Mike Shatzkin: The Changing World of Publishing and the Role of XML

StartWithXML: London Mike Shatzkin Founder & CEO The Idea Logical Company, Inc. 2 September 2009

The big picture: the ecosystem of publishing is changing

20 th century media: horizontal and format-specific

21 st century media: vertical and format-agnostic

Market for “books” per se is shrinking

Infrastructure specifically supporting “books” is decaying: libraries, bookstores, review media

How this affects publishers

Old buttons work less well: review media and stores

New buttons are hard to find: scattered throughout internet niches

Fewer transactions for “whole” book

More opportunities to sell (or at least “use”) fragments (if you can identify them)

More opportunities to sell “custom” (large print, personalized, user-assembled)

Eventual transformation will be very drastic: a new model

From IP to eyeballs: why?

Value (money) goes to scarcity

IP creation was never scarce; but distribution (including manufacturing) was capital-intensive

Distribution now virtually free

But marketing requires scale

20 th century marketing was horizontal

21 st century marketing requires niche focus

The long-run strategy The long-run strategy

The long-run strategy

Own audiences (communities)

What’s the business model? (We don’t know yet)

Short run payoff is lower marketing cost

Today, selling content is the only business model we have

Create and deliver content in the most efficient possible way

Be prepared for computer-to-computer sales and marketing

Enable automated discovery and sale of fragments

Sell content every possible way (all ebook formats, using POD for custom and POD)

Need all processes efficient: transforms, rights management, recombinant publishing, marketing

What the Hell IS XML?

A tagging protocol: standards for tagging that are widely understood

A way to envision: makes each document a “database” that can hold any info

Because XML is ultimately robust, must start somewhere

Start with making content creation more efficient

Two ways to visualize what an XML workflow does

Starting point – XML transition “ Write once, read once” (single-format delivery) “ Write once, read many” (supporting multiple formats and uses) From complexity to agility

Traditional Print-Centric Approach Content Structure Design Three Linked Elements Content-Centric Approach Content and Structure are Linked Design is Separate The new publishing model calls for a content-centric, design agnostic approach Content Structure Design

Disengaging the design allows flexibility to create great looking content on any platform Any Number of Designs can be easily applied to the content using style sheets Structural components of the work are identified and connected to the content Content Structure Design Design Design

What going to an XML workflow will enable very quickly