ComputerHunter.org |
|
|
|||
|
 |
Invasion of the Amazons
The last few months have witnessed a bloodbath in tech stocks coupled with a frantic re-definition of the web and of every player in it (as far as content is concerned). This effort is three pronged: Some companies are gambling on content distribution and the possession of the attendant digital infrastructure. MightyWords, for example, stealthily transformed itself from a "free-for-all-everyone-welcome" e-publisher to a distribution channel of choice works (mainly by midlist authors). It now aims to feed its content to content-starved web sites. In the process, it shed thousands of unfortunate authors who did not meet its (never stated) sales criteria. Others bet the farm on content creation and packaging. Bn.com invaded the digital publishing and POD (Print on Demand) businesses in a series of lightning purchases. It is now the largest e-book store by a wide margin. But Amazon seemed to have got it right once more. The web's own virtual mall and the former darling of Wall Street has diversified into micropayments. The Internet started as a free medium for free spirits. E-commerce was once considered a dirty word. Web surfers became used to free content. Hence the (very low) glass ceiling on the price of content made available through the web - and the need to charge customers less than 1 US dollars to a few dollars per transaction ("micro-payments"). Various service providers (such as Pay-Pal) emerged, none became sufficiently dominant and all-pervasive to constitute a standard. Web merchants' ability to accept micropayments is crucial. E-commerce (let alone m-commerce) will never take off without it. Enter Amazon. Its "Honour System" is licensed to third party web sites (such as Bartleby.com and SatireWire). It allows people to donate money or effect micro-payments, apparently through its patented one-click system. As far as the web sites are concerned, there are two major drawbacks: all donations and payments are refundable within 30 days and Amazon charges them 15 cents per transaction plus 15(!) percent. By far the worst deal in town. So, why the fuss? Because of Amazon's customer list. This development emphasizes the growing realization that one's list of customers - properly data mined - is the greatest asset, greater even than original content and more important than distribution channels and digital right management or asset management applications. Merchants are willing to pay for access to this ever expanding virtual neighbourhood (even if they are not made privy to the customer information collected by Amazon). The Honour System looks suspiciously similar to the payment system designed by Amazon for Stephen King's serialized e-novel, "The Plant". Interesting to note how the needs of authors and publishers are now in the driver's seat, helping to spur along innovations in business methods. About The Author Sam Vaknin is the author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited" and "After the Rain - How the West Lost the East". He is a columnist in "Central Europe Review", United Press International (UPI) and ebookweb.org and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory, Suite101 and searcheurope.com. Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia. His web site: http://samvak.tripod.com
Google News - Top Stories
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Lets Get One Thing Straight About Being A Published Author Just for fun, evaluate the following statement: Goals and Objectives in Authoring an eBook Goals begin behaviour, consequences maintain behaviour! Top Ten Tips To Get Started Writing Your Book - Part 2 You are far more likely to successfully write and publish your book if you follow these tips before you [start writing] write a single chapter. Part one of this article is available at www.bookcoaching.com/freearticles/article-55.shtml How to Price Your eBook You've written and compiled an ebook. Now you have to decide how much to charge for it. Finding the right price is essential to the success of your product. If you charge too little, people will think it's of little value, and they won't purchase it, or even it they do buy your book, you will have to sell thousands of copies to get to the point where you can begin to see a profit. If you price it too high when compared with your competition, you will find yourself steadily lowering the price, which will cause you all kinds of new problems in the future. For example, if you sell your ebook at first for $39.99, and later reduce it to $24.95, don't you think the people who bought it for $39.99 are going to be PISSED? Ebook Marketing: 20 Checklist For eBook Creation If you promote an ebook, please pay attention to these ebook marketing checklist: E-book Sales ? Will Your Cover Close the Sale? Well designed professional looking e-book covers do much, much more than show the title of the book. An e-book cover can be a powerful attention grabbing sales tool. If you are currently promoting an e-book on your web site and don't have an e-book cover to promote it, you're losing money. 10 Ways To Make Money With eBooks Ask any internet marketing "guru" and they will tell you the same thing: Writing An eBook - The How To Guide Whenever you're listening to one of the big names in internet marketing you hear the same speech over and over again when it comes to viral marketing. The number one advice is, write an eBook and give it away for free. The Problem With E-Books One of the most popular online ventures is selling e-books. People are hungry for information; that's why they're on the Web in the first place. And e-books are cheap to produce and distribute. Top Ten eBook Mistakes and How to Correct Them (Part 2) Did you know that you already have an eBook inside you? And, like your coach, you can earn thousands of dollars each month? Just One Quick Question Ever notice the number of times a client or prospect says some variation of 'I just have one more question,' or 'Just a quick question?' The answers to those questions are the grist of a tips booklet. You may be asked the same or similar questions repeatedly. And whether you think you are a good writer or not, you can always develop tips based on what people have already said they want to know from you. The Bible of Marketing Ebooks The ebook from Michael Cheney really is the bible when it comes to make a successful website. Why Write an EBook? It's not true that everything that has been said has already been written. Since that unfortunate axiom came into use, the whole universe has changed. Technology has changed, ideas have changed, and the mindsets of entire nations have changed. Look How Easy It Is To Write Your Own eBook What happens when you stumble across a promising market, idea or topic for an ebook, but don't know how to quickly find out what content you should package to sell? How To Create and Market Your own E-Book The Internet presents an amazing opportunity foranyone who knows how to research and write. How To Rebrand Your eBook Using Active eBook Compiler Complete all the pages for your eBook in HTML format. Your main page should be named "index.html". Writing Acknowledgements for E-Books It is important to have an acknowledgements section in your E-Books. Having authored some 1600 articles, 3000 pages of Operations Manuals, 4 E-Books and Co-Authored a Book on Franchising, I can tell you that a properly written acknowledgement, introduction and dedication is smart diplomacy. Many authors rely on teams of researchers, writers, consultants and editors. Myself, generally I use these opportunities to thank sources used in compiling the information. It pays dividends to future projects and streamlines the process in future work as per my theories. Are You Using The Four Letter Word? The most powerful word in the marketing dictionary is made up of just four letters: F-R-E-E. eBooks With Reseller Rights Are Your Ticket To Online Success Starting an Online business today is pretty easy and it doesn't have to cost a fortune, unfortunately being easy to start doesn't guarantee of success. Not to scare you off, but you need to know. It is a fact that approximately 85% of new businesses are doomed to failure in the first couple of years, for one reason or another. EBOOKS Are Books Too! Electronic books ? that is books you read on the computer- have the same information and entail the same reading experience as books in the traditional form ? that is books you actually hold in your hands. An ebook looks just like a Microsoft document but it is transformed into an ebook format such as PDF where the reader cannot make any changes to the document. There are other points of comparisons of ebooks and just regular books.
|
|
|
|
|
