I can’t help but notice the explosion of apps on mobile devices, namely, the iPad (affiliate link). If you bother to take a close look, you’ll be blown away by the level of engagement.

We’re not just talking about reading text with pictures, or even watching videos, or tweeting, or Facebook liking— but combining all these activities into ethereal experiences supported by intelligent content and handsome design.

Take, for example, the Glee app. Glee is a hugely popular drama tv show that blends teenage hormones with raw vocal talent. I turned over the app to my daughter, and within 5 minutes she had recorded herself singing one of the episode’s covers (Poker Face, complete with harmonies and instrumental), which was then uploaded and broadcasted worldwide to other Glee app users.

Before too long she had gotten a few “gleeks” (Glee speak for votes) on her impromptu performance, which in turn boosted her confidence (she’s a talented and aspiring vocalist). Not soon after she was eager to purchase the next $1.00 sing-along in the queue.

How could this possibly go wrong?

The experience was unreal — a huge leap from the typically linear act of top to bottom, left to right reading we’re so accustomed to. It took me awhile to conceptualize what the developers had to do to deliver such an pioneering experience.

If you can find anything of marketable interest and turn it into an app, you’ve got a future in publishing. The key, however, requires brute force creativity: how will your content come to life and how will you get people hooked on it? How quickly can you do this? How will you make money?

And while we’re on the subject of content — an app’s core product — it’s safe to say that it has to be mobile and social to succeed. Gone are the days of inert content.

So count me in. I’m hooked on apps. I seem to have missed the blogging gold rush, so it’s time to move on to something with an undoubtedly promising future.

How about you?

The Time for Apps is Right Now is written by Charles Bohannan for Wordful.com, a blog about digital publishing.

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3. Why Publishers Must Be Nimble

If you’re a serious web publisher of any kind I recommend you immediately read “Nimble: a Razorfish report on publishing in the digital age” by Rachel Lovinger. It’s an excellent, transformative and highly creative treatise on the future of digital publishing.

The bottom line on Nimble is this: make your content available anywhere and everywhere at all times.

In other words, now that we’re beyond the space constraints of newspaper and magazine columns—and even the garden-variety website—we need to design our content to be mobile and social across all platforms—even ones that aren’t yet invented.

Metadata: a new concern for publishers

As modern digital publishers, we have 3 big concerns: editorial, revenue and delivery.

Editorial and revenue have always been factors in our business models (and yes, they’re still searing hot topics), but delivery is compounding in complexity. How will our readers be just as informed, delighted, educated and entertained as they move from one device of convenience to another?

Lovinger says that delivery has much to do with structure:

Structure and definition…allow the elements to be isolated and identified so that the content item can be broken down and recombined in countless variations that are free to fly to all corners of the web…

While HTML and CSS are used for display and layout, they fail to define content (metadata). We need additional tagging systems even more sophisticated than XML to express more attributes such as usage, trust, value, versioning, etc. Continues Lovinger:

We should be able to take a single piece of collected content and easily mark which parts go on the website, which get fed to the mobile app, what part gets extracted as a tweet…which parts are free for everyone, which parts are premium, which are only available to mobile subscribers…

Why being nimble is so important

I’ll admit that Lovinger is projecting beyond what’s available or currently supported, but I have no doubt she’s right on the money, literally.

Nimble content represents the value behind a publisher’s brand. Producing content that’s mobile, social, easy to find and enjoyable to use lets us not only pioneer but also prosper from the new business of publishing.

Now go read and thoroughly absorb the Razorfish Nimble Report.

Photo by blakespot.

Why Publishers Must Be Nimble is written by Charles Bohannan for Wordful.com, a blog about digital publishing.

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1. How Will Publishers Humanize the Ebook?
2. The Time for Apps is Right Now

Here’s the secret: if you change RSS to mean “Reading Simplified for Success” you can effectively use it to steer your success.

A bit odd, I know, but consider the wisdom that says “you become the people you surround yourself with” or “if you want to be successful, surround yourself with successful people.”

Do you see where this is going?

Limit Your Reading

In this age of content free-for-all, it takes an incredible amount of care and discipline to limit and filter our reading.

Take an inventory of your RSS subscriptions—are you personally attuned and captivated by the content? Does it add qualitative value to your personal version of success?

Just because most content is free and potentially interesting doesn’t mean you need it. Don’t be a content glutton. I’ve noticed that any more than 7-8 subscriptions tend to mute my vision and productivity.

Hand-Pick Your Allies

Now, look at your authors: who are these people? What do they represent to you? In what context do they fit into your evolution?

Since good content is relative, I suggest you take your major goals and match them with an author who understands and supports them. If you can’t do this, then drop them and don’t look back.

For example, Johnny B. Truant is a tough and scrappy but squarely inspirational writer. If you pay attention to Johnny’s recurring personal story, you’ll know that his once desperate situation left him no choice but to strike out and trailblaze his own success. I can strongly empathize with this.

The Heart of the Matter

An author’s style and character can give us major boosts of empathy, inspiration and genius beyond the words and info they publish. This holistic value rises above the day to day content we consume.

It’s not about trying to be like them, but rather extracting the best parts of their essence to help boost yours. When you practice Reading Simplified for Success, you extract the deeper layers of human meaning that catalyze the change we require to grow and thrive.

And, while you’re at it—maybe give some thought to your blogroll?

Photo by jurvetson.

The Real Secret of RSS Reading is written by Charles Bohannan for Wordful.com, a blog about digital publishing.

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Does writing come natural to you or do you make clichéd excuses and watered-down reasons why you’re not doing it everyday?

For this post, let’s throw your writing a curveball. Here are some not-so-typical reasons why it’s worth the daily discipline and persistence:

1. Producing feels better than consuming. Writing is an act of production, and while it’s not as easy to do, it certainly feels more rewarding to give than to take. Be a word philanthropist!
2. Words command attention. Do it good and the world will listen to you. Do it right and they will act.
3. Teach yourself something new everyday. Unlike “ordinary” thinking, writing actually connects the disparate ideas in your head into something concrete, useful, portable and public.
4. Talk to yourself without going crazy. Writing purges the clutter in your head that leads to temporary, or even permanent, insanity.
5. Play offense and defense in sticky situations. Powerful writing can get you through some tough moments in life. I’ve shut down enemies, secured two mortgages and received tens of thousands of dollars in help—all from very carefully chosen words arranged on a page.
6. Sometimes it’s all you got. Writing is a healthy alternative to giving up on life. If you find yourself in a frustrating, disappointing or otherwise shockingly horrible situation—just write. It really does help. Trust me.
7. Lay down your legacy. Every time you write, every time you publish, you leave a trail of yourself, of who you are and what you represent. These words will outlive but eternalize you. Just a little something to think about.
8. A little writing goes a long way. One word or phrase can make all the difference.  Sometimes it’s all you need to make that magic connection with people. If you don’t believe me, try writing to your close family members every now and then.
9. Can be lucrative. I can’t possibly express this point any better than Brian Clark of Copyblogger just did.
10. It helps burn calories. A good day of writing can increase your appetite and leave you feeling like you’ve just moved your aunt’s  piano to her new penthouse across town. There’s probably no scientific evidence to support this, but I’ll vouch for it.
11. It feels greeeeeeaat! When you get into a solid groove of writing, there are few other activities that satisfy your intellect, emotions and personal goals all in one fell swoop.

So go ahead — keep writing!

Image by elph.

11 Unconventional Reasons to Motivate Your Writing is written by Charles Bohannan for Wordful.com, a blog about digital publishing.

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Are you also seeing this message on your Facebook account?:

Apply to be a beta tester and get the first look at upcoming Facebook products.

After clicking through, you’re presented with a page titled “Help us build the future of Facebook.” There’s some description about the “launch of a brand new product to the world” and how you can apply to be a beta tester.

Normally I’d ignore something like this, but what Facebook is proposing is too fascinating to pass up: a chance for my writing to be seen by “tens of millions of people — including job recruiters” as well as a visit to the Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto (where my awesome sister Blair lives).

Too good to be true? How about an attempt to exploit masses of struggling, web-savvy writers? Hmmm…

To be considered for “exclusive beta access” you have to submit on the page a question and its answer about something interesting that you’re familiar with. They provide a sample question you can reference for editorial guidance.

I scrapped my first question/answer—How close can you get to molten lava?—in favor of this one:

In surfing, what’s the difference between a longboard and a shortboard?

With respect to length, longboards are generally nine feet or more and shortboards range between five and seven feet.

Longboards are also wider in the nose and tail, which gives them more stability and flotation for quicker paddling and easier wave catching. These factors make them for ideal for learning how to surf.

Shortboards are designed for maximum speed and maneuverability through turns. They require more responsiveness from the rider and therefore deliver more performance than longboards.

Variations in wave size and shape as well as surf conditions often dictate which boards are being used at a particular break. It’s easier to catch a wave that’s small, slow and mildly-sloped on a longboard than it is on its compact counterpart. On the flip side, you’d fare much better on a shortboard if the wave you’re riding has a steep take-off with quick and hollow sections.

There’s an entire culture and science built around surfing and surfboard design. You can learn much more by checking out Surfline’s surfology at http://www.surfline.com/surfology/surfology_a2z_index.cfm

Aloha!

It’s been submitted and I’ll basically forget about it, unless I get magically chosen for “exclusive access.” Then things might get interesting.

That “including job recruiters” phrase concerns me. It’s feels like Facebook is dangling a carrot in front of enterprising writers while indicating they won’t be directly compensated in any way (like a job) for their efforts.

Fair enough, but this “opportunity” could mean Facebook is attempting to leverage an army of volunteer writers who can quickly produce a massive cache of quality content. They can then contextually match that content with any of their tens of millions of users.

See where this is leading?

For example, anyone talking about surfboards on Facebook might see a link to my little write up. Or maybe they find the page (ranked high) in Google. Either way, they’ll get to the page which will inevitably be monetized with Facebook ads.

Owning socially-endorsed content on one of the world’s largest websites/ad networks sounds like a goldmine to me. Not just for Facebook but their opportunistic advertisers as well.

But there are issues: they absolutely must establish strict editorial control from the start or they’ll end up like Yahoo! Answers or worse yet, Mahalo.

The other and perhaps bigger issue is where does this leave the hard working niche bloggers? Wouldn’t it be easier to find what you need in your favorite, trusty all-consuming Facebook account than to go out and seek multiple bloggers with varying degrees of answers?

If there’s any truth to this, then bloggers are in for a Mega-Challenge. They need to be well-poised not just creatively or editorially but as powerful publisher brands with nimble content. And that’s not such a bad thing.

Image from benstein.

Is Facebook Trying to Become a Content Network? is written by Charles Bohannan for Wordful.com, a blog about digital publishing.

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It doesn’t take much to see how shamefully little I’ve been posting here, and I want to address this because I feel many of us suffer from the same blog starvation-atrophy affliction.

Here’s the problem: we still think we’re in college English class. Yes, that one: dialectic thesis statements, multiple drafts, red ink editing, rewriting and other rigors of academic perfection.

I’m now convinced there’s no such thing as a perfect blog post. We are not scholars pursuing an ‘A,’ but rather friends sharing interesting and relevant ideas.

Blogging is simply written conversation with value—stuff people enjoy reading by choice.

Try a Secret Blogging Exercise

On January 1, I started tiny personal blog project on the side where I try to write at least 100 words per day. So far it’s been a very helpful exercise in breaking through my stiff scholastic style (except I have yet to apply it here at Wordful).

One hundred words is just enough to share an idea without ever having to overthink or overwrite. You sit down, compose and publish, and you do it quickly. Words add up.

Granted, blogging to yourself is pretty easy because you’re not concerned about who’s listening, but consider my results: 30 posts average per month on my private blog versus 2.3 average monthly posts on this blog.

Give it a try. Quantity does count for something.

Take it From Chris Brogan

Chris Brogan is a prolific writer with a relaxed, conversational style. I get his RSS feed in my inbox every day and on many days, he’s crafted more than one post for me to read.

Granted, they’re not always the most hard-hitting, loaded-with-benefits posts like the ones Copyblogger strives for, but I find myself very a comfortable reader in his presence.

I can tell Chris loves to write. In fact, he told me so in a great little audio seminar on the Third Tribe site.  Chris’s premise is this: to succeed in blogging you need to remove all the tradition and formality from your practice and just start writing— whenever and wherever you can.

**

If the truth sets us free, and writing is our truth, then we should be constantly writing in pursuit of freedom.

Photo by suneko.

Why We Should Blog Often is written by Charles Bohannan for Wordful.com, a blog about digital publishing.

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John Chow is one of the very few people I have high respect for in the make money online niche. So it should come as no surprise that I’m here to offer you Wordful’s official review of his new book Make Money Online: Roadmap of a dot com mogul (affiliate link).

Quite fittingly, I read the book while on a long plane trip from Hawaii to China (where John Chow is from) seated next to The Man—my boss. Little did he know that while he was snoring next to me, I was plotting my escape from my job by reading John’s book!

What I like about Make Money Online

So far, it’s the best guide on blogging I’ve read. More so than the other books on blogging by Problogger and Huffington Post, John’s book is lively, personable and full of practical, easy to understand information.

Also, Make Money Online is only 144 pages—definitely short enough to read in one or two sittings.

I applaud John decision to partner up with writer Michael Kwan. Michael gave the book a well-edited, professional polish that luckily didn’t erase too much of the snarkiness and shameless self-promotion that JohnChow.com readers like me have enjoyed over the years. (note to Michael — Wordful found a small typo on page 49: “This is the maximum number of ads allows on a page.”)

John’s “roadmap” is very clearly laid out: He gives you just enough inspiration, motivation and pragmatic advice to get you on your way to blogging, but not so much that you’re too overwhelmed to do anything about it.

Some of my favorite parts include:

• John Chow’s story. Every success has a story, and John’s is definitely worth paying attention to.
• John telling you upfront that he’s not writing this book to give you some magic overnight success formula. He’s merely showing you what works for him and how to start thinking for yourself.
• the section on finding blog post ideas. He reminds me there’s way more ideas than just what’s floating around in my head.

…and I thought I had a good handle on blogging, but I also learned a few new things like:

• the importance of internal deeplinking to SEO. External links provide the most value, but internal links describe your content in better detail.
• setting your preferred domain to prevent Google duplicate content penalty.
• how to hold a blogging contest.

While I’m at it, here are some of the book’s best quotes:

• “You have to make your own opportunities.”
• “Don’t be afraid to state your views or piss people off.”
• “Your content has to be good, and it needs to be unique.” (This is the Wordful philosophy!)

What this book is missing

Of course, Make Money Online isn’t perfect.

I wish John would have touched more on what exactly defines “good content” and how he measures it. I feel like many of my posts are insightful, but I often don’t get any feedback (comments). How do you know when people appreciate your stuff?

I’m also puzzled as to why John didn’t explicitly discuss his real moneymaker—the email list. Some time ago he posted a video he gave to a class in Vancouver which was by far the single most powerful and useful piece of content John has ever published. He does give a link to that video at the back of the book, but it’s never really mentioned anywhere else.

Beyond that, I really wish John would have shared more of his deeper wisdom on work-life balance. If you really want to get to know John Chow, you need to go through his blog and find the nuggets like this one or this one.

And since I happen to be in China as I write this, I can’t help but insist you read John Chow’s post about his very humble beginnings.

John’s so-called hustler attitude is really just an effective front for a person who is really an awesome, genuine person — and this to me makes all the difference.

My Final Thoughts

I think anyone who’s into making money online through blogging should read this book to get an idea of what’s possible and how it can be done.

But I imagine John would also tell any reader that he’s only giving us the roadmap — it’s up to us to put in the passion, relationship-building and hard work.

And don’t ever forget this: John Chow is the only person on Earth who could ever get away with saying: “I make money online by telling people how much money I make online.”

Brilliant!

Click here to buy “Make Money Online” at Amazon.

Make Money Online by John Chow Book Review is written by Charles Bohannan for Wordful.com, a blog about digital publishing.

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If you’re enterprising, have a penchant for web publishing and need some direction, try this tantalizing opportunity: publish a site around a niche that exists in your local geographic vicinity.

The gist is to build an online community that uses specific content to directly enhance the lives of interested people in your area.

No personal branding, no blogging for sales leads, no SEO — just good old fashion editorial content.

The best part is you don’t have to rely so much on social media to market yourself. All you need to be is social.

Why Do It?

Because nobody else is. The competition is very low right now.

Most mainstream niche sites these days are too large, messy and clunky and void of local perspective. Launching a micro-publishing venture could attract people who are savvy to RSS but continue to value the character and nuances of their home community.

Another reason to go local is because it’s much easier to build trust when people can get to know you in person. What might take someone 1 year to make 10 good acquaintances online, you could probably make in 1 hour in real life.

Low competition and easy-to-build trust aren’t the only benefits to local publishing. Remember that:

• People appreciate a local’s perspective, especially in today’s anonymous world.
• You’re more likely to find work or other business leads in your area.
• People you meet provide an endless supply of content, because people are interesting to write and read about.

Your Editorial Mindset

As a local publisher you want to possess the virtue of being a good editor. Strive to position yourself as someone who has a solid grasp on the subject matter but doesn’t dictate every thought in your head onto the screen. Don’t be just another blogger.

What I suggest you do is build a site that is one part Seth Godin Tribes (you lead by passion and direction), one part Copyblogger (consistently useful content) and one part Paris Hilton marketing (constantly promote other people, products, programs, etc. in your niche).

Publish what your readers need and want to hear without losing your personal touch.

Want an example of a local site in my area that publishes like this? Check out Share Your Table. New York City? Try Curbed.

Cheap and Easy Setup

Theoretically, you could be up and running in 10 minutes if you follow this simple and affordable website setup formula:

1. Come up with a brilliant domain name. Here’s a 3-step plan for that.
2. Purchase a hosting plan that includes a free domain name. ($7.50/month)
3. Login to your hosting control panel and install Worpdress.
4. Start publishing.

Because good design matters, I also recommend you look into purchasing a premium WordPress Theme from Organic Themes. They offer beautiful out-of-the-box themes with solid support. A theme costs $69, and it’s worth every penny.

Going Local

You hear the expression all the time when it comes to food — “buy local,” “support your local farmers,” etc. So why not push it with your website?

There’s not much difference in asking your community to support their local website like they would their farmer’s market.

If you can create a well-designed site with awesome content and a empathetic voice—with the added advantage of actually knowing your readers —you have the makings of bright and lucrative future.

Photo by cjmartin.

Why Local Publishing is a Golden Opportunity is written by Charles Bohannan for Wordful.com, a blog about digital publishing.

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Right now the progressive talk among publishers centers around pricing, ebooks, gadgets, branding and community/social media (in somewhat loosely connected terms). All important stuff, but we need to focus even more on choosers.

Choosers are people who share and recommends things to others, and they’re at the center of the evolving social web.

They decide what’s what sticks and what flops, where to go, what to read and—let’s not forget—what to buy. If you’ve ever shared anything online, then you’re a chooser, too.

If publishers want to save publishing, they need to start nurturing the choosers of their industry—readers, writers, editors and critics.

Creating the Channel

The platforms already exist, but the channels don’t. Kindles, iPads, Kobos, Nooks are nifty, elegant platforms, but really—they’re just another way of reading (and buying) a book.

Publishers need to create channels over these platforms so niche, book-loving communities can blossom and thrive.

For example, the channel for people who love innovative business books would have a place for Seth Godin readers to congregate over his ideas while allowing Seth Godin himself to directly connect with these readers (and critics, too).

After devouring his latest book, any influential chooser (including Seth himself) could lead the group to the next book or author. In this natural reading ecosystem, good authors and books get rewarded based on the wisdom of choosers and their communities.

Running the Channel

The publisher’s job is to keep channels running smoothly and to collect reader data that will enable them to sell the right books to the right people at the right time.

The editors? It’s their job to serve as stewards of the channel while procuring authors and their works.

If the channel thrives, more books get sold and everyone profits:

• Readers buy books they truly want to read
• Writers sell more books to readers they’re organically connected with
• Publishers can pinpoint their sales using detailed reader data
• Distributors (Amazon, Apple, etc.) get a cut of higher book sales

Facebook is a Threat to Publishing

This discussion isn’t complete without considering the social juggernaut that is Facebook.

The new ‘like’ button, while seemingly small and unassuming, contains the early DNA for the next generation of social choosers, which inevitably affects publishing.

Using the ‘like’ button, Facebook is reaching across multiple channels and allowing people to easily share the things they like. If they narrowed down their business to ebook publishing and integrated ‘like’ buttons into every ebook they produced, imagine the data they would own on all of their readers.

Facebook could then use that data to make book buying the most intuitive and personalized experience ever. Choosers invested in the Facebook platform (many of us already are, deeply) would have no reason to leave.

Yes, this would be a major coup on the publishing industry.

So Let’s Get to Work

But enough of this doomsday scenario. Publishers need to start building channels for choosers.

Remember, the question is not whether iPad this will topple Kindle that, but rather: Can publishers find books for their readers instead of readers for their books?

Photo by Tommy and Georgie.

Want a Future in Publishing? Focus on Choosers is written by Charles Bohannan for Wordful.com, a blog about digital publishing.

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The delectable scent of fresh pages, the curious art of the dust jacket, the weight of a title in our hands—how will the ebook ever measure up to its sliced-tree ancestor?

The immediate and obvious answer is it can’t—there is no nostalgic substitute for ‘curling up with our favorite (paper) book’.

But that’s certainly not an answer future readers will accept as we enter the age of digital reading.

Ebooks must offer a Proustian experience equal to if not better than that of traditional books. The publishers who pick up on this will be the ones who stay in business.

Smart, Good Looking and Charming

Smart, good looking and charming are qualities that attract us to potential partners. Ebooks should be no different in how they attract readers.

Gadgets like the Kindle and iPhone give ebooks a platform to be smart. They remember your page, let you take notes and make it easy for you to download books instantly.

The iPad takes it one step further by giving ebooks a platform to be beautiful. Publishers no longer are constrained by blah grayscale artwork (Kindle) or a tiny screen the size of our palm (iPhone).

E-reader apps will soon be charming us by transforming the act of reading into something deeply engaging and personalized. These apps will know exactly what we want and how we want to hear it based on what they learn about us.

How many publishers are paying attention to this? How many are busy fighting the price war crusades?

It’s Still Early…

If we compare the invention of the ebook to the invention of Gutenberg printing press, then it’s safe to say we’re still tadpoles.

It took several hundred years for printed books to become commonplace. During this time bookmaking blossomed into the art form we now cherish.

Ebooks are still a novelty—the technology that powers them is outpacing and overshadowing those small but important craft details that make printed books so humanized: rich artwork, colophon, bookshelves, used book stores, the freedom to share them with friends, etc.

…but Time Will Tell

Half the remedy for readers totally smitten with the printed book is having the patience for publishers to catch up to the aesthetic wisdom of the Apples and Amazons of the world.

The other half are publishers willing invest their energy into extracting the deeper value of the ebook. It’s more than just spreading ideas at low cost replication, convenience and portability—let’s not forget the printing press offered this as well.

When this value proposition is made clear, then publishers will have smarter, better looking and more charming platforms of their own.

Photo by eflon.

How Will Publishers Humanize the Ebook? is written by Charles Bohannan for Wordful.com, a blog about digital publishing.

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