Welcome to Friday. A lot of people don’t know the word “Friday” is derived from the latin term fridaeus, which is translated literally as “Glad that’s over.” That’s not true, but it should be. Anyhoo, as you know, stuff is going on out there and it spans the spectrum from nefarious to hilarious. Or possibly just mildly interesting. Here is some of that stuff.
For all you bibliophiles and collectors out there, you may be interested in learning that a copy of Lady Chatterley’s Lover used by the judge who presided over the novel’s 1960 obscenity trial will go up on auction this fall. This version contains annotations from the Judge’s wife, pointing out all the naughty bits! They must have been a fun couple.
If you are not yet in the audiobook game, you may want to give that another think. Seems audiobooks are the fasting-growing segment of the digital book market.
Every once in a while, people like to know what kind of marketing is moving the needle. For instance, you might wonder if Amazon sponsored ads work. Short answer: Yes. Longer answer: Your mileage may vary. That’s true of all marketing, really. But Amazon has adopted the Google approach to ad placement, packing the top of the page with so many ads that organic traffic becomes less relevant – because scrolling. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
From our It Was Bound to Happen division, we have sad news for all you readers and authors who just will not give up your print books: you are destroying the planet. Are you happy now? Power to the pixels, baby!
Be sure to set your internet dials for this station next week as we finally announce the winners of our 2013 Procrastinator of the Year Awards.
Concerning the environmental report about printing books, it appears to be very comprehensive. There are some clear advantages to digital media, but books and news in print must always remain part of our world, for otherwise we run the risk that history will lack both credibility and permanence. Concerning less weighty matters, if you don’t take your tongue out of your cheek, it might get stuck there, and become a permanent condition…;-)