Some Observations about Publishing Dinosaurs
Before I leave the topic of this week’s Executive Publishing Conference & Expo behind me, there are a few more observations that may be helpful to educational publishers about the general state of the publishing industry. I make these observations through the filter of attendees to another recent conference, South by Southwest (SXSW) which began as a small music festival and is now a signature meeting for music and interactive media.
I’ll preface the rest of this post by stating that there are a surprising number of traditional publishers who are still “learning” that the world has shifted and that they are in great danger of becoming dinosaurs. At the conference I attended, there were plenty of people who have sailed into new interactive waters of online publishing and social media. These were best represented by some of the vendor offerings and some of the panelists. But many of the attendees from small to large publishers seemed to be hearing about the shifts in the rules of engagement for the first time. Read the rest of this entry »
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With all of the dismal economic news these days, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that most people are still employed, still focused on delivering the best goods and services, and telling their stories in ways that connect with customers and prospects.
There is always palpaple energy in the room when educational technology folks come together. Many in the industry began their careers in the classroom and their missionary zeal for kids and education is still very much intact. Somewhere between the gloomy view of the investment community looking at the current educational marketplace as a “set of distressed assets” and the developer’s Pollyanna enthusiasm for new technology lies the truth of where we currently sit. As the investors, developers, and marketers mixed and talked throughout the day at the 
At today’s
