Top 5 Reasons to Attend IDEAlliance Tech Week
Posted On Monday, February 20, 2012 at at 3:47 PM by Dianne KennedyTop Five Reasons Why You Should Attend TechWeek
From March 12-16, the Embassy Suites O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont, IL, is the site of TechWeek, our week-long event that colocates the G7 Forum (http://bit.ly/zW6hzl), TechConference 2012 (http://bit.ly/y2eHjU) and XTech 2012 (http://bit.ly/wsT3SU) Seminars. TechWeek gives media production professionals the unique opportunity to hear from industry visionaries on G7 implementation, print and digital premedia production, and the latest XML technologies.
Here’s why TechWeek shouldn’t be missed:
1) You can attend one event, or all three. While the three events each have their specific focus—the G7 Forum brings together hundreds of hundreds of certified G7 Experts and G7 Professionals, and those employed by G7 Master Qualified facilities; TechConference is designed for creative, pre-media, and print production professionals; and XTech Seminars focuses on XML technologies—ultimately, they all examine tools and technologies driving the future of print and digital media production. It’s no surprise that many of our members are interested in all three events.
2) Learn from presentations that deliver practical insights and real-world strategies on the advanced technologies now in play in print and digital media production, XML technologies, and G7 implementation. No matter the event, TechWeek attendees don’t just sit and listen to “experts” at the podium, but are active participants, either through debates during roundtables and presentations or in-depth tutorials.
3) Participate in Learning Labs, The ever-popular labs give attendees access to high-caliber, yet relatively inexpensive, hands-on-training in specific areas of prepress and XML workflows, from an industry expert—either in person or virtually from a Webcast. You can take what you learn from these labs right back to your plant and implement. It’s an amazing opportunity that shouldn’t be missed.
4) Network, network, network: TechWeek is a great opportunity for industry people to come together and learn from their peers—those who have had proven success implementing G7 methodologies, eMedia workflows, and XML technologies.
5) Pay for TechConference or XTech, and attend akk events. Full TechConference registration provides attendees with registration to all TechWeek events--with complete access to onsite sessions, tutorials, and labs, as well as meals and networking receptions. Attendees are also given unlimited corporate access to all live virtual sessions and unlimited access to both XTech and TechConference event recordings. That means that while you’re attending a Learning Lab, your peers back at the office can ‘attend” it, too.
Have questions? Call Steve Bonoff (phone) 952.928.7466 or (email) sbonoff@idealliance.org. Registration and details can be found at http://www.idealliance.org.
Here’s why TechWeek shouldn’t be missed:
1) You can attend one event, or all three. While the three events each have their specific focus—the G7 Forum brings together hundreds of hundreds of certified G7 Experts and G7 Professionals, and those employed by G7 Master Qualified facilities; TechConference is designed for creative, pre-media, and print production professionals; and XTech Seminars focuses on XML technologies—ultimately, they all examine tools and technologies driving the future of print and digital media production. It’s no surprise that many of our members are interested in all three events.
2) Learn from presentations that deliver practical insights and real-world strategies on the advanced technologies now in play in print and digital media production, XML technologies, and G7 implementation. No matter the event, TechWeek attendees don’t just sit and listen to “experts” at the podium, but are active participants, either through debates during roundtables and presentations or in-depth tutorials.
3) Participate in Learning Labs, The ever-popular labs give attendees access to high-caliber, yet relatively inexpensive, hands-on-training in specific areas of prepress and XML workflows, from an industry expert—either in person or virtually from a Webcast. You can take what you learn from these labs right back to your plant and implement. It’s an amazing opportunity that shouldn’t be missed.
4) Network, network, network: TechWeek is a great opportunity for industry people to come together and learn from their peers—those who have had proven success implementing G7 methodologies, eMedia workflows, and XML technologies.
5) Pay for TechConference or XTech, and attend akk events. Full TechConference registration provides attendees with registration to all TechWeek events--with complete access to onsite sessions, tutorials, and labs, as well as meals and networking receptions. Attendees are also given unlimited corporate access to all live virtual sessions and unlimited access to both XTech and TechConference event recordings. That means that while you’re attending a Learning Lab, your peers back at the office can ‘attend” it, too.
Have questions? Call Steve Bonoff (phone) 952.928.7466 or (email) sbonoff@idealliance.org. Registration and details can be found at http://www.idealliance.org.
CES 2012: No News is Good News for Publishers
Posted On Thursday, January 12, 2012 at at 3:13 PM by Dianne Kennedy
i M reporting from CES 2012 in Las Vegas. For publishers, the fact that there is no overpowering new publishing platform announcement from the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show is good news. Yes, some new tablets were announced. And there were a few with new (and surprising) display sizes such as the 5 x 5 and the 4 x 4. But in general, the trend is to add a few new tablet products that can be differentiated by new features or price, but that have little if any impact on the number of new tablet editions that publishers will have to produce.
Also of note is the shift of products classified as eReaders from eInk platforms to multifunctional tablet platforms. Very few, if any, traditional eInk eReaders were found at CES 2012. This makes sense because CES is a “new” or “emerging” technology show and eReaders are old news. Last year IDPF was a CES Partner and hosted an eBook TechZone on the show floor. This year IDPF was notably absent. As I perused the booths listed as eReaders, I also asked about the eReader software being employed. Not one of the booths that I visited boasted EPUB3 support. I guess we will have to wait for BEA at Javits for announcements of EPUB3 technologies.
CES 2012 Day #1
Posted On Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at at 7:59 AM by Dianne Kennedy | Standing in line at the Las Vegas Monorail as I headed for CES on Jan 10, I lacked the sense of expectation and excitement that I held in 2011. Perhaps it was because I am no longer a freshman delegate. Or perhaps it is because this year's offerings generated comparatively little hype about new technology. Either way, I can report that while there was no earth-shaking new technology unveiled at CES 2012, there were plenty of small gems. |
Two descriptors for this years technology showing are:
- Refinement
- Hybridization
My picks of this show, no matter the importance for publishers, were Google TV and the new Pixel Qi (pronounced "chi") display technology. And of course, who can ignore the Plustek mouse shapped like a Porsche 911, the Koala computer speakers or the glam, bling cases for the iPhone 4S?
Now I need to get serious about reporting the impact of today's newest consumer electronics on the publishing environment!
CES 2012, Here I Come!
Posted On Monday, January 9, 2012 at at 1:27 PM by Dianne Kennedy
i M here in Las Vegas, in my room in Bally's, getting prepared for my annual CES adventure. As an alumnus, I have many valuable lessons-learned for attending this show. This year the name of the show has officially changed to be “International” and when you see the crowd journeying here for the event you can clearly understand why. All reports indicate that this year the number of visitors will increase from 140K to 150K, so being organized is everything.
Lesson #1: Book your hotel and air early. I booked mine back in June 2011 when airfare and hotel rates were reasonable. Today airfare from Chicago tops $900 and a night at a cheap hotel runs over $400 a night – that is, if you can get a room at all.
Lesson #2: Register early so you can have a badge mailed to you before you travel. Last year I had to get a badge when I arrived. This meant many hours in line, waiting for your registration to be located and a badge printed. This can account for hours of lost time.
Lesson #3: Do NOT travel the day before the show opens. The airport is a zoo! Flights are completely booked. Luggage is a huge hassle. Getting a cab to the strip takes over an hour. And then when you reach your hotel expect 1 to 2 hours standing in line in the lobby just to check in!
Lesson #4: Stay at a hotel with monorail access. The convention center is located on the Las Vegas monorail. This provides easy access if you are staying at a hotel with monorail access. If you want to be at the convention center when the show opens, go really early or wait for the opening crowds to wane or once more you can spend hours in line just to get on the monorail. But when compared to trying to find a taxi and navigating roads completely clogged with visitors, the monorail rocks!
Lesson #5: Come prepared. This is not a fashion show, so you should be comfortable. Shoes that you can walk miles in are key. Bring band aids! Even your most reliable soles may begin to pinch and rub after several hours. Also make sure you pack water, a snack and backup phone batteries. There are charging stations, so a phone charger is a good idea.
Lesson #6: Set a plan of attack! The 2012 International CES will feature more than 2,700 global technology companies unveiling the latest consumer technology products and services across 15 major product categories including the latest in audio, automotive electronics, connected home technologies, digital imaging, electronic gaming, entertainment/content and more. So know what you want to see and map your course around the expo floor.
Tomorrow the big show opens. Will report highlights then!
Next Great Publishing Show? Not so much. . .
Posted On Monday, March 28, 2011 at at 12:58 PM by Dianne Kennedyi M back in Chicago after attending the first Publishing Xchange Conference. While I was hoping for a replacement for the late great Seybold Conferences of old, this was not to be.
Publishing Xchange presented two and a half days of cross-media publishing content with an Expo shared between PubX, OnDemand, iTex and info360. Each of the co-located Questex conferences had a unique focus and taken together filled the DC Convention center.
· The AIIM info360 Conference focused on enterprise content and business technology. Topics such as Business Intelligence, Business Productivity Apps, Cloud Computing, Document Management, Enterprise Content Management, eGov, Knowledge Management and Mobile Content Management were presented.
· OnDemand focused on digital printing & automated production. It is the largest conference and exposition dedicated to the technologies that personalize, manage, print, and deliver content.
· iTex, the Imaging Technology, Education & Exposition, is the North American tradeshow for the document imaging technology industry.
· This year Publishing Xchange was a new addition to the Questex Conference and Expo series. PubX was an educational event promising to analyze the business opportunity presented for publishers, marketers and digital service providers who possess the understanding and capabilities to serve the multi-media needs in demand today.
Taken together, the content of the combined conferences were bound to touch on one or more “hot buttons” for any attendee. Sessions I attended were excellent. But the disappointment was that while Zwang and company provided great educational content, attendance was light. Perhaps two tracks instead of three might have help concentrate the attendees more evenly. Many who did attend credited “being local” as their key criteria for selecting this conference to attend. Whatever the reason for the sparse attendance, I am giving up hope for a resurgence of publishing conferences. Even with the pressure iPad publishing is creating, distance education and social networking seem to be the learning places for the foreseeable future.
Dianne Kennedy
The Next Great Publishing Show??
Posted On Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at at 3:20 PM by Dianne Kennedyi M getting ready to pack for the first Publishing Xchange Conference. Not since the Seybold Conferences of old has there been a great publishing show. Will this be the one?
Publishing Xchange was the brainstorm of my pal, David Zwang. David and I have been friends and associates for many years. It was always his dream to chair a major publishing event. Then along came the Questex Media Group and the dream became a reality!
The first ever Publishing Xchange Conference will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington DC. This event is co-located with the Questex OnDemand Conference and Expo March 22-24th. The focus of Publishing Xchange will be “Cross-Media Publishing and Marketing.” According to Zwang, “Cross-Media Publishing is no longer an option afforded the ultra-creative. Today it’s quickly becoming the standard requirement in every vertical market of publishing. The advent of eMedia channels (such as searchable web, tablet, mobile, social media, email, etc.) supplements the demands once dominated by commercial printing. Regardless of whether it is publishing for profit (as in magazines and newspapers) or as a function of marketing and sales support, the need for pinpointed and timely messaging has become mission critical.”
IDEAlliance is a Strategic Partner for this event and we are presenting a track focused on eMedia Publishing. Content of this track comes from our popular eMedia Professional Training Program and includes "Introduction to eMedia Publishing" by John Parsons, Byte Media, "XML Workflows that Work," by Eric Freese, Aptara, "Disruptive Influences of Workflows and Organizations" by David Zwang and "Standards for Cross-Media Publishing" delivered by yours truly! I will be reporting from Washington next week. So stay tuned!
Dianne Kennedy
Impact of Technology on the Author
Posted On Thursday, March 10, 2011 at at 7:51 PM by Dianne Kennedyi M listening to the Margaret Atwood Keynote presentation, “The Publishing Pie; An Author’s View,” on YouTube. Atwood provided a very thoughtful presentation and a complete counterpoint to the excitement about advances in publishing technologies that I usually report on.
This was the best attended session of the Tools of Change Conference in February and certainly one of the highlights of the conference. Ms. Atwood did not speak about or demonstrate any new “wow” technology. In fact, she marveled that she had been invited to speak at all as she was a mere author and not a technologist. In contrast to other keynoters, Atwood did not even use PowerPoint slides and had no fancy animations or videos. Her slides were hand drawn, which made them not only unique, but potentially quite valuable as individual “works of art”. Atwood took us on a journey through her publishing career and the attrition of the author’s share of the “Publishing Pie”. She is one of only 10% of authors that make their full time living from writing and that is significant. According to Atwood, it is difficult to make a living as an author, and getting more difficult each day.
Atwood’s career began with a single, hand drawn and lettered edition that she created as a child. By 1961 she had a fairly large “print” run of 220 volumes of poetry that she handset and created the cover using linoblocks. Her regret is that she hadn’t held on to more of that very limited edition publication, as today each volume is worth quite a pretty penny to collectors. In those early publishing ventures the author retained the majority of the publishing “pie”. Atwood went on to discuss the changing business models for book publishing and how that provides (or doesn’t provide) enough “grilled cheese sandwiches” for an author to live on.
While eBooks are wildly popular, Atwood tells us that authors actually receive far less income from an eBook than they do for the printed edition of the same book. Will the advancements of reading technologies eventually cut a writer’s income so much that they can no longer survive? Perhaps the future for authors may be a return to the past where authors make a viable living from small, collectable limited edition print runs. Alternatives proposed by Atwood included the idea of authors banding together to regain control of their rightful portion of the publishing pie.
Dianne Kennedy
While eBooks are wildly popular, Atwood tells us that authors actually receive far less income from an eBook than they do for the printed edition of the same book. Will the advancements of reading technologies eventually cut a writer’s income so much that they can no longer survive? Perhaps the future for authors may be a return to the past where authors make a viable living from small, collectable limited edition print runs. Alternatives proposed by Atwood included the idea of authors banding together to regain control of their rightful portion of the publishing pie.
Dianne Kennedy
Xoom Vs iPad; Let the Tablet Wars Begin!
Posted On Thursday, March 3, 2011 at at 3:00 PM by Dianne Kennedyi M reviewing tech news releases for this week! The war of the tablets is certainly heating up!
On the heels of the announcement of the HP Touchpad with the new webOS, we have dueling announcements from Motorola and Apple.
First is the long awaited Xoom, the darling of CES 2011. This Android 3.0, Honeycomb based 10.1 inch tablet, made its official debut at Best Buy and Verizon Wireless retail stores last week. Walt Mossberg from the Wall Street Journal calls Xoom the first real competitor to the iPad. Xoom intends to go head to head with the iPad, competing on features, since the pricing for Xoom is roughly equivalent to iPad. In particular the camera and micro USB connection provide advantage over the iPad 1.
But HOLD the presses!
Jennifer L. Jacobson, Director of Public Relations for consumer electronics shopping website Retrevo characterizes the iPad 2: “While Apple did make the new iPad lighter, and gave it the ability to project, it's still not a complete tablet computer. There's still no way to store files outside of an app on the device, and it still lacks wireless sync. There are additional improvements Apple could have made, like better resolution, more storage and more ports. All in all, the improvements made to the iPad hardly merit the title of Second Generation for the device. It's more like the iPad 1.5.”
Dianne Kennedy
PRIMEX: Leveraging Media Channels
Posted On Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at at 4:14 PM by Dianne Kennedyi M at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, FL listening to the opening keynote for the IDEAlliance PRIMEX Leadership Conference.
This year’s conference represents the merging of IPA’s Leadership Conference and PRIMEX (Print Media Executive Summit). This week, senior executives from across the media supply chain will network and focus on enabling the integration of new media into existing workflows supporting traditional media channels.
Nancy Weber, Executive VP and Chief Marketing Officer for Meredith Corporation shared details of Meredith’s transformation from a magazine and book publisher to an integrated media and marketing corporation. Meredith began this transformation in 2005 with its acquisition of Gruner and Jahr and its titles “Parents,” “Child,” “Fitness” and “Family Circle” magazines to supplement the Meredith home and family titles and make Meredith the largest media company reaching women. That year Meredith also launched its Hispanic titles with “Mujer.”
In 2006 and 2007 Meredith continued diversifying by acquiring several key agencies including O’Grady Meyers and Genex, NMS, a pioneer and innovator in the social media space and Directive, a data analytics company. In 2008, Meredith licensed its Better Homes and Gardens brand to Wal Mart and to Realagy, parent company of Century 21, ERA and Coldwell Banker. In 2009 and 2010, Meredith focused on growing social communities such as “momster.com” and “recipes.com.” In 2010, Meredith acquired Hyperfactory, one of the most respected global mobile marketing firms.
Meredith’s transformation from publisher to communications giant is nothing short of amazing! So what can we take away from this? What can others do to diversify and leverage media channels in a similar fashion?
· Set a strategy;
o What is our business now? What can it be? What do we want it to be?
o What is our market / demographic? What should it be?
o What eMedia channels do we support? What is missing? Does it make good business sense to add channels?
· Develop an acquisition profile, then build or buy the missing pieces!
· Establish a new culture of collaboration across properties so integrated media projects can be supported
Dianne Kennedy
Introducing nextPub at O’Reilly Tools of Change
Posted On Monday, February 21, 2011 at at 1:04 PM by Dianne Kennedyi M back in Chicagoland, reviewing my week at the O’Reilly Tools of Change Conference. One highlight of my week was our session on February 15, “Introducing nextPub™; Bringing Complex Content to the eReader Channel.”
Joining me on the panel were Peter Meirs, VP of Production Technologies, Time Inc. and Chairman of the IDEAlliance nextPub Initiative and Penny Sullivan, VP of Editorial Operations and Technologies, Meredith Corporation. Meirs and Sullivan provided the audience with the use case for nextPub; with Peter addressing Magazine content and Penny addressing requirements for display books such as the gardening and cookbooks produced by Meredith. Both indicated they were looking for a mechanism to bring their complex, interactive content to the iPad and emerging tablet channel efficiently and easily.
It is important to understand the differences between ePub and nextPub. ePub 2.0 and the newly announced ePub 3.0 Specifications provide a standardized packaging and delivery format for the eReader channel. nextPub, on the other hand, is the IDEAlliance technology incubator with a clear mission to foster the development of next-generation publishing tools and workflows by embracing emerging technologies, developing best practices, recommendations and establishing industry specifications to make multi-channel publishing simple and efficient.
One work item for nextPub is to define semantically rich metadata and XML source content based on the IDEAlliance PRISM XML Specification. The first draft of the nextPub XML
Source Content Encoding Specification was published on February 14 and is available under “Hot Downloads” on the IDEAlliance website. A second nextPub activity during 2010 was to work in collaboration with the IDPF ePub 3.0 effort to contribute requirements that facilitate the development of that delivery channel for magazine and display book content.
Source Content Encoding Specification was published on February 14 and is available under “Hot Downloads” on the IDEAlliance website. A second nextPub activity during 2010 was to work in collaboration with the IDPF ePub 3.0 effort to contribute requirements that facilitate the development of that delivery channel for magazine and display book content.
The work of nextPub has just begun! The kickoff for the 2011 nextPub activities was held February 16 at Hearst Tower. This meeting brought together 40 publishers and technology providers to begin the complex task of evaluating technologies that will enable publishers to deliver magazines and other rich content across platforms, to eReaders, media tablets and emerging electronic display devices both efficiently and cost effectively and to define requirements for next-generation publishing technologies. Today magazines come to the iPad and Galaxy as a pre-rendered, branded format with interactivity layered on top using a number of existing technologies. In the future publishers hope to move toward dynamic templates and even more automated programmatic rendering. Topics such as ePub 3.0, HTML5 and JSON (Java Script Object Notation) were explored at this meeting.
If you have interest in following or participating in nextPub, contact me for all the inside information!
Dianne Kennedy
O'Reilly's Tools of Change; Publishing Evolution or Revolution?
Posted On Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at at 7:07 PM by Dianne Kennedyi M in the first row of the Metropolitan Ballroom at the O'Reilly Tools of Change Publishing Conference, listening to Theo Gray's Keynote: The Elements -- How we did it and Where we're Going.
In many ways, Gray's story of his book, "The Elements" is really a chronicle of the evolution of the greater publishing industry.
Gray's book was published as one of the first "eBooks" as a CD-ROM in 1992. There was little interest. Gray explored publishing on the Web but found no one wants to pay for content on the Web. The book was eventually published in print and sold 320,000 copies around the world. But the real revolution came with the iPad edition. Gray, and Wolfram Technologies, had an amazing chance – to change publishing. The content for the book was ready, but the interactivity, the APP, had yet to be developed. With only 60 days to deliver, Gray and Wolfram created tools and one of the most amazing apps ever! Using Wolfram’s Mathematica, code was written to generate the hallmark 360 degree diagrams for “The Elements!”
According to AppAdvice: "The Elements: A Visual Exploration is a hardback book of The Periodic Table with immense descriptions of each element. The complete hardback book is included as an app with so much detail and information that couldn’t be possible as a simple ibook. The Elements: A Visual Exploration is a hardback book of The Periodic Table with immense descriptions of each element. The complete hardback book is included as an app with so much detail and information that couldn’t be possible as a simple ibook."
Note: The Elements even comes with a theme song or listen to Gray’s personal favorite version sung in Japanese!
In many ways, Gray's story of his book, "The Elements" is really a chronicle of the evolution of the greater publishing industry.
Gray's book was published as one of the first "eBooks" as a CD-ROM in 1992. There was little interest. Gray explored publishing on the Web but found no one wants to pay for content on the Web. The book was eventually published in print and sold 320,000 copies around the world. But the real revolution came with the iPad edition. Gray, and Wolfram Technologies, had an amazing chance – to change publishing. The content for the book was ready, but the interactivity, the APP, had yet to be developed. With only 60 days to deliver, Gray and Wolfram created tools and one of the most amazing apps ever! Using Wolfram’s Mathematica, code was written to generate the hallmark 360 degree diagrams for “The Elements!”
According to AppAdvice: "The Elements: A Visual Exploration is a hardback book of The Periodic Table with immense descriptions of each element. The complete hardback book is included as an app with so much detail and information that couldn’t be possible as a simple ibook. The Elements: A Visual Exploration is a hardback book of The Periodic Table with immense descriptions of each element. The complete hardback book is included as an app with so much detail and information that couldn’t be possible as a simple ibook."
Note: The Elements even comes with a theme song or listen to Gray’s personal favorite version sung in Japanese!
The point of the Keynote, and the TOC Conference, is that we are in the midst of a publishing Revolution!
Point well taken!
Dianne Kennedy
Point well taken!
Dianne Kennedy
HP TouchPad Offers iPad a Serious Competitor
Posted On Thursday, February 10, 2011 at at 3:45 PM by Dianne Kennedyi M back in Chicago after a week’s vacation in wonderfully warm Hawaii. No new publishing technologies to report on from that sunny location!
Big news yesterday was the HP announcements from Herbst Pavilion at Fort Mason Center on the north side of San Francisco. Of particular interest to my followers was the announcement of the new HP TouchPad. While we have been hoping for the rumored announcement of the iPad2, HP has stolen the spotlight with TouchPad.
The good news is that HP TouchPad mimics the iPad with a 9.7-inch 1024 by 768 display. But TouchPad surprises the market by using neither an Android Honeycomb nor Windows 7 OS. TouchPad boasts the HP webOS. According to Jon Rubinstein, former president of Palm and current leader of HP's WebOS efforts, "What sets the TouchPad apart right from the start is the WebOS interface. WebOS for tablets is slightly different, with organizational features and the same multitasking system used on WebOS smartphones.” HP webOS is a proprietary mobile operating system running on the Linux kernel, initially developed by Palm and purchased by Hewlett Packard (HP) in 2010 So in addition to iOS, Android and Windows7, publishers targeting tablets will now have to add HP webOS to their development agenda.
The HP TouchPad, like the multitudes of tablet PCs announced at CES 2011, makes improvements on what iPad offers. Although TouchPad appears to fall into the Office Tablet market segment, it also boasts superior audio (Beat Audio technology) and video calling to enable gaming. HP is also offering a serious alternative to the iPad for delivering magazines. Time Inc. will be among the first to deliver editions of Time Magazine to this promising new tablet.
Standardizing Web Apps Across Devices
Posted On Friday, January 28, 2011 at at 12:00 PM by Dianne Kennedyi M reading the latest tech blogs, searching for what Apple announced at the event on January 27 in San Francisco. Although blogged about heavily before the event, I cannot find a mention today! Has anyone run across earth-shaking Apple news? A new iPad perhaps? Comment if you know!
Good news I did come across on the Apple website comes out of the W3C. As I reported from CES, it appears publishers will have 3 operating systems to consider when developing digital editions of magazines where writing native apps has been the obvious choice. What this means is that to send a digital magazine edition to the iPad and Galaxy means that native apps for interactivity on each device must be written. This increases both the effort and expense to deliver to each. Yikes!
The World Wide Web Consortium appears to be tackling the standardization of touch-screen support which may help when it comes to standardized Web apps. Today the W3C published an editor's draft of a new touch-screen standard for Web apps. This standard promises to make the development of digital editions easier because Web apps written to this standard could work across devices. The standard promises to deliver the ambitious goal of tackling subtleties such as the pressure of a touch event and the radius of the spot being touched.
Dianne Kennedy
Spectrum 2011; What About Color?
Posted On Monday, January 24, 2011 at at 9:48 AM by Dianne Kennedy
i M back in my office. Dreaming of the beauty and warmth that accompanied the Spectrum Conference! But the good news is that now I can start planning for the upcoming IDEAlliance Primex Leadership Conference being held in Coral Gables, FL in late February.
For the past few years, color was a major theme of the Spectrum Conference. But this year, not so much! On the closing day of the conference someone, at a town hall asked “What about color?” The interesting response was that publishing to tablets is much more difficult than getting color fidelity ever was – who would think?
But seriously, Spectrum 2011 focused on “change” and “innovation,” and not on color. Sessions included “Building the Ultimate Premedia Workflow,” “Changes and Innovations with Print,” “Impact of Technology on Content Creation” and “New Media Channels and Standards.” The only session to address color at all was the “Monitors and Lighting Lab.” Of 6 pre-conference learning labs, only Don Hutcheson’s session on G7 addressed color. So, “What about Color?”
From my perspective, the big color issue was introduced by Mike Belknap, Art Director, Better Homes and Gardens in his luncheon session. Belknap talked about how workflows to support tablet publishing are quickly evolving. In terms of color, Belknap indicated that he works with his print product as the target. But when moving content to tablets, he has been unhappy with the color match. His interim solution has been to adjust color profiles on a device by device basis since there are no color profiles yet available for these new and bourgeoning digital delivery platforms.
When the idea of creating new color profiles for content delivery to the tablet channel was subsequently raised in a Spectrum town hall meeting, the response was mixed. Some believe color on these devices is as critical as it is for print. The example given was the importance of color when ordering from digital catalogs. Ken Pecca, Hearst Corporation dissented. According to Ken, color on his iPad is highly dependent on the environment where he is using his iPad. “And what is the effect of all those fingerprints?” One thing is clear; the IDEAlliance Print Properties and Colorimetrics Council will need to tackle the issue of color on tablets and set a course for the industry.
Dianne Kennedy
Live from Spectrum; Lessons Learned from iPad Production
Posted On Friday, January 21, 2011 at at 6:52 AM by Dianne Kennedyi M sitting in the opening session on the last day of the SPECTRUM 2011 Conference. Josh Courtney, Voda Systems, is just saying that “Publishing companies must become media companies to survive. “ After two weeks of blogging I can add “Associations must become media companies to survive!”
One thing is clear from the buzz at this conference – a radical redefinition of publishing has happened overnight. Here at Spectrum we learn how publishers and catalogers are coping with the change and what they see changing in the next year. Here’s what I hear:
1. Print production departments have become the “owners” of iPad editions by default. We have tools. We have the skills. And most importantly we have established procedures, workflows and disciplined product planning and scheduling processes that it takes to get this job done.
2. Production departments are are working far too hard. Producing the iPad edition means roughly twice the effort with no slip in deadlines and no increase in headcount. We continue to meet deadlines by working longer hours, calling on key talent from across the organization and employing strategic outsourcing.
3. We can’t add headcount. There is no financial model for what we are doing. This is the “Wild West’. We are learning, trying new models and gathering intelligence in hopes of building a financial model for the future. But today there is no financial model to support adding staff.
4. We shouldn’t add headcount. Today I could use 5 more on the production team. But we are learning and new tools are coming to market. Tomorrow I can to the same work with only 4 more on my production team. Who knows, by next year process and technology improvements may mean I can do the work with only a single addition to the staff. We need to wait to see how this all shakes out before we can confidently add just the right headcount.
5. We have the right people and skills to do the job. Layoffs over the past two years, while cutting staff to the bone, have left us with the best and brightest. While we may need staff with new skill sets to produce the digital edition, we can’t just hire a person with that skill – they don’t yet exist! We are far better off using the bright staff we have to try new technologies and learn vital new skills on the job.
6. Workflows for print and digital editions are rapidly merging. In the beginning the two workflows were separate. By October 2010, most publishers held combined design meetings for both the print and iPad editions. Now we find more and more workflow steps have been merged. For example photo shoots for the print product are being combined with video shoots for the digital edition. And joint final editorial reviews are becoming common.
7. New tablets will increase the chaos for production departments. But it is not a given that publishers will publish on every platform. We need to do market research to determine what makes good “business” sense. For example, the iPad at its 10.1 inch size is perfect for reading a magazine. The device is light and portable. It’s large enough to make reading a magazine or catalog a joy. Its got the touch screen that give the digital magazine the “feel” that we get from the paper-based edition. And its got the power to agument the magazine with some really sexy new functionality. But would we get the same experience on a 7” pad? In some cases NO. It other cases absolutely. So here the match between content and functionality must carefully be balanced
Dianne Kennedy
Kickoff for Premedia Spectrum Conference 2011
Posted On Thursday, January 20, 2011 at at 5:10 AM by Dianne Kennedyi M in my hotel room here in Naples, FL getting ready for Day #2 of Spectrum.
Premedia Spectrum opened yesterday with Learning Labs in the morning. Surprisingly, my Learning Lab, focusing on how XML enables cross-media workflows, was a full house! Suddenly everyone understands that establishing XML-enabled workflows and distribution models is the key to success. While I provided a basic introduction to XML and XML workflows, Zaher Hazim, a consultant to Meredith Corporation shared the Meredith case study and took questions. This session was such a success, I think we will produce a redux for the IDEAlliance Technical Conference this May in Chicago. Another popular workshop was delivered by Kathy Sandler from PACE University. Kathy focused on new technologies (both hardware and software) in the tablet/eReader Space.
After lunch, David Steinhardt (IDEAlliance) and William Martin (GAA) welcomed the attendees and introduced Penny Sullivan, VP of Editorial Operations and Technology, Meredith Corporation, this year’s Conference Chair. Penny introduced an afternoon workshop on Change Leadership; A Catalyst for Innovation given by Tom Carroll from RR Donnelley. Change is the appropriate focus of this year’s conference when a combination of economic and technological factors mean that nothing in our world will remain the same. Today I look forward to sessions on Data-Driven Solutions in a Multichannel World, Changes and Innovations with Print and Technology’s Impact on Content Creation. We finish with a Town Hall meeting where attendees discuss and debate today’s hottest issues. Days here end with a rush to the beach to view the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. So count me in for that!
Dianne Kennedy
Dianne Kennedy
IDEAlliance Premedia Spectrum 2.1 Conference Starts Tomorrow
Posted On Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at at 7:31 AM by Dianne Kennedyi M looking out my front door and see only cold and snow!
In 2010, Premedia Spectrum 2.0 brought together two leading industry conferences into one comprehensive event, joining the GAA Premedia Conference and IDEAlliance Spectrum. Responding to changing technologies and market demands, Premedia Spectrum offered GAA and IDEAlliance members an expanded resource for news, knowledge and networking opportunities to adequately address the convergence of cross-media workflows, and to take full advantage of new business opportunities and evolving brand and customer needs. Premedia Spectrum 2.1 will bring new energy to the business challenges of premedia in a cross-media and multi-channel world; Premedia Spectrum 2.1 will showcase industry visionaries who will share their insights on new and important breakthroughs to adapt to and thrive with digital premedia.
Sponsors for this year's conference include:
I will be tweeting about the conference at www.twitter.com/diannekennedy and reporting on the conference in the IDEAlliance1 Blog. Stay tuned!
Dianne Kennedy
Tablet Market Segments
Posted On Sunday, January 16, 2011 at at 6:46 PM by Dianne Kennedyi M completing my analysis of the tablet market space. Practically every major consumer tech company at CES 2011 is coming out with something thin, touchable, and social-media friendly. Consumers want something more mobile than a laptop and faster than a netbook. The new tablet PCs shown at CES fulfill those needs, but in many different ways.
All tablets are not created equal. One significant trend at CES is the emergence of tablet PC market segments. Tablet technology is rapidly moving from light weight and “general purpose” to those optimized for a particular purpose. Tablets are rapidly diversifying based on differences of class, interface, usability and functionality. We have divided tablets that we saw at CES into the following categories:
· Gaming Tablets (High-end graphics and performance, 3D gaming capabilities, stereo, gyro sensors, external game controller)
· Entertainment Centers (Tablet entertainment centers focus on delivery of audio and video and are optimized for that purpose. High-end graphics and performance, Stereo, HDMI in/out, remote control.)
· Internet Tablets (This category, including the iPad, are general purpose tablets to support email, facebook, twitter, YouTube and fun apps like Angry Birds. Simple but powerful information appliances.)
· Reading Tablets (tablets to support reading books and newspapers based on ePub but with some internet functions such as email. These tablets come loaded with eReader software and email and web browser connections but are not designed to download and run “aps” as Internet tablets are.)
· Office Tablets / Slates (this new class of tablets, announced at CES are mobile, flat panel PCs with a touch screen. Slates typically have more RAM storage, USB input and operating systems which enable the tablet to function like a light weight PC. Struggles of iPad users to make their iPad function like a PC indicate success for this new category of tablet.)
Publishers should take special notice of Internet Tablets for delivering magazines and Reading Tablets for delivery of books. The shift from Internet Tablets to Office Tablets seems to be the trend, so these should be considered as target publishing platforms as well.
Dianne Kennedy
Dianne Kennedy
Putting CES 2011 in Context
Posted On Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at at 10:47 AM by Dianne Kennedyi M home from CES and trying to pull it all together. When attending CES, it is important to put what you see in context. This year's Consumer Electronics Show attracted approximately 140,000 attendees, a number not seen since 2008. An increase in attendance appears to track with the slow but steady recovery of the global economy. This year the Consumer Electronics Association reported a record-breaking 30,000 attendees who came from outside the U.S., with about 80 different countries represented. According to CEA, this year’s show attracted 2,700 technology companies, and its keynote presentations featured appearances by 22 top CEOs. I certainly was "impressed" by the long lines to check into my hotel, the hour wait to get on the monorail to the LV Convention Center and the wall-to-wall people on the show floor. No wonder! 140,000 people are an amazing crowd.
CES is really all about what’s new. CES is the place where technology innovations are announced to the world. CES can certainly help us understand the trends, but make no mistake that in many cases, what you see at CES is much like viewing concept cars at the auto show. I saw many exciting new technologies − most of which are not commercially available. My estimate is that 90 % of the technologies we reviewed are not commercially available here. About 60% of those were, however, commercially available in Asia and these companies attended CES to find commercial outlets in North America. The remainder, those in “prototype,” attended CES to find OEMs to brand and sell their products in any market around the world.
Last year 30 tablet PCs were announced at CES 2010. By the end of 2010 only a handful of products made it to market and only two significant products, the iPad and late in the year the Samsung Galaxy Tab™ had any traction. Using this as an indicator, with 80 tablets announced this year we can hope to see only 8 to 10 serious offerings by year end. I think the tablets offered as joint ventures between technology companies developing tablets and wireless service providers hold the most promise.
Dianne Kennedy
Dianne Kennedy
Tablet Mania
Posted On Friday, January 7, 2011 at at 9:18 AM by Dianne Kennedyi M here at CES, day #2. Of course beauty (or anything for that matter) is in the eye of the beholder. CES 2011 is a showcase of the amazing. How about the Kitara digial guitar or the Lemur Safe Driving Monitor from Root Four Imagination that prevents teens from texting in the car? Kool -- but for me this show is all about the amazing advances in tablet computing!
According to the Show Daily, 35 new PC tablets were announce for the show. Then today another 10 followed suit. This number is quite impressive. But remember that 30 tablets and eReaders were announced last year and only a hand full are available today.
So, what did I see and what is the takeway? Follow my blog as the CES unfolds and my analysis begins!
PS: In addition to writing for the IDEAlliance/IPA Bulletin and reporting to IDEAlliance members at upcoming conferences and meetings, I am writing for the Seybold Report. When I signed in at CES for my press pass, I was given a "Blogger" pass instead! Just a clue about how far journalism has shifted in the digital age!
Dianne Kennedy
