The Future of Publishing (VIDEO) Has Me Thinking

And if you’re in business, it should have you thinking as well. Even if you’re not in the publishing business.

Watch the video below, then ponder the five insights I gleaned and see if any of them resonate with you.

Five Reasons You Should Be Thinking About the Future of Publishing:

Things change. You can no longer rely strictly on what worked 20 years ago, or even last year, to make you successful tomorrow. It’s a different day. Vastly different. (You’ve heard it more times that you can count, but it’s still worth repeating.)
Technology is huge. And it’s going to be even bigger tomorrow. Mobile phones, apps, connectivity. Pay attention. You must wrap your brain around this aspect of life and communication, in order to remain competitive.
Values and the environment matter. Especially if you’re trying to reach Gen X and Gen Y. And if you’re not trying to reach them, your business likely already has one nail in the coffin.
Listening is important. Where and how you’re listening is even more important. Are you listening where people are talking, or are you simply putting out a suggestion box, hoping someone will drop a card in, and then ignoring that suggestion when someone actually remembers to check the suggestion box months later? Or worse, is your business simply shouting marketing messages through a megaphone?
A change in perspective can reverse negative trends. What do you need to see differently? Can you write the script in reverse order and discover even one interesting tidbit that just might spur new business opportunities?

What do you think of the video? Clever marketing or truth? And why?

(This post is in response to Michael Hyatt’s post “The Future of Publishing.”)

http://NewNetherland.us/ Rick Wolff

As a guy who's spent the last half of his career in publication design, I'm eager to see what paper publishing turns into. I suspect it'll be as profound — and as promising — as Hollywood at the advent of the “movie killer”, TV. And with handheld tablets promising extra features and interactivity for publishers, it will be interesting to see the new workflows helping magazine publishers into a new dimension, and what opportunity that affords the publication designer who's unafraid of change and discerning enough to steer clear of gratuitous use of the new bells and whistles.

http://www.culturesmithconsulting.com/news cherylsmith

Rick, I think there are great opportunities for authors (and publishers) to use technology to increase engagement with readers. Bells and whistles for the sake of noise won't cut through the clutter. That said, some authors and designers are embracing the tools in ways that create additional interaction and community. That makes sense to me.

philtucker

Great post Cheryl and I love the latest theme. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing.