) is the driver of 8095, a global benchmark study on how Millennials connect with brands, make purchasing decisions and share their opinions on products and companies with family, friends, and extended networks. The study, first conducted in 2010 and updated this year, focuses on people born between 1980 and 1995.

(Above graph is from MarketingCharts, @marketingcharts)

·         Over 3/4 of millennial consumers worldwide want to be "entertained" by brands, and a similar proportion are willing to provide feedback on goods and services.

·         About 80% want brands to "entertain" them, with co-creating products the most popular option, mentioned by 40%, ahead of receiving real-time answers to social media enquiries (33%).

·         32% want sponsoring events

·         31% desure companies to deliver engaging online content

·         21% would like to connect with other fans. Forming tie-ups with admired celebrities or public figures score 19%.

·         More broadly, a 74% majority of respondents say they influence the purchase choices of peers and older buyers

·         63% regularly go shopping with their friends, partner, or family.

·         For 73%, sharing feedback with companies after a good or bad experience is a "responsibility," peaking at 90% in China and India, but falling to 59% in Germany and 57% in Canada.

·         When making purchase decisions, 94% of participants use at least 1 external information source and 40% use 4 or more, with search engines and word-of-mouth from friends and family the most common.

·         When asked what wider assistance brands could be in their lives, 77% want financial assistance, such as grants and scholarships for studying.

·         75% desire opportunities for more "life experiences" like trips and lessons in interesting subjects, and 65% want a mentor to help guide them.

·         60% want to tap a brand's "audience," like its Facebook page or ads, to connect with similarly-minded people, and 56% say the same for sharing their views with a wide group.

In 2013, the oldest of the Millennials will turn 33 – many of them are now parents, have careers, and wield spending power and influence in today's world.

Read the news release.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you understand and reach the Millennial market.

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The above Infographic (click to enlarge) is by MastersInEducation.org; created by oBizMedia (@oBizMedia).

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you with your publishing and marketing needs.

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Consultant Steven Van Belleghem (@StevenVBe) draws 10 conclusions from the above study by InSites Consulting (@InSites) of the current state of social media around the world:

1. There are more than 1.5 billion social network users worldwide....

2. Fast adoption of smartphones boosts social media use....

3. Most internauts use no more than two social network sites....

4. Pinterest and Instagram are the rising stars....

5. Klout is a niche....

6. Half of consumers are connected to at least one brand....

7. 1 in 2 consumers occasionally post brand-related content....

8. Pinterest is probably more interesting for brands than Instagram....

9. People don’t really trust brand fans....

10. 80% of people are open to co-creation....

Read this in full.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you understand and maximize social media marketing.

Learn about online marketing with SomersaultSocial.

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

Kindle Fire users read, while iPad users surf the Web and catch up on email. Bowker (@Bowker & @DiscoverBowker) reports that “ebook consumers are decidedly shifting to multi-function tablets and away from dedicated e-readers, according to the Book Industry Study Group’s (@BISG) closely watched on-going Consumer Attitudes Toward Ebook Reading.”

...[T]ablets have risen by about 25% over the past year as the first choice for respondents’ e-reading device, while dedicated e-readers have fallen by the same amount. The rise of tablet popularity has been fueled largely by Amazon’s Kindle Fire, which increased over the past year from no use to be the first choice for more than 17% of ebook consumers. Other Android devices, such as Barnes & Noble’s NOOK Tablet, have also increased as the first choice for respondents’ e-reading device, from 2% in August 2011 to nearly 7% in August 2012, while Apple’s iPad has held steady around 10%.

“We’ve discovered throughout the course of this survey work that we can chart the future based on what is currently happening with ebook ‘Power Buyers.’ Their ebook purchasing and e-reader preferences have proven to be reliable predictors of market trends,” said Angela Bole, BISG’s Deputy Executive Director. “Based on this, the introduction of new tablet devices by Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, and Microsoft is likely to continue the trend of preference for tablets over dedicated e-readers through the upcoming holiday season.”

Read this in full.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you develop your ebook publishing and marketing strategy.

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Publishers Weekly (@PublishersWkly) says, according to studies by Bowker Market Research (@Bowker & @DiscoverBowker), as of June, Amazon’s Kindle reading devices were used to read ebooks by 55% of ebook buyers.

Since its introduction in late 2011, Amazon Fire’s share of ebook reading has risen quickly and hit 18% in June. Some of its gains came at the expense of other Kindle devices, but the combination of dedicated e-readers and tablets gave Amazon its highest market share ever, topping the 49% the company had in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Through its iPad and iPhone devices, Apple had a 15% share of e-reading in June, up from 13% in June 2011 with the gain coming entirely from iPads as the use of ebook reading on iPhones fell by two percentage points in the year-to-year period. Barnes & Noble’s Nook devices had a 14% share in the second quarter, a figure that has held steady since the fourth quarter of 2011, but was down from a peak of 22% in the third quarter of 2010.

Read this in full.

The research suggests fewer ebook buyers are using computers to read ebooks, but that conflicts with a survey by Pew Research Group (@pewinternet), “Young People Read Ebooks Mostly on Their Desktops & Laptops.”

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you develop your ebook publishing and marketing strategy.

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The above image is by Chart of the Day (@chartoftheday) using research by 33across.com’s (@33Across) tynt (@tynt). See the news release. Also see eMarketer's (@eMarketer) article, "Copy and Paste Drives Sharing."

Social sharing buttons may be sexier, but according to research...copy and paste is the sharing method of choice 82% of the time.

...For users, copying and pasting to share content holds obvious appeal: It's almost frictionless, and it allows the sharer to choose exactly what to pass on to a friend or social network.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you make your brand content strategically and easily share-able.

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And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Social Media Marketing tab.