I suspect many the digital marketer has spent some time (or much time) over the past week or two wrapping up the 2013 metrics, scratching his or head about this or that trend, data nugget, etc. I am no exception and I’ve learned a lot from 2013 — along the way and, now, from looking back. I will endeavor to share some deeper learning in the coming weeks but, for now, here is a nice “leading indicator” list, though of course it represents an internally relative metric and is certainly not a goal unto itself…but, well, it’s a fun one and fits the day. So, enough caveats, herewith the “most read posts” of 2013. If you didn’t read them the first time around, I hope you’ll do so now. If you did, thanks as always.
- Amazon Is Many Things, Including a Publicly Traded Company — 2/2/2013
Most publishing folks I know always figured that the light at the end of the tunnel was probably a train. Now I believe we know it is. Not just by Amazon’s actions now but by what they’ll probably be forced to do in the future… - Poems by Heart from Penguin Classics — Poetry in Your Pocket — 4/19/2013
A secret to please keep quiet: I am not just a crass marketer or cold-eyed analyzer of publishing strategy. I am those things, or like to think I am anyway. But, truly and firstly, I love books and reading. (Shhhh…might ruin my rep.) So, this is a post written with the love of reading at the fore, and some cold-eyed analysis at the back. - Amazon’s Next Acquisitions? They Live in the Cloud — 7/18/2013
“If you’re competitor-focused, you have to wait until there is a competitor doing something. Being customer-focused allows you to be more pioneering. We have found that, on the Internet, ‘me too’ strategies seem not to work very well.”–Jeff Bezos, November 2008 (or so) - Some Thoughts on Amazon’s Acquisition of GoodReads — 4/4/2013
“Our mentality here is to first do no harm, and make sure that if we’re going to do integrations, users genuinely find it to be a big benefit.” — Russ Grandinetti, Amazon VP of Kindle Content (via PaidContent) - Hype Cycles: Marketers as Coaches, Sherpas, and Therapists — 5/3/2013
In the ongoing debate of the value of “traditional publishers” in today’s digital landscape, certain activities in which publishers are engaged — very, very valuable activities — often seem to be overlooked. While the debate centers on the shift to “low cost” digital products (and the resulting move away from physical distribution and account-leverage for merchandising and maximizing physical sales and efficiency via scale), “quieter” activities such as providing advances and applying editorial expertise get swept under the rug. This oversimplification of what is happening finds me incredulous and puzzled. But, that’s just me. (And several others I know.) This oversimplified view extends to the marketing efforts of publishers — and that’s what I focus on here…
Many thanks again for reading, commenting, following, inspiring, and much more. It’s great fun. All the best for 2014.
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