Kindle? Nook? iPad? Find out August 30th

By on August 23rd, 2010 In Professional Development

Photo credit: Veronica Belmont, Creative Commons License

Photo credit: Veronica Belmont, Creative Commons License

Valley PR Blog’s Len Gutman is one of the featured speakers August 30th at an “e-reader bakeoff” hosted by Arizona Book Publishing Association.  (Disclosure – I am on their board of directors).

Ebooks and ereaders are exploding.   How do you know which device to choose? Should it be a Kindle?  A Nook?  An iPad?  Last month, Amazon announced that its Kindle sales outnumbered its hardcover sales. This month, Bloomberg Businessweek reports that the elderly are drawn to the iPad because of its ease of use, and prefer it as their news and entertainment source.  As authors, would-be authors, or PR pros who have authors as clients, should we be considering a dedicated device like a Nook on which to publish, or should we be moving toward a multipurpose device like an iPad?  If we just like to have mobility for our personal book reading, what are the pros and cons of each ereader? 

For more information and to register for this event, visit www.azbookpub.com.  I will be moderating the panel, which features Len Gutman, Tyler Hurst, and Jennie Oleksak, director of the Information Commons at Brophy College Prep.

Comments

Jim Veihdeffer Says:
August 24th, 2010 at 9:48 am

A comment aside from the event: I’m glad to see your disclosure note, particularly since it simply says “disclosure” not “full disclosure.” The latter term has been useful but also has, to my ear, a feel of false honesty or overstatement; I mean, is it really full disclosure?

Although disclosing that you’re on the board for an event you’re promoting in a PR blog may not strictly be necessary, it’s a nice touch and helps the Valley PR blog retain its credibility. I think most of the contributors here are pretty faithful about disclosing their vested interests, by the way.

However, if “social media” such as Facebook, Linked In, etc. are to continue to serve a useful purpose, I firmly believe that practitioners need to be scrupulous in their disclosures. I recently called out a PR person for a violation of that trust and simply received a snarky response, in effect saying “Too bad you feel that way, the days of trusting a friend’s product recommendation on Facebook are gone!”

Please folks, disclose. Otherwise we’re no better than hucksters, shills and paid endorsers.

Linda VandeVrede Says:
August 24th, 2010 at 10:04 am

I feel disclosure is important, and I also feel that the “wisdom of the crowds” in social media is pretty good about weeding out some of the untruths and posturing that can take place online. At a seminar I attended recently, one of the attendees asked how he could tell if a blogger truly knew what he or she was blogging about – “what if it’s some young guy who knows nothing but is pretending to?” was his dilemma. I think if you’re online a lot, you sort of get to know who is transparent and who isn’t. I don’t know – what do the rest of you think?

Add your Comment


Want Your Picture Icon? Go to gravatar.com and set a picture up to your email address for free. It also works on thousands of other websites, too!