June 20, 2005
The Future of Publishing: Convergence of Media
First session was a general discussion of the new world of publishing.. the intertwining of the written word with broadcasting, Web sites, and content for handheld computers and cell phones.
One speaker's two summary points were that 1) information no longer is linear... transitions don't happen... information is chunked in stand alone sections (this was a 'well duh' moment for most of us), and 2) serendipity (the ability to browse) is still wanted by end users, and is still possible to create in the new convergent world (this was a 'oh good, tell me more' moment for me). One way she illustrated that this is possible is to have "related items" be a part of a search result.. also to have links to recent publications, etc., in the frame around the requested information.
(11 on Wednesday)
The second session was a series of examples from panelists of how various projects have expanded into different media.
Purdue had a publication on snakes. It then morphed into a CD-ROM, then a state fair exhibit, and then a Web site (http://www.purdue.edu/wildlife).
Texas.. master sewing volunteers manual. Put the curriculum online, added video to line drawings and text, added pre/post testing.
North Carolina, internal newsletter.. quarterly print to once a month online to daily updates on a blog with RSS feed.
Maryland did an online pesticide manual.. database that can be updated instantly by authors, searched by end users, can print out tables from Access that look like the original print manual.