I'm going to be giving the opening keynote at a seminar being held by BIC on 30 November, entitled Confronting the Realities of Digital Change. More information on the programme can be found at http://www.bic.org.uk/files/pdfs/prog.pdf

"Digital book sales via the Kindle store are on track to grow 195% to $701 million in 2010 . . . Greasing those book sales are Amazon's Kindle apps for iPhone and iPad, which are the digital equivalent of little storefronts that let customers browse, buy and read digital books on those device . . . one in five people who buy digital books from the Kindle store don't own a Kindle device."

Interesting, albeit flawed analysis - it compares an entire content ecosystem with individual television programmes, and one wonders whether the average casual game attracts anything like the level of week-in, week-out consumption that a major show attracts during its five month run:

"Social games on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices . . . comprise of a daily audience of more than 19 million who spend over 22 minutes per day using these apps . . . only 4 million viewers shy from beating the number one prime-time show on television, FOX's American Idol . . . Also noteworthy is that the enormous audience these applications reach takes place every day, 365 days a year. Compared to a top television series, which airs 22 episodes a season, advertisers can reach a larger consumer audience through applications."

http://blog.flurry.com/bid/48156/Is-iPhone-the-next-American-Idol

Interesting research and commentary.

"Social media is no fad: it’s now the mainstream of web behaviour and is here to stay. The shift in web behaviour to consumer-driven sites means increasingly successful marketing online will be as much about embracing influencer engagement, app development and content as it is about today’s ’traditional’ online advertising techniques".

http://www.nma.co.uk/opinion/industry-opinion/analyst-speak-past-year-sees-social-media-bed-down-among-all-age-groups/3019011.article

"Philanthropy cannot make up for public spending cuts of up to 30 per cent facing arts bodies, according to a new report, in a riposte to ministers who have suggested donors could help plug the forthcoming funding gap."

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c7b99efc-d0a9-11df-8667-00144feabdc0.html

"Nearly a year after AOL's separation from Time Warner, Tim Armstrong, the former Google executive, is putting his stamp on the newly independent media company. At the end of September, Mr Armstrong bought three companies in a shopping spree that advances his strategy of making AOL a hub of specialised online content that can command premium advertising."

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/52f3002c-d16c-11df-96d1-00144feabdc0.html

"UK spending on online advertising increased by 10% in the first half of the year, but has fallen behind that of television and other traditional media."

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/91a19ab0-cfda-11df-bb9e-00144feab49a.html

"iPad is still a baby — barely six months old! — so we're clearly still in a developmental and experimentation phase. But I feel like many readers, authors, editors and publishers simply don't know how to assess their digital reading experience . . . In order to assess something we need a rubric. Criteria. Standards. Metrics. A baseline. So let's set one together."

http://craigmod.com/satellite/bad_ereaders/