Barnes & Noble e-reader leaks early
In 2000 I started a e-commerce website selling books from a stocked inventory of books passed on to me by a semi-retiring publisher. The publisher was moving his business online and no longer selling them from his community stable brick and mortar. His plans were to move online and sell his entire inventory. I joined the race of online entrepreneurs looking for a niche market to enter and claim a stake.
I have since stop selling books online and began to revaluate our business model just in time for the rush of new e- reader devices like the Kindle, Sony Reader and now Barnes & Noble, the largest U.S. bookstore chain has entered the market with the Nook. The Nook was leaked today and finally reveled to the consumer market with features that not even the Seattle online book giant Amazon could brag about.
The “Android based” nook is calling itself the “most advanced e- book reader on the planet” weighing 11.2 ounces and a color touch screen. The device releases just a few months after the second edition of the Kindle went for sale. The features that are the most interesting to me is that it has a built in WiFi with 2GB of storage, a microSD expansion slot, MP3 player, built in speaker, USB port, with the ability to highlight words and make notes. Since so many devices are competing for the 8 percent U.S. adult market who purchased a e-book in 2008 it helps that the Nook allows users to lend books to other e-readers, cellphones or computers through a feature called “LendMe.”
Newspapers and Magazines Use Videos to Tell Stories{Web strategies for storytelling}
The days of only newspapers telling the story are over and you can thank video podcasting for that. When I first started using my Apple laptop I discovered that itunes had a podcast store that would allow you to subscribe to different podcast shows for free. I immediately found a spanish tutoring show and then I discovered a subscription for NY Times videos.
After downloading a few episodes I watched them on my itouch player in total amazement at how quick I was able to receive a short 3 minute video reporting on Wyclef Jean and Bill Clinton’s recent visit to Haiti together as part of UN mission. This caught my attention because I have hours of video footage from my trip to Haiti in 2003 and I never thought about using the footage in a reporting format just like the New York Times. A frequent reader of their newspaper editions I noticed that the New York Times has adapted to the digital age and even provides audio podcast for different sections of the newspaper for example the Book Review, Tech Talk, World View, and the Weekend Business each host their own show. As for the short videos on their website they have over 23 categories to choose ranging from breaking news, travel, sports to automobiles each with a library of short videos to assist their printed articles. Each video starts with a quick advertisement before playing the actual video which proves that they are monetizing the production and distribution of the videos. Are they profitable to the newspaper is something I would be interested to know.
{Web Strategies} Is Free The New Business Model?
Magazines are relaxing sometimes which is why I read each issue carefully. At the current moment I have over six magazine subscriptions coming to my house each month and each issue has its own value outside the price tag. At an early age I enjoyed reading Sports Illustrated for the latest interview of my favorite athletes or browsing at the photographs of a recent championship game which in return sparked an interest in me that never left. Reading.
So in this post I decided to wrote about counter arguments of a newly released book from Wired magazine editor Chris Anderson in connection with why I enjoy reading even if I have to pay a small fee each year for a delivered service.
{Web Strategies for Storytelling} Class Topic
After signing up for this class I was anxious to learn ways to produce, edit and distribute digital content on various Internet platforms. My background is in Disc Jockeying, journalism and multimedia productions which have provided me with many opportunities to travel across the world and document many cultures.
Upon pondering my topic for this course I thought about the many faces I would see in developed nations like Zimbabwe, Senegal, Jamaica and Venezuela and imagined what would happen if these same people were trained and equipped with Flip video cameras to highlight their lives so that people who are not able to pinpoint their opinions can identify a common ground. So my topic is ” How can digital videos assist non profits at the same avoid interrupting the normal life people live in developing nations”?
I would like to learn filmmaking tactics and apply them to digital storytelling content that can be used to address the social. political and economic issues that many countries are facing. My topic would like to focus on a local start up company called Better Because that is planning to make life a lit bit better people by providing positive media content in the form of a book, Smile campaign and weekly words of inspiration. I would like to know how to produce short videos and distribute them on various media outlets for Better Because.
Caribbean Gets Technology Upgrade From Microsoft
One the most beautiful places I have ever visited was the island of Jamaica a few years ago. I spent some time in the mostly tourist populated cities of Negril, Montego Bay and Ocho Rios soaking up the caribbean sun and culture. Despite the rugged rural and mountain regions of Jamaica I noticed they were digitally connected. As for most developing nations across the world the more technology invested in the country the easiser for educators to teach in a digital age.
Seattle based Microsoft has stepped up to this challenge earmarking $10 million dollars per year over the next five years upgrading Caribbean and Latin American education system’s. At a recent Latin America Educators Forum Jamaican six grade teacher Andrae Lyons reveled a computer software he created to motivate students to learn how to read, pronounce words and identify grammar mistakes. The teaching aid is called Learning to Read from Basics and even uses the images of local icons Marcus Garvey and Usain Bolt with a built in gaming system for fun activities.
Despite the obstacles many teachers are facing in the countries like Guyana, Grenada, Peru or Uganda innovators like Lyons are springing up with solutions to merge technology and education as a tool for new generations of students learning how to read and write.
For further information about Lyons and his competition read this article by Jamaican newspaper The Cleaner.
