Amazon just purchased speech-recognition company, Ivona:
“Amazon has been using Ivona's technology for its Kindle e-readers since 2009. Ivona also supplies "Explore By Touch" and "Voice Guide" navigation for Kindle Fire models.”
Could this become Amazon’s version of Siri? Read more at Mashable.
Brian Howard discussed a recent incident on Amazon involving reviews and the worrisome precedent it might be setting:
“Witness the campaign against Randall Sullivan ’s Michael Jackson bio Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson. As reported in The New York Times , Sullivan’s book focuses on the superstar’s last years and, despite being characterized as a generally sympathetic look at Jackson, has come under siege by a group of fans who take issue with some of the book’s statements. And so they launched a flotilla of mostly anonymous one-star reviews seemingly aimed at not just discrediting the book, but killing it.
“As the barriers to publication and mass media continue to dissolve, and the line between who is and is not a journalist is further blurred, the wisdom of the crowd can quickly turn into vigilante justice.”
Read the rest of the article at Book Business Magazine.
And according to the latest Publishers Weekly, the percentage of children reading e-books has grown from 25% in 2010 to 46% in 2012. A breakdown of how they are reading e-books:
22% - Laptop or netbook
21% - IPad or other tablet
19% - Dedicated reading device such as the Nook, Kindle, etc.
19% - Desktop
16% - Handheld devices such as cell phones, IPod, PSP, etc.
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Attack of the Butterfly!
34 comments:
I'd love to help promote your book, but I can't on those dates. Would you like to do a Wednesday Guest Post about it over at my blog? First available Wed is March 6th. Let me know!
Have signed up to help promote your book. I know the trials and tribulations of self publishing.
Loved the photo, funnily I happen to write a poem today about me being As Fragile As A Butterfly.
Yvonne.
A lot of people are using one star reviews to beat up on books.
Cool photo.
And all set to host you on your tour that week!
Signed-up!
Sir Poops and Hair Ball will be delighted to mention your book on their Nosh post.
And I signed up both my blogs.
Hugs and chocolate,
Shelly
Jessica, thank you. I'll send you an email.
Yvonne, perfect timing. Thank you - I'm sure you'll create a beautiful poem about my book.
Alex, Ciara, and Shelly, thank you!
Yes, I will mention you and your book! Congrats :D
Oh, this is scary stuff-the reality of social media!
I love your photo-the hope of spring!
It is gorgeous!
Happy Friday!
The review process has become so sketchy and unreliable. All part of the ease and availability of offering one, I guess.
Speech recognition-- trying to think how that would work with an ereader? Or maybe it's about a text-to-voice option. I'll have to read the article. Thanks.
Looking forward to helping promote your book!
That picture is great! "Move over, I want some too!"
Ella, thank you. I'm usually not very good at catching butterflies.
Julie, it's doesn't work like Siri, so I'm not sure how they are going to use it.
Karen, you had emailed me about it. Maybe you just forgot to sign up?
Thank you, Bish.
Good luck with your new book.
Love the butterflies
Interesting about the children and ebooks!
My teenage grandchildren all have their own Kindles. It's gratifying that they love to read!
"And according to the latest Publishers Weekly, the percentage of children reading e-books has grown from 25% in 2010 to 46% in 2012."
I think this is the next big growth area in publishing. Many schools are adopting tablet technology for textbooks (digital textbooks are sooo much less expensive than the paper ones, and more resilient to student abuse :). Once students have a device capable of eReading, school libraries will start loaning eBooks, and the ball shall be rolling. :-)
That's interesting news about Inova!
I signed up to promote your book!
It's so hard to imagine reading a book on my phone. LOTS of page-turning!
I look forward to promoting your book. I bet it's going to be a stellar read!
I've heard of the troll campaigns, which is scary. I don't know how we resolve the whole review issue.
Yay for your new book. I have you on my calendar!
It's sad that people would do that to an author. I haven't read the book so I can't make any comments but I wouldn't like any writer's hard earned reputation to be tarnished so easily.
The idea of kids reading e-books instead of print on paper saddens me. I'm not sure why.
Not sure what this news really means about Amazon other than to confirm that they are indeed the giant in the book world right now. And I'd love for you to do a guest post! I'll email you and leave it up to you when you want to use my blog, okay?
I can usually tell which one star reviews lack any credibility and the one stars are the reviews I usually look at first to get a better perspective about a product. I think the 5 star reviews are often the more suspect ones.
Lee
A Faraway View
We never know what new technology is coming. At least I don't. I'm usually surprised and wished I could have invented whatever it is - LOL!
Good luck on the e-book tour :)
.......dhole
I'm going to be a rebel and promote your book the first Monday of February. That's cool, right? :)
I'm a Michael Jackson fan, but I would never think to do that to an author who wrote about him, unless it was a seriously trashy piece of writing that just attacked him without merit or something.
Hi Diane .. the crowd vigilante is a bit much isn't it - that's where Amazon's cyber talons should be ...
I think I'll just stay down behind the lines! Thankfully I've nothing anyone's going to be that concerned about ... but Amazon is pushing the boundaries ...
Interesting about the ebook devices ... cheers Hilary
Isn't it difficult to read a book on a phone? Especially those suffering with poor eyesight? It just seems so tiny...
I love being able to read anywhere...I mean, I could before but I always had to carry a book with me, and now all I need is my phone. I'm getting my daughter a Kindle when my taxes come cause I know it will encourage her to read more...
Laura, as long as they read, it doesn't matter the how.
EJ, yes - more library options for authors!
Thank you, Sherry.
Randi, thank you.
Thank you, M Pax.
Thank you, Karen - would love to do a guest post.
David, be a rebel!
Michelle, I couldn't read on my iphone.
It's kind of unnerving how irritating the wrong group of people could result in a campaign of destruction like the article described. Can't wait for your book.
Thanks for all the news! Looking forward to having you stop by in February. :)
All signed up!
This book sounds wonderful! I always inspire to live and entertain simply.The Equation
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