June 14th, 2008 by Kevin A. Barnes
The U.S. seems to be entering a period of increased package shrink. And no, I’m not talking about something from an old Seinfeld episode.
One of the items I needed to buy on my last trip to the grocery store was sugar, so I went to get our usual brand. When I picked up one of the five-pound bags that we usually buy, I thought that I must have grabbed a bag that was open or leaking because it felt lighter than normal. After grabbing a second bag, then standing in the grocery aisle no doubt looking dumbfounded, I looked at the label and realize that the five-pound bags of sugar all were labeled “4 lbs.” Then it dawned on me –it was another case of package shrink. Read the rest of this entry »
Categories: Business, Marketing | Tags: consumer packaged goods, doublespeak, package shrink
Comments: No Comments »
June 13th, 2008 by Kevin A. Barnes
So where exactly is the digital revolution taking writing and the publishing industry?
The new issue of The Futurist magazine (July-August 2008) contains the article “The 21st Century Writer“which yet again has me trying to visualize where the publishing industry is headed. In the article, author Patrick Tucker — director of communications for the World Future Society - succinctly summarizes the turning point at which the industry currently finds itself:
“We’re entering an era where the acts of thinking, writing, and to a certain extent publishing are indistinguishable, and where charging money for editorial content is becoming an ever trickier proposition.”*
I remember a college English teacher of mine back in the early 1980s who asserted that the word processor** made it possible for anyone, regardless of skill, to become an author. In retrospect, there is some truth in that claim, and this democratization process now extends beyond the role of the author. Information technology has lowered the entry barrier nearly to zero for almost every role in the process of creating and publishing a book. Read the rest of this entry »
Categories: Business, The Future | Tags: author, digital revolution, publishing, writing
Comments: No Comments »
