News

« Headlines

Publishing dinosaurs rise

28.02.07

Watch out, webbies, the dinosaurs of publishing are out to win back some of their readers, is the Guardian's response to the news that HarperCollins and Random House are to allow web users to browse their book content online. "A look at the feature on both sites shows that readers can access front and back covers, title pages and the first few pages of the first two chapters. The experience, although undeniably technologically impressive, is slightly less engaging than picking up a book and leafing through it. The future of the coffee table, unlike that of traditional publishing, is probably assured for a few more years."

Nevertheless the publishers are showing that they can get to grips with the jargon of the online world, eschewing the elegant prose that may have helped them make millions. "The Browse Inside widget is the most recent marketing tool we have developed using the capabilities of our digital warehouse to market our titles to the MySpace generation online," Brian Murray, group president for HarperCollins, said in a statement.

 

Guardian

HarperCollins Random House browse inside widget

See Also