Topic: Media
Inspired by the success of LibriVox, a project in which collaborators record free audiobooks, Hugh McGuire has embarked on a commercial project: BookOven. In this conversation he tells host Jon Udell about how the new venture enables writers, editors, and proofreaders to work on long-form texts that can be published in traditional or new ways.
BBC Backstage is the umbrella term for an evolving set of feeds and APIs that the BBC has been offering since 2005. Ian Forrester updates Jon Udell on what progress has been made, and what obstacles remain, as the BBC navigates toward its digital future.
The first SpokenWord.org town-hall meeting conference call was held on August 27, 2009. Included in the discussion: a review of the most-requested new features, a discussion of the new APIs and new strategic directions for the site.
Moira speaks with Fresh Air commentator and linguist Geoff Nunberg, who discusses his book The Years of Talking Dangerously and assesses the impact of words in a dynamic, changing world. In the book, he explains why grammar buffs are drawn to sarcasm, and deftly unpacks the telling phrases of our national conversation, from progressive to elite to change, as well as the national conversation itself.
Dave Winer discusses how Twitter and other social networking tools are changing the way that people read and react to the news. He talks about how the new ways to keep track of events have changed over the years and how these new methods are also likely to change. He also reviews his work in Twitter stats and what we can learn from them as well as where things may go next.
Entrepreneur and evangelist Malcolm Matson traces the evolution of today's captive network access model and describes the nature of an intriguing alternative: the open public local access network. Matson posits a simple, but profound question: will our conversations be truly ours, or will they be subject to the governance of a monopolistic access provider whose interests may not align with our own?
MySpace, Flicker, YouTube, and Facebook are big brands and major movers in the commercial, social networking world. In this audio lecture recorded at the 2008 Nonprofit Management Institute, an event convened by the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Jeff Patrick of Common Knowledge shares how nonprofits can use such tools--and customize their own--to capture constituencies and raise funds. He further shows where social networking is headed so that nonprofits can begin to incorporate it into their long-term horizons.
Sara Nelson of Publishers Weekly takes a closer look at some of the things you think you know about the book business. She also raises the questions, "Why should we care about books any more?" and doesn't anyone read books for pleasure today? Topics range from what kinds of books we read, how the book industry advertise its products, the issue of piracy in today's electronic society, and why we are a long way from doing away with books completely.
From investment to football to soap operas to jobs, culture can be a force for good in the world. In this panel discussion sponsored by the Skoll World Forum, experts on social entrepreneurship share their experiences and insights about how to use culture and media as tools for conflict resolution.
Ken Brooks of Cengage Learning discusses the challenges of mixing digital and print media publishing together efficiently and economically. He also discusses how moving from a low scale craft process to a high scale impact process model improves not only productivity but profitability.
