The Adventures of a connected man in a connected age

Comic Books and the iPad

I’ve been saying this for awhile now, comic books on the Apple iPad are a massive opportunity. The large color screen is perfect for this kind of content. I would even argue that it’s a big strategic advantage the iPad has over the Amazon Kindle. The Kindle is the perfect device for black and white books with it’s superior e-ink display but when it comes to content like comics or color magazines, the iPad can do things the Kindle can only dream of. As a comic book lover, I’m pretty excited about the possibility of comics on the iPad and I would seriously consider getting one if for no other reason than to read comics.

There are indications now that Amazon may try to make a new Kindle with color and multi-touch technology, bringing it much closer to an iPad. I think it’s very dangerous for Amazon to rush headlong into a competition with Apple on their own turf. Maybe the smart play is to remain the dominant player in black and white e-ink technology and let Apple have the rest. Amazon’s strength has always been traditional black and white books, not magazines or comics. Here’s an even smarter play, make a full iPad version of the Kindle reader. Amazon needs to remember their focus, they are a bookstore not a hardware manufacturer. By making a great Kindle reader for the iPad, they stand to sell more books from their online bookstore, even possibly cutting into Apple’s store.

2010 will be THE year of the tablet computer as Sony has also said they want to enter this market. No doubt there will be others. 2010 could also be THE year traditional publishing makes the turn to digital distribution. People have been predicting the death of traditional publishing for years now. These new tablet machines go a long way to bringing that prediction to pass.

Apple Marketing Doesn’t Watch Mad TV

Either that or they don’t care. As everyone is today, I am left wondering if anybody had the discussion about the iPad name. Did they completely miss this or did they so love the name they did it anyway and figured they would suffer the slings and arrows for awhile but ultimately overtake the connotations? Either way, this Mad TV routine is now even more funny and is making the rounds on the net. Great promo for Fox.

Great Parody Ad: Democrats Get Balls

I love it when someone makes content that expresses exactly how you feel about a situation. Democrats have been so incredible wimpy and inept this year, letting Republicans and conservative pundits bully them around. It’s one of the reasons I am on the hunt for a new political party or more likely political philosophy, independent of party as I am thinking more and more when you get yourself into a “party” situation, that’s when things start to fall apart.

Review: Sticks and Stones

I was hoping for a little more from Stick and Stones: How Business Digital Reputations Are Created Over Time And Lost In A Click. It’s not that the information is bad, it’s all there but there was nothing new for me. Now I am a social media professional and I’ve already read a great deal of work on the topic, so it’s pretty hard to satisfy me. Even so, I would recommend The Whuffie Factor by Tara Hunt over Sticks and Stones.

Buy My House

As of today you can buy my house and I wish you would. We have been planning this relocation for a long time now and we are finally on the verge of taking the first big step. So far things are on track and it still looks good for a summer move to Portland, OR.

Ironically it’s been raining like crazy here in Southern California. We haven’t had rain like this in literally years. Getting us ready for Oregon I guess. I actually like a little rain and it’s been far to dry here lately. If you or someone you know is interested, give me a jingle and let’s make a deal.

Why Comic Book Stores Rock

Image via Wikipedia

One of the things I truly love about these stores is that they are so niche and the staff really knows there stuff. It reminds me of small, independent book stores of old. Today, the small bookstore is all but gone, replaced by the megastores. These stores are huge and cater to the masses. The staff is friendly enough but you’re really not going to be able to get down into an in depth conversation about a particular kind of book and what they recommend. No fault on them, it’s the nature of the beast. But comic book stores are small and dedicated to a particular crowd and the staff really knows their comics which they are happy to talk about. At the same time, I found no snobbery or ill will toward newcomers. There is a passion and excitement at these stores and that breads sales.

Comic stores are also unique in that they specialize in a product that has not yet been duplicated digitally. With all the fancy eBook readers and web tablets, no one has produced a device that can replicate a full color comic in all it’s glory. This puts them in a better position than the rest of the publishing industry which is daily being eaten alive by digital technology.

Book A Week in 2010 Project

I have been so inspired by Julien Smith and his blog post, How To Read a Book a Week in 2010 that I decided to take  up the challenge. I always have a stack of books that I never get through and this looked like the perfect way to make some serious headway. It’s part because of the challenge of it and part because when I focus on how much I will learn and grow from all that reading, I get pretty excited. Julien also provides some excellent tips on making it happen for yourself.

I have started a new page on the site here where you can keep track of how I am doing. I will list the current book being read and all the past books. Feel free to jump in and join the fun! I would love to hear from you if you do. I am also going to try to post short reviews of all the books as well. Being a dad, I am trying to encourage my 1o year old Virginia to join me. She will be reading a book every two weeks and if she is successful we may record a podcast together to talk about our books and what we enjoyed about them.

I am going to try to mix up the books as best possible. Some business titles, some fiction, some non-fiction that is not business related. If you have anything to suggest, please let me know in the comments and I’ll consider it.

Some Dude From Cali: Sell That House

Hello 2010. Getting the house ready to go on the market and a rant on customer service and loyalty.

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Dead Dog Tired

My body hurts in so many places and I’m tired as tired can be. We’ve been working like crazy to get this house ready to put on the market for sale soon. Moving furniture, taking out trash and Goodwill, and generally moving nonstop for three days. My lower back is the real problem area and I have always had problems with the lower back. We are still not done, another few days of this and hopefully Monday we will be ready for photos. This is the first real concrete step on our mission to get to Portland next summer.

With all the physical activity you would think my weight would be doing well but we have not been able to do the Lindora thing very well at all. It’s just not even close to our regular routine and I am so wore out and busted, I have nothing left to fight the late night munchies, my ultimate downfall. I haven’t gained much, but I’m suck at 201. I really wanted to get below 200 with some room to spare and we only have one week left of weight loss. We need so badly to finish this house prep project and get back to as much of a normal life as possible.

I’ve never been to a chiropractor but I am seriously considering it when this is done. My body is wrecked. It makes me feel old. The body just does not take punishment as well when you’re over 40.

Bold new e-readers grab attention at CES

via cnn.com

2010 is going to be a HUGE year for eBooks and e-Readers. Lots of new technology is going to ship and competition is keeping everyone on their toes. I still say Amazon has the inside track due to their powerful online store and brand name. The wild card is, of course, Apple who is yet to release their tablet machine. Apple, due to the nature of what they are capable of, could change the game completely.

The flexible displays like the Skiff have been in development for years and it’s exciting to see the first generation finally come to market. It’s a good time to be a geek.

Posted via web from David Jacobs’s Connected World

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