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Month: April 2008

LOC Going Digital

The Library of Congress will make use of technology to exhibit more than 6,000 volumes from Thomas Jefferson’s book collection.

“Artifacts like the Waldseemüller map (the first to include the name “America”), the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, the Gutenberg Bible and original volumes from Thomas Jefferson’s Library will be virtually at your fingertips. You’ll be able to flip through their pages, magnify sections of interest and access commentary from the Library’s top experts-all on the same touch screen,” the Library of Congress’ website informs the public.

Digital technology is not something new for libraries, but Librarian of Congress James Billington assured the public that the exhibit is “unlike anything the Library of Congress has undertaken in the past,” allowing visitors to see “stunning detail up close that we’ve only had a general idea of before.”

Eventually, this stuff will be available via the web, so you won’t have to travel to Washington, D.C. to access LOC materials.

Technorati Tags:
Digitization, Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson

Coup de Grâce

According to the Scotsman, a plan is in the works. Al Gore and Jimmy Carter are conspiring to deliver a message to Hillary Clinton. They will endorse Barack Obama and encourage Mrs. Clinton to quit her run for the presidency.

Falling poll numbers and a string of high-profile blunders have convinced party elders that she must now bow out of the primary race.

Former president Carter and former vice-president Gore have already held high-level discussions about delivering the message that she must stand down for the good of the Democrats.

“They’re in discussions,” a source close to Carter told Scotland on Sunday. “Carter has been talking to Gore. They will act, possibly together, or in sequence.”

Whether this is fact or fiction no one knows. I certainly wouldn’t expect anything to happen before the primaries end. That means June at the earliest. Clearly, the DNC doesn’t want a delegate fight at the convention in Denver, so it would make sense to have the two most influential Democrats, and chairman Dean, come out at the conclusion of the primaries on June 4th and let the world know who the nominee will be.

Technorati Tags:
Al Gore, Barack Obama, DNC, Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean, Jimmy Carter

Poll Crazy

A new AP/Ipsos national poll out today shows that John McCain has erased a 10 point advantage held by Barack Obama which leaves the GOP presumptive nominee tied with both Democratic candidates.

The problem is, none of this is exciting. Why? Because it’s a simple poll. A one time event. A snap shot. Whenever the MSM pushes a poll story you know the political news cycle is weak. That’s what’s happening here. No real news so they create the narrative by pushing this.

Think about how many times this poll can move in the months leading up to the November election and you can understand why I snort at stuff like this.

More: Polls polls polls, everywhere, polls!!!

Technorati Tags:
Barack Obama, Hysteria, John McCain, Polls

Next Stop: Earl’s Court

Like many in our industry, I’m heading to London for the book fair which starts on Monday, April 14th. I’m looking forward to the show this year. Last year, digitization was the topic du-jour. That conversation carried over to the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany. So, I expect to field more questions on this issue from my publisher partners when we meet next week.

I’ll let you know if I see a giant Kindle helium balloon floating from the rafters of Earl’s Court 1. Pictures will follow.

Technorati Tags:
Publishing, London Book Fair, Frankfurt Book Fair, Earl’s Court, London, Books, Exhibition
Kindle

When Politicians Jump the Shark

All three candidates for president – John McCain, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton – will be appearing together tomorrow night on national television. No, they won’t be taking part in a debate of the issues. They won’t be holding simultaneous campaign rallies. No, nothing substantive like that. Together, they will be appearing…

…wait for it…

…on American Idol.

What? Are they gonna sing or something? Will Simon be allowed to degrade them? (I’d even tune in for that!).

How ridiculous.

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, American Idol, Simon Cowell

Condi Won’t Be Veep

I hate to break it to Eugene Robinson, but Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will not be picked by John McCain as his running mate. She doesn’t want to be Vice President. She never wanted to be Vice President.

I hypothesize that the Obama campaign pushed this story over the weekend, with the goal of damaging John McCain. Tying McCain to Bush and his administration is the only hope the Democrats have to cripple his candidacy. They can’t criticize him on his liberal viewpoints, for if they did, they would be criticizing their own beliefs. The only thing they can do is push the narrative that electing McCain will be like electing Bush for another 4 years. And how better to tie McCain to Bush than to suggest that a senior member of Bush’s administration wants an extended term of residency in the White House.

The Dems will have to come up with something better than this if they want to hurt McCain.

UPDATE: Condi says it again, even clearer.

Technorati Tags:
Barack Obama, John McCain, Condoleezza Rice, Vice President, Short List

Moving the Goal Post

Hillary Clinton is losing ground against Barack Obama in Pennsylvania according to a recent poll from Quinnipiac University.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is catching up with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary and now trails 50 – 44 percent among likely primary voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

This compares to a 50 – 41 percent Sen. Clinton lead in an April 2 poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN uh-pe-ack) University.

In this latest survey, one of the biggest shifts is among women who went from 54 – 37 percent for Clinton April 2 to 54 – 41 percent for her today. A look at other groups shows:

— White voters for Clinton 56 – 38 percent, down from 59 – 34 percent last week.

— Black voters back Obama 75 – 17 percent, compared to 73 – 11 percent.

— Men are for Obama 48 – 44 percent, compared to a 46 – 46 percent tie last week.

— Voters under 45 go with Obama 55 – 40, while older voters back Clinton 55 – 38 percent.

This trend will continue right up to the day of the primary. Remember where Hillary was a month or two ago? She held a strong double-digit lead against Obama in Pennsylvania. Problem is, the last few weeks have been tremendously hard on the candidate and it’s showing. As a result, the campaign narrative has changed. Hillary is no longer expected to win by double-digits. Her surrogates are saying that she’ll win by between 5% and 9% in PA, but that will be a BIG BIG BIG win for Hillary. A win in PA was supposed to signal Hillary’s comeback. It was supposed to show her legitimacy as THE real candidate who can win in November. Her overwhelming win there was supposed to provide her with much needed delegates while depriving Obama of the same. Her big double-digit win in PA was supposed to bring her within striking distance of Obama’s popular vote lead.

A 5% to 9% win will accomplish none of these things.

The only thing that will happen is Hillary will use her thin win is yet another reason to stay in the race. The media has made sure everyone pays attention to Pennsylvania as THE crucial point of the Democratic primary. Pennsylvania is supposed to be a game changer. It won’t change a thing.

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Pennsylvania

Amazon Revs Up Its Digital Bad Self

Buried in this New York Times article on the digital-ness of Amazon.com is a word or two about Kindle and a little prognostication about growth of the digital market:

The Kindle electronic book reader, now four months old, is another primary cog in Amazon’s digital strategy. Sales across the book publishing industry are flat; e-books represent one possible future. But the first priority for Amazon is actually getting the device into people’s hands. The company has experienced constant shortages since the Kindle went on sale in December.

“We obviously want to get it fully in stock as quickly as possible,” said Mr. Freed, vice president in charge of the Kindle.

Mr. Freed said that the Kindle was first and foremost a reading device, but that it could also serve as a platform for at least some of Amazon’s other digital offerings. The device can play MP3 files and audio books from Audible, the online audio book retailer that Amazon bought last month for $300 million.

In general, Amazon’s digital team expresses urgency but does not appear to be in a rush. Mr. Kessel noted that it took the company five to seven years to build many of its businesses — books, consumer electronics — to maturity. He expects digital offerings to follow the same path.

A few observations – I find it difficult to believe that Amazon will try to position Kindle as a multi-use device. Most people will use an iPod to listen to an audio book rather than tote around a device that’s easily three times that size. And while they didn’t mention the Kindle as “movie” ready, I’d hardly be convinced that Amazon wants to meet Apple head-on in this market. The future of the downloadable movie is the flat screen television in the living room, not another portable device.

The best thing Amazon can do is continue is find customers for Kindle. To do that, they must refine the hardware. Make it smarter, sexier, and more robust. Oh, and bring the price down too.

Technorati Tags:
Amazon, Digital Publishing, eBooks, Kindle

3G iPhone “in 60 days”

The rumor has been swirling about for some time now, but here is yet another confirmation that a true 3G version of the iPhone will be winging its way to my doorstep soon.

Walt Mossberg, the legendary technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal, made the prediction during an executive summit held by Beet.tv last week. For some reason, Mossberg’s comments were not noticed until over the weekend, perhaps because the title of the post referencing his talk was “FTC Should Stop Verizon from Calling DSL ‘Broadband,’ Walt Mossberg.”

Most of his talk is about how broadband networks in the U.S. are somewhat lacking compared to the rest of the world, and how that’s a big problem for video-over-the-Internet businesses. But at about 6:30 into the clip, he starts talking about wireless broadband, and the iPhone. Mossberg notes that the iPhone already offers a pretty good video experience with its iPod capabilities, and then dismisses concern over the lack of a 3G iPhone with this gem: “It will be 3G in 60 days.“

Mossberg is in the select group that gets early access to important Apple products, he was one of the first to review the initial iPhone last June. So, he’s probably in a good position to know when his next iPhone review might be coming around.

Given that most iPhone users do everything BUT talk on their iPhone, faster data speeds are a must. A big question remains – at what cost? Most of us have already spent hundreds of dollars on this device. Are we ready to buck up again less than a year after the first buy?

In a word? Yes.

Technorati Tags:
Apple, iPhone, 3G

A General Lack of Truthiness

Hillary will stop telling a story about the death of an uninsured pregnant woman. Apparently, it lacks a certain necessary element of effectiveness. The truth.

A hospital has raised questions over the accuracy of the story, and Clinton’s campaign has said although they had no reason to doubt the story, they were unable to confirm the details.

Hmmm…the sniper fire that wasn’t, and now a dead pregnant woman, who might not be dead. Do I detect a pattern here?

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Hillary Clinton, Truth