books

E-Books that originate in newsrooms are an increasingly common phenomenon. The Washington Post and POLITICO, to name two publishers, have both gotten into that business lately, and have had success with porting their work to the longform platform.

Apple’s recent introduction of iBooks 2 and iBooks Author brings the ability for much smaller newsrooms with limited budgets to create and sell e-books for iOS devices. And these are not just any e-books: these are interactive e-books that gives you the ability to embed videos, photo galleries, quizzes and interactive images. Read more

Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. The online event and workshop will feature speakers including Morin Oluwole (Facebook), Michael Brito (Edelman Digital), and Tim Devane (bitly). Register now.

Aspiring authors take note: There’s a new publishing company in town and it’s letting readers decide which books get published.

PUBSLUSH  Press, a privately-owned company which calls itself the people’s publisher,  launched  in August. The company hopes to “bring publishing back to the people” using social media, said founder Jesse Potash.  I interviewed Potash to learn more about the company. Read more

When it comes to shooting video, what do we know? Here’s the facts:

• Every day, people shoot thousands of hours of video.
• On YouTube alone, over 48 hours worth of video is uploaded every minute.

It’s safe to say that we are drowning in video, and the collective attention span of viewers is short. How do you make sure that your video will get watched? How can you make sure that it will get shared and discussed? Essentially, how can you make sure your video doesn’t suck?

Award-winning producer and director Steve Stockman has found the way in his new book How To Shoot Video That Doesn’t Suck.

How To Shoot Video That Doesn’t Suck shows readers how to engage their audience using clear, concise concepts that even video novices can master the minute they pick up a video camera. This isn’t about how to work the camera — instead, this is about how to make great video using Stockman’s experience as a producer, writer and director.

I recently talked with Stockman about what video journalists can gain from this book, as well some other helpful tips.
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Let’s face it: Readers’ attention spans aren’t getting any longer. We are used to receiving news in sound bites or, in recent years, 140 characters or less. This does an injustice to investigative or longer news pieces. Enter Byliner and The Atavist, two tools that have the potential to bring back longform journalism.

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Looking for a way to archive your social media messages or posts? Many new services are making it easy for you to transform your posts into books and more.

 

Twournal

What happens to your tweets after send them out? With Twournal they don’t have to disappear into the ether, never to be seen again. For a nominal fee, you can print every tweet you’ve ever tweeted, or just those you select, into a bound book. A Twournal can be printed in black and white or color, and can include TwitPics and retweets if you choose. (You can check out mine here).

 

EgoBook

EgoBook can turn your Facebook status updates, wall messages, and comments into a highly personalized yearbook of content. The cover includes the profile photo of your choosing, as well as a photo mosaic of all your friends or the friends of the recipient.

 

Tweet Towel

Printing your social media messages isn’t just limited to paper. Get extra posh with Tweet Towels — tea towels embroidered with the tweet of your choice. A great gift for mom or to a unique way to put the “social” in “social gathering.”

 

Book of Fame

Book of Fame puts a different spin on the printed social media messages by creating a personalized notebook that includes Facebook status updates from you and your friends at the bottom of each page. Use it as a diary or to write status updates next to your status updates (how meta). If you prefer a product with your Twitter messages, check out TweetNotebook.

 

Blog2Print

Printing your collected messages isn’t just limited to your social media posts. As mentioned in this previous post, Blog2Print can take you WordPress, TypePad or Blogger blog and turn into a printed tome that includes any photos, and comments if you wish. The cost depends on the number of printed pages your blog archives, but on average runs about $20-30.