The Dictionary Market: Getting Your Words' Worth
After all, as John Morse, the president and publisher of Merriam-Webster Inc., is fond of saying, people today tend to be "undiscerning" in their use of dictionaries. Casual online word-searchers today, he says, are beholden to "the tyranny of Google."
Dictionary.com, as Morse points out, is indeed a powerful force in the world of professional lexicography. "You know," he says, "I think they were greatly helped by their name, particularly during that period when "dictionary" was one of the most-used terms on the web. ("Can you think of one other industry where this holds true?" asks Sullivan-Cross in response to Morse's comment. "Is shoes.com the No. 1 seller of shoes?")
Dan Eldridge is a journalist and guidebook author based in Philadelphia's historic Old City district, where he and his partner own and operate Kaya Aerial Yoga, the city's only aerial yoga studio. A longtime cultural reporter, Eldridge also writes about small business and entrepreneurship, travel, and the publishing industry. Follow him on Twitter at @YoungPioneers.