What an incredible time to be alive! The speed of communication has dramatically increased over the past decade. These technological advances are mind twisting! Everyday there are new tools introduced to enhance our communication abilities and experiences. Email once the rage has taken a back seat to blogs, and now a new set of tools have been added to the communication toolbox. Have you ever heard of Micro blogs? One of these tools is called Twitter. I happen to be a twitterer myself. It has been interesting to see how all of these tools can be connected to improve communication and promotion as a publisher with those who are connected to my network of friends and business associates. The explosion of micro blogs comes as another example of world wide instant communication. Do you Twitter? For some this seems to be an overload in communication tools! But for the smart business leader these methods of communication can strengthen viral promotion and marketing for your business. Check out the article in The New York Times that discusses the power of these communication tools on politics. Have you considered the possibilities if you are a writer or publisher of interconnecting your web site, blog and twitter or other micro blog tools? It might be worth considering?

If you have not read The Long Tail you need to do yourself a service and pick it up. It is a great piece of work to challenge your thinking on the new "freemium" economy. I have found it extremely helpful in our work at NavPress, and our leadership team has used the principles in discussions about our new business model. I wanted you to take a look at the attached post. The author, Chris Anderson, challenges us to consider again the idea of using community to design and produce books and other consumables. Here are some of the key components for building a business model using this approach:

1. Build a community around free information and advice on a particular topic.
2. With that community's help, design products that people want, then return the favor by making the products free in raw form.
3. Let those with more money than time/skill/risk-tolerance buy the more polished version of those products. (That may turn out to be almost everyone.)
4. Do it again and again, building a 40% margin into the products to pay the bills.

Well, whether you agree or not, it's something new to think about for publishing in the 21st century. Watch this Chris Anderson interview. See what you think. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie-FVSK-7Ig&feature=related]

Well, this might take the cake for the largest co-authored book in history! Here is an attempt to take a virtual book built on Wikipedia and produce a hard-cover book for sale in retail stores. Is this backward? Does this make sense or is it breaking the rules for web-based publishing? Perhaps this is just another of a growing number of examples of how web-based publishing from an open-source wiki-type model can merge nicely into the standard publishing model.

• Have you ever wiki'd on a project with others?

• Do you think that wiki is the future of collaborative publishing?

• Perhaps some authors and publishers should team up on a wiki project and see what might come of it?

NavPress is interested. If anyone reading this blog is interested in this concept, too, let me know!

Here is some news about the continued growth of web 2.0. Now companies and executives are adopting these tools and connecting them to their business practices. So much to learn, so little time! I don't know how you feel when you read an article like the one I have attached, but it sometimes is overwhelming to think about the speed of technology. The good news is that preteens, teenagers, and young adults are working with new technology all the time and working out all the bugs so that us business types can use these tools when they are improved! Here are some of the questions I am wrestling with on a weekly basis: • How will publishers handle the challenges of constant change in the world of technology? • Will we be ready to use these new tools as part of the processes of a publishing enterprise? • How well does my organization understand the challenges and opportunities associated with these new tech tools? I have attached a video that explains the basics of web 2.0--it's time to learn! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsa5ZTRJQ5w]

It is finally here! The computer pen! Watch the video on the attached page. You will have to login or register for free to review the page. But I have attached a cool video that shows one type of digital pen that is on the market. This new device now allows you to use a ball point pen to take notes and then connect to your computer and download your notes! Sounds like a good idea; many of the features are listed in the article attached to this blog. However, I thought of several things that might be a challenge for this new technology. Who would have thought in the day of the laptop and PDA that there could still be the need for the pen! This might be one of those great examples of how old and new technologies can be useful together in the 21st century. If you are interested, you might check out the history of the pen. 1. The art of writing by hand is on the decline. How many people write today rather than use their computer to record their thoughts and notes? 2. How do you spellcheck your digital pen? :) 3. I hope the new pen can capture my doodles on the margins of my notes when I am in endless meetings. It is time to add the computer pen to our collection of technological gadgets! Rise up and write! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tox3mJ2AwGA]

I have a friend who has a great saying about change. He says, "When the pain of staying the same, exceeds the pain of change, YOU WILL CHANGE!" For the publishing business I think we are coming to the place where the pain of staying the same is exceeding the pain of change. At least for NavPress we have come to the conclusion that we must embrace change in order to accomplish our mission as a publishing company. Through the years I have utilized a change model created by John Kotter If you have not watched hisintro to the "The Iceberg Is Melting then take a look because the realities facing the Christian publishing enterprise are serious and require a sense of urgency! Last year a blog entry from IVP discussed the tensions between ministry and business in publishing. The post describes the typical concerns regarding publishing issues. Those in the business must ask themselves if it is a ministry or a business. Perhaps the question should be "Is it Mission or Monetary?" In order for change to take place at a significant level within the Christian publishing world, there must be a sense of urgency concerning the situation that an organization is facing. And not just financial urgency but mission critical focus. If you read or know the histories of Christian publishing companies, their mission/vision was the driving force in the early days. Because of this vision, there was no sacrifice too great, no cost so high that the founding publishers would not make in order to provide their resources to the consumer. Here are my concerns: 1. The Christian publishing enterprise must take responsibility for the messages we have published and released in the name of Christ! 2. The Christian publishing industry must ask if the Lord is pleased with what we are spending our resources to produce? 3. The Christian publishing industry should rise up and stop the madness of allowing consumerism to drive product selection rather than biblically centered messages that honor our God.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxk_WywMTzc&feature=related] [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOSx7v87JCA] Don't know if you have seen this change coming in computer technology it is the touch screen computer. Microsoft and other manufacturers have been working on this application for several years. Now they are beginning to roll it out in the gaming and entertainment business. Will publishers take advantage of this technology? What kind of advantages would these tools give to the sales and marketing team? Or to the editorial team in a publishing environment? What about retailers? Lots to think about!

Well it is here and it seems to be hot. The Kindle is growing in popularity. The features of the devise are interesting. Take a look at the clip attached to the post. I have used the Kindle for some time. The device is breaking new ground in the ebook world. Many of the earlier models lacked the kind of functionality of this device. NavPress is currently loading many of our resources to the kindle as an additional channel for distribution of our excellent resources. There is growing evidence that ebook sales are increasing. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAf4vxGEOAo] Here are some of my thoughts as a user of the Kindle. 1. Easy to use. The device fits in your hands as has good functionality. 2. Easy to load with new materials. New materials load instantly and are immediately available for use. 3. Good for the serious reader. Now on one device I can load my favorite newspapers, magazines, and books. Makes long trips easier and lessens the load in my backpack! So are you ebooking or not?

A very significant study is underway on reading that every publisher should be watching. The study is very long but scan the executive summary. Some of you may be very familiar with the NEA's work on this topic but the realities of the report cause me to pause and take some time to reflect on several important questions. 1. If reading is declining at these rates what is the impact on sharing the gospel? 2. What is the impact for management in leading people with lower reading skills in the work place? 3. Will publishers face a crisis because of our "word" driven business model? 4. Are we moving back to a post literate world? 5. Will the art of writing begin to fade away and become a skill of the past literate world? 6. Will the future consist of two classes of people? Readers and Non readers? A post literate world calls for new ways to communicate messages and distribute them to people who may choose not to read or that can't read. Publishers and church leaders must engage on this important subject. How is your organization working to help your community pro actively address these issues? Lots to think about. NavPress is working on some solutions to these questions and I hope to talk about them in future posts.

Well there is finally movement on a Print on Demand solution for retailers that might help the entire trade publishing model. Perhaps you have seen this technology before but if not take a look at the video. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q946sfGLxm4] OnDemandBooks has now started placing the machines in various trade stores in both the U.S. and the U.K. What are the implications for this technology for publishers? 1. Virtual production. These machines provide direct to consumer product without printers,freight, warehouses all the intermediary steps used to publish a book. 2. Retailer destination location. For the first time in a long time the retailer becomes a destination location that provides customers the opportunity to pick up hard to get out of stock books from their favorite publisher. 3. Reduces store shelf challenges. The Expresso could be a compliment to provide add on sales of additional publishers product that the store does not stock because of limited shelf space. 4. New channels for book sales. This technology could be placed in churches and other locations that provide book publishers additional channels for distribution and sell of their books.