Why libraries might make a comeback

February 26, 2012

"Expelliarmus!" said Harry, carefully reading from the rented spell book on his smartphone.

I read about a great new app today called Bilbary.  Putting the quite horrendous name aside (which makes one think immediately of cost) this is a nifty idea promising to make books available to rent for a short time on Android devices (for as little as 30p according to The Sunday Times).

Public libraries online? 

As we enter the era of e-books, there is less reason to own a title if it cannot be admired on a bookshelf or shared with others. It might prove very popular for many people to start borrowing books again. Just as traditional libraries are faced with closure, maybe their future is online.

Indeed, there is every reason to believe that whilst Billbary may be the first paid for library app to market, there is a place for many others in the market, including public libraries.

Like other forms of entertainment, in my experience success is driven both by content and personalisation of the experience.

For example, TV and film service LoveFilm makes much of the deal it has struck with Warner Brothers for content, whilst its rival Netflix has its own exclusive deals and makes much of integrating with Facebook to create a more social viewing experience.

The public libraries have experience creating agreements with publishers, but they also play a very important community role in many places –  and that is another thing which could be taken online. I think it would add value if  I could not only download books from an app, but also find out about local events etc.

No value for E-readers

Library apps might find it difficult to find their way onto e-readers though. Amazon, owner of UK market leader the Kindle, has controversially launched its own lending library project.   

Notwithstanding that, it is hard to see the incentive for any e-reader company to help e-libraries, since they could seriously erode margins.

Bilbary and similar businesses might find themselves hampered by being available on computers, tablets and smartphones, none of which are quite as easy on the eye as the Kindle with its lack of back lighting.

Space for all in the market

I believe though there is a niche for the e-library. Traditional libraries operate alongside bookshops because some people borrow books and some people prefer to own them (some of course patronise both).

The e-library concept could be a boon for both publishers and traditional libraries – offering a further (small) income stream for them from the traditional library user, whilst allowing the latter to cut costs dramatically and keep serving the public in a new digital age.

Sharing is caring

There is a lesson here for book e-tailers too if e-librarys prove popular. One of the great things about my book collection is that I can share the ones I like with other people. I would be much more likely to keep buying ebooks rather than renting them if I there were a share feature.

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Posted in Tech | 2 Comments »

It was the star whodunnit

February 19, 2012

**Danger spoiler alert**

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Orson Welles as Harry Lime

My muse (let’s for convenience sake call her Laura) pointed out an a cinema rule to me recently which can ruin many a suspenseful flick.

We had been to watch Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy with a mesmeric performance from Gary Oldman (my vote for the 2012 Best Actor Oscar) and a stellar supporting cast.

The plot of Le Carre’s spy thriller is, in brief, little to do with spying and much more about how distrust erodes relationships (Mark Kermode’s analysis, not mine). The narrative though is the search by spy master George Smiley for a traitor within MI6.

The cast list for TTSS is a list of stars worthy of the night sky, yet as Laura pointed out, most are famous principally in Britain. Then there are  Gary Oldman (who could not be the traitor) and Colin Firth who are established actors within the Hollywood elite. so she was far less surprised when the traitor was revealed… (apologies to Tom Hardy who I think is fast becoming Hollywood A list).

Our next outing was to watch The Third Man. The 1949 film written by Graham Greene’s novel (voted number one on the British Film Institute’s Top 100 British films of all time) is set in postwar Vienna, a city divided into thirds by the Americans, British and Russians. The plot is the drive by a small-time novelist to solve the apparent murder of his friend Harry Lime. The novelist, Holly Martins seeks to track down a mysterious third man witnessed at the scene of his friend’s death, but not mentioned in police reports. As the mystery unfolds at one point the audience sees a man light a cigarette in a shop doorway – could this be the third man? Well if it wasn’t Orson Wells, then one of the world’s greatest film stars, would have been wasted as an extra.

Without wishing to throw out more spoliers, there are many other films where the size of the star works in inverse correlation to the amount of suspense.

Yet in both the films cited knowing this rule did not ruin the film. Rather, it could be seen as a liberation for the audience. in the case of TTSS, both in the book and the film the point is not revealing the traitor, but in seeing the effect on the characters of the world in which they find themselves. Similarly, the Third Man is a masterpiece where the wrecked lives of its characters are mirrored in the ruins of the city in which they live.

So, in many films you will watch it was probably the star whodunnit; but whodunnit may not be the real mystery to be unlocked in the film.

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Posted in Film Reviews | 3 Comments »

What’s your favourite movie trailer?

January 15, 2012

I’ve annoyed friends over the years by dragging them early to the cinema moaning the whole way about not wanting to miss the trailers. For me they are an art form in their own right – a delicious taster of films which could be good or bad, but which often look fabulous in two minute format.

So here’s a challenge for all five people reading this blog – what’s your favourite trailer of all time?

Here are some to vote on, but I’d love other submissions:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

- Mum still blames me for recommending this film, but I think the trailer at least is a masterpiece. But, sorry mum, you are wrong and the movie is a masterpiece too.

Watchmen 

- Another trailer marked out by an outstanding soundtrack. This time it is arguable that the film does not live up to the hype.

Sin City

- Keeping with graphic novels we have the film which was the predecessor of both Watchmen and 300, Sin City. Brilliant use of colour in both the trailer and film. Pulp Fiction for the noughties.

Trainspotting

- This is a teaser, not a trailer, but I remember watching it in the cinema and just longing to see the film. I still think it perfectly captures the spirit of Trainspotting despite telling us nothing about the plot.

Where the Wild Things Are

- You can imagine the scepticism - Spike Jonze directing a children’s film, was he selling out? In a word, no as this life affirming trailer shows.

The Breakfast Club

- The trailer perfectly tees up this brilliant study of adolescent angst. I watched the film again last year and it has really stood the test of time

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What caused the Clarkson bounce?

January 8, 2012

Last week American Idol, a show where talented nobodies compete to become a global pop superstar met the Republican presidential nomination race, where talented nobodies compete to become a global political superstar.

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The race for the Republican Presidential nomination has already been hugely entertaining, providing watchers with a sexual harassment scandal which did for dark horse Herman Cain (although his failure to remember Obama’s policy on Libya also contributed to a slump in support); a stuttering debate performance by one-time front-runner Rick Perry, and a recent surge in popularity by Newt Gingrich whose political aspirations seem harder to kill than Dracula.

There was a further strange twist this week when Kelly Clarkson, who won American Idol a few years ago came out in support of Ron Paul, a Libertarian and one of the fringe candidates in the Republican race. Her political tweet did not seem to help Ron Paul win more votes in the Iowa caucus, but there was a huge surge in popularity for her latest album, which rose from 38th on Amazon’s sales list into the top 10.

So what caused the Clarkson bounce? In his weekly column in the Financial Times, Gary Silverman speculated that Miss Clarkson was effectively making a guest appearance in a US reality TV show, because the boundaries between politics and entertainment have blurred so much.

My view though is that it may have more to do with brand loyalty.

Kelly Clarkson no doubt has some passionate fans, but with due respect to them they may not rush to endorse a political candidate on her say so (presumably also, because she is a pop singer, many of her fans might also be too young to vote).

On the other hand, fans of Ron Paul might well have been willing to try her music as an extension of their loyalty to his brand.

It is also arguable that Clarkson’s endorsement of Paul’s brand will take longer to show through in his results because it will be spread over several primaries; whereas Ron Paul’s supporters from across the US were able to make an immediate decision to buy her music leading to a reported 442% increase in album sales.

I don’t think that this was the latest example of political trivialisation. Rather I think Kelly Clarkson has shown again how social media can help ‘brands’ to connect and grow.

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Can cities affect the weather?

December 7, 2011

New York's planners regretted adding that extra building

I had two interesting discussions this morning.

First, at a breakfast event I was chatting to a lady from Connecticut about my forthcoming holiday in New York. She advised wearing warm clothes and I agreed, although said that it is around six degrees there right now, which is cold, but not brutal. She said that New York tends to amplify the cold because the buildings create a wind tunnel effect.

So anyway, I bought some gloves at lunchtime, but that’s not the point of this post.

Then on my way back from breakfast I was talking to a taxi driver about London’s winter (the classic, “Cold today”, “But not as cold as yesterday” conversation one has with strangers). His theory is that the City of London is a couple of degrees warmer than its outskirts, a feat he attributes to all the building and the electricity.

I don’t know if either theory stands up to scientific rigour. I’d be interested to hear though whether anyone knows whether town or city planning can actually affect the environment enjoyed by its citizens.

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A practical guide to killing zombie stories

November 23, 2011

Photo care of http://zombie-popcorn.com/?p=9351

The TV show ‘the Walking Dead’ and film Zombieland are just one part of a current cultural renaissance for the zombie (just check out this film site).

Now it seems that newspaper readers are getting into the act and resurrecting stories from the dead.

Adding to my recent post about the need for more social newspapers, I saw this piece about the success of seamless sharing in the Financial Times: http://blogs.ft.com/fttechhub/2011/11/unexpected-impact-facebook-newspaper-sites/#axzz1eTx2LOTI

The story highlights that both The Guardian and Independent have increased online traffic by enabling seamless sharing of newspaper stories on Facebook using its Open Graph tool (which puts a story into the user’s Facebook timeline if they recommend it).

The unintended consequence here is that stories, sometimes years old, are being discovered again and are going viral through this new form of content sharing.

These ‘zombie stories’ create an interesting challenge for public relations practitioners, since they are an example of the challenges of reputation management now that stories stay online pretty much forever.

Has a Guardian exclusive on your CEOs previous misdemeanour’s risen from the grave? Here’s my guide to killing a zombie story.

1.Hide from them – a few people reading an old story creates an issue to monitor, not a crisis. If the story is limited to a few hits it may not be a significant problem for your brand – it’s a matter of record after all.

2. Run away from them – Zombies are slow. You may be able to get ahead of the story by issuing some positive news which takes attention away from the negative one.

3. Destroy the brain – just like with real zombies, the most effective way to kill a zombie story is to address the route of the problem if you can. Don’t duck the issue, face it head on and change the story. In the example used, maybe you can convince your CEO to do an interview where he talks about the past issue and how he, and the company, have moved on. In summary, keep control, change the story, DESTROY THE BRAIN.

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Posted in Media, PR | 1 Comment »

The limits of representative democracy

November 18, 2011

(l-r) Senator Sir Philip Balhache and Chief Minister Gorst

Former Bailiff, now Senator Sir Philip Bailhache campaigned on the issue of constitutional reform. Now that Jersey’s Government has been formed he must be ever more resolute in his ambition to modernise, and democratise, the States.

Despite topping the island-wide poll with a total number of votes not seen since the time of the late Vernon Tomes, Senator Bailhache subsequently lost the election for Chief Minister to Ian Gorst, the man who had finished in second place in the recent election.

Let me be clear on one thing – I wish the new Chief Minister the absolute best of luck and think he is an excellent choice for the job. But for perhaps the first time I can see that my old schoolfriend Deputy Montfort Tadier may have a point about the democratic deficit in Jersey.

True, in a representative democracy we delegate our vote to a representative (in the British tradition) and thus there is nothing strictly awry here. However, there does seem something at least note-worthy about the second-placed Senator becoming Chief Minister ahead of the man who more islanders voted for.

I am sure some readers will quickly point out that the election that Sir Philip won was not for Chief Minister. That is true, however, it is counter to the Westminster model (and indeed that of many other parliaments) which seem to have more faith in the public to choose their leader.

It will be interesting to see how the new assembly tackle constitutional reform and whether the issue of the democratic deficit is addressed.

 

Posted in Politics | 2 Comments »

#creatingmoresocialnewspapers

November 15, 2011

The Times iPad app is great in some ways – rich with features unavailable in the print edition and, most importantly, instantly available when I get home in the evening or on Sunday mornings.

However, it isn’t very social and exemplifies how I think newspapers are still missing an opportunity afforded by new consumer behaviour.

Firstly, you cannot share stories, and with social media now so popular I think the ‘share’ button is a must have for any digital edition and should work as a route to new readers.

Secondly, you cannot comment on stories (although this feature is commonplace on newspaper web sites). Many sites I read allow people to create an identity in order to comment. This runs counter to sites like Facebook and G+ which require individuals to use their own identity. When you comment on those sites you take responsibility for any reaction that elicits. Some newspaper comment can be knee jerk and offensive in contrast. Nonetheless, I think there is a wider commercial opportunity being missed here – by linking to SM site profiles newspaper marketing departments could track back comments to profiles and develop a far more textured understanding of their readership.

Finally, I have not yet come across any newspapers where you can ‘follow’ a story in the same way you can with a discussion on Facebook or Linked In (or indeed with a Google Alert). I’d welcome email alerts from a newspaper when they publish a new article relating to an ongoing story I am interested in.

There seems a lot that newspapers can, and should, learn from the shift to a social media society.

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The creator-consumer balance

November 15, 2011

Spencer from Made in Chelsea

The iPad made a lot more sense to me when I read that it is designed for consuming content, not creating it.

Using my iPad and PC for their proper roles, the tablet has become my favourite gadget, a constant companion when at home  - far easier than a PC to keep in touch with emails and Facebook, to browse the internet and to play scrabble (nearly all whilst doing other things such as cooking or watching TV!).

The extent to which my PC use has dwindled though has led me to think about my creator-consumer balance.

A friend once asked me if I was a writer or someone who talked a lot about wanting to write. It was a cutting truth. Whilst my life always seems pretty busy I do spend a lot of ‘free’ time consuming media rather than making some sort of creative contribution (no matter how bad).

So, I’m resolving to give up Made in Chelsea (after the final episode next week…) and instead focus on making things in Bloomsbury. Next year already looks busy, so its time to use this window to do something productive instead of just talking about it.

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The 2,500 authors you meet in heaven

October 30, 2011

The Gormenghast trilogy; anything by the Bronte sisters; the complete works of Charles Dickens; something by PG Wodehouse; a Kafka or two; Crime and Punishment; Midnight’s Children; all those biographies of those governing in the Blair years – these books and more I have never read. Time is running out.

There are 16,000 books in one room in Blackwell's, Oxford

My girlfriend has calculated that she’ll read 2,500 books before she dies. she reads a lot and has far more right to call herself bookish than me since the calculation is based on her reading 50 books a year. I don’t read 50 books a year. I read around 12. I’m 34 so if that rate is kept up until I’m 75 my meager total would be a further 492.

I love books though. I love browsing bookshops and reading back covers. I read book reviews in the Sundays and add new novels to my mental shopping list (I mean the shopping list in my head, not that the list itself is full of mad choices). I follow the soap opera in the Westminster village and want to be able to discuss at dinner parties how key events were remembered differently by different biographers. One day I’d like to have a library in my house.

Yet even some of the books I have already bought lay unread on my shelf. For others I suffer buyer’s remorse – no, make that reader’s remorse. In the finite number of books i will read in my lifetime did I really need to include two Lee Child stories and one by Clive Cussler? They entertained sure, but maybe Dostoevsky would have done more to develop my personal philosophy (although the counter argument would be that Lee Child taught me how to identify a suicide bomber on the tube, so there are pros and cons I guess).

Having done the math I resolve to be more discerning about my bedtime reading. Next time I am in an airport, I plan to eschew buying an airport novel, choosing instead something classic. And I will never again allow myself to be stuck with nothing to read in a place where the only place to buy books was a chemist.

Whilst I may now say goodbye to Jack Reacher, reading still has to be fun. So I’m still looking forward to reading about the adventures of Sam Vines in Terry Prachett’s next book, Snuff.

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