Social media and the future of bookselling

This has been a week for people sharing their thoughts on how bookselling should work and how people should shop. (Note: to read Cory Doctorow's vision of bookselling 150 years from now, follow commenter #12's link to avoid the obnoxious Flash reader.) Some are worth pursuing, others - well, I'm trying not to scream too much today. Personally, I think cross-marketing concepts like this one have potential (it's not just that I want the dress, really).

This is the first blog-to-book news I've really been excited about: Lizzie Skurnick is publishing a collection of her nostalgia-filled Fine Lines columns.

Need instructions on taking a booknap? Looking for a place that needs book donations? Wondering what J.M. Coetzee thinks about censorship? Wonder where Calamus Bookstore got its name? We've got you covered.

It's also been a week for bookselling-meets-social-media news. Harry W. Schwartz has created a Ning community for its customers. Norton got a boost from a cameo appearance on Flickr.

And ABA is now on Twitter. Both Paige and I gave in and set up accounts, joining The King's English, Vroman's, Brian Cassidy, and Book Passage.

Posted at 12:07PM Jun 27, 2008 by Sarah Rettger in General  |