| New in the Swag Shop: big vinyl stickers, just the right size for hiding any logos you don’t like on the front of your laptop, and little vinyl stickers, just the right size to cover up the logo on the Windows key on your keyboard. These things are tough, and have what I understand is called “high-traffic glue” on them to make them stand up to your typing.
There are some other new goodies available this week too: a logo mousemat, and a very swanky rubberised drinks coaster, which goes splendidly with a cup of coffee. Or a glass of your favourite intoxicant.
Click on the images to order!
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Saturday, May 25, 2013
Back by popular demand: keyboard and laptop stickers!
The Guardian Newspaper Goes Global
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British National Newspaper, The Guardian has just unveiled plans to take their online news reporting global. They have announced that they will incorporate their US, UK and Australian division under the single online property TheGuardian.com. The move into a singular news website will obviously benefit readers, who will have a all encompassing destination to read country specific and world news. Really, the reason why they are doing this is for higher internet traffic and to attract online advertisers. The Guardian Newspaper has a fairly solid internet presence with 81 million unique browsers in April. This is the third straight month that they have increased the number of eyes on their digital website. They are hoping with my eyes on the main website that they will be able to have a higher click through rate and increase revenue. Simplifying their brand is the best move for further expansion into other markets. Tanya Cordrey, Chief Digital Officer at Guardian News & Media said "This may be a small URL change but it marks a big step for the Guardian and reflects our evolution from a much-respected national print newspaper based only in the UK – reaching hundreds of thousands of people once a day – to a leading global news and media brand, with offices around the world, and an ever-growing worldwide audience accessing Guardian journalism every minute of every day." She added, "our move to theguardian.com will only strengthen our global presence and is a loud signal of our status as a leading digital news provider and of the breadth and depth of our content." There is no word yet on the exact time the new website will go live. Currently, the new domain name resolves to the UK version, but it is worth to keep checking every few days to see when the entire transfer will be complete. We will let you guys know via Facebook and Twitter updates when you can see the new site in all of its glory. The Guardian Newspaper Goes Global is a post from: E-Reader News |
OverDrive Launches Digital Library Champions Contest
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Overdrive is running a new contest for libraries participating in their digital eBook lending service. They are looking for innovative ways libraries promote their eBook collections to their community and unique marketing angles that draw traffic to their websites. Winners receive $500.00 in eBook credits, an e-Reader and promotion on their main website. The contest centers around five different aspects of marketing and promotion and Overdrive is serious about libraries blazing their own trail and not being reliant on stock marketing materials. The first category is, Inside the Library – How are you making your physical branch aware of your 'Virtual Branch'? Examples could include unique shelving and displays; patron training classes; gadget galleries; staff training; in-library events. The second category deals exclusive with their online presence, What are you doing through social networking, email or on your library website to drive traffic to your digital collection? The third category deals with the real world! In what ways are you reaching out to your community to spread the word about your digital collection? Examples could include: billboards; sponsoring a local event; partnering with an area business; commuter outreach; ads in the paper or on TV. The fourth deals with libraries that loan out e-Readers and tablets via the Testdrive initiative. How are you promoting the program and making the public aware that you have technology for patrons to use and borrow? Finally, Excellent eBook Educator (Open to K-12 schools and colleges only) – This new category is set aside for any school or college who would like to share their most innovative marketing ideas. This is inclusive of any and all promotional efforts that impact your OverDrive collection, including online marketing and in school campaigns. If you want to enter your library in the Digital Library Champions contest, fill out the PDF entry form and email it to outreachcontest@overdrive.com or fax it to 216.573.6888 by Tuesday June 11, 2013. OverDrive Launches Digital Library Champions Contest is a post from: E-Reader News |
Digital Comics Review: Adventures of Superman #1-3
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DC releases all its print comics on in digital the same day as print, but the venerable publisher is taking a slightly different tack in its digital-first releases. Unlike their print counterparts, DC’s digital-first Adventures of Superman comics are short, self-contained, and not dependent on complicated continuity. That makes them a nice treat for regulars and newcomers alike. I read the first three issues, each of which is by a different writer-artist team. The result is that each is very distinct in style and story from the others. Yet they all share a common format: 20 pages of story, done in landscape format with just one to four panels per page. Unlike Marvel’s Infinite Comics, there is nothing uniquely digital about these comics—no changes in focus, no word balloons that appear when you swipe. These are simply comics you read on a screen rather than paper, and I believe the plan for print publication is to stack two of the horizontal digital pages to make one vertical-format printed page. Adventures of Superman #1, written by Jeff Parker and illustrated by Chris Samnee, is a very classic style Superman story in which the Man of Steel faces off against a crazed street guy who has taken a drug that causes him to lose his mind but also gives him telekinetic powers. Superman thus gets to use his super-powers in a variety of dramatic situations. At the end, we see who gave him the drug, which gives us some closure but doesn’t really feel like the end of the story. This issue is labeled “Chapter One,” so I thought there would be more in the second issue, but there wasn’t. In fact, Adventures of Superman #2 couldn’t be more different: Written and illustrated by Jeff Lemire, it is a story about two boys playing Superman, set in a rural area and illustrated with Lemire’s trademark wobbly line and watercolor washes. It’s a nice little story, but it’s a complete break with the first issue and isn’t even set in the world of the comic; it’s about Superman fans, not Superman. Adventures of Superman #3, by Justin Jordan and Riley Rossmo, returns us to Metropolis for a story that is pretty bare-bones: Bizarro tries to help people and messes up; Superman fights with him and then figures out another way out of the problem. To understand this comic you have to know that when Bizarro speaks, his meaning is the exact opposite of his words. DC is making these first three issues available as a print comic, Adventures of Superman #1, which is priced at $3.99 for 40 pages of story; that seems like a good deal compared to other print comics, but it’s a buck more than the cost of the three digital comics. Which is kind of interesting—most comics publishers are pricing their digital comics the same as print when they are released on the same day. As it is, 99 cents is about right for each of these short comics, and for the Parker/Samnee one, which is by far the best so far, it’s a bargain. Digital Comics Review: Adventures of Superman #1-3 is a post from: E-Reader News |
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