Web Development

Here is the weirdest thing about the modern Web: humans are only one constituency and maybe not the most profitable one. Consider the case of an anonymous publishing executive who spoke with the media trade magazine Digiday about purchasing bulk robot traffic to his former company's website. By robot, I mean software that is designed to simulate a human being browsing the Web. Bots, as they are known, are relatively easy to create, and now you can easily purchase their services to build a nice business, if you are willing to bend the rules of digital publishing.

With 20 million members (a number some have noted is close to the population of Australia) and a reputation as a place where readers meet to trade information and share their excitement about books, the social networking site Goodreads has always appeared to be one of the more idyllic corners of the Internet. The site sold to Amazon for an estimated $190 million this spring, and Goodreads recommendations and data have been integrated into the new Kindle Paperwhite devices, introducing a whole new group of readers to the bookish community.

Inspired by the recent flux in authors sidestepping the traditional route, Feiwel and her team last month launched Swoon Reads, a crowdsourcing publishing platform for authors of young adult fiction.

In short, it's a network where aspiring authors like Hoover can submit their manuscripts and have them critiqued by both Macmillan's staff and users of the site. Once enough submissions are collected and reviewed, Macmillan will publish the top-rated stories.

Romance and literary fiction have helped drive the number of US books self-published in hard copy up to 234,931, an increase of 59% compared to 2011. Research by the book data company Bowker, which counts all the ISBN numbers issued to self-published works, suggests that electronic titles bring the total for US self-publishing up to 391,000. This figure - which does not include titles published without an ISBN and may include some electronic editions of books also published in hard copy

Random House has introduced a new online food community called TasteBook Blog. The site features content from its bestselling cookbook authors such as Martha Stewart and Bobby Flay, as well as from authors who touch on food such as Jay McInerney, along with community content. It is all curated by an editorial team.

Just in time for Banned Books Week, the Internet's largest book-review site is hosting a meltdown over a new policy that many of its members feel is a blatant act of censorship. The problem that Goodreads attempted to solve in its recently announced review policy update was one that has plagued the publishing community and book blogosphere for some time: the issue of authors and reviewers behaving badly.

I have been studying e-publishing in developing countries since 2009, when Ramy Habeeb (Egypt), Arthur Attwell (South Africa), and I set up the Digital Minds Network to informally exchange data. As digital publishers in the Global South, we didn't feel that the US and European business models fully met our needs. Then, in 2011, the International Alliance of Independent Publishers and the Prince Claus Fund asked me to do a detailed study of the digital phenomenon in Latin America, Africa, the Arab World, Russia, India and China.

The official countdown has begun! There are only ten days left until we kick off this year's Publishing Business Conference & Expo. In the days leading up to the event, be sure to tune into our daily newsletter for more speaker Q&As and exclusive show highlights.

John Pavley, CTO of Huffington Post and speaker at the Publishing Business Conference & Expo spoke with Gigaom yesterday on the Huffington Post's recent decision to end anonymous commenting in order to combat abusive "trolls," an effort that he will lead. Pavley will continue to stretch his technological know-how at the Expo's Mobile & Digital Magazine Symposium on September 23^rd.  He, with Livingly Media CEO Tony Mamone, will delve into the challenges and opportunities unique to digital-only magazines and may even impart tips to limit your own site's trolls. Click here to learn more.

Who knew the book industry was filled with such venom, such mayhem, such...death threats? Book discovery and discussion site Goodreads has been the battlefield recently for a game that is causing concern among both authors and readers alike. According to some reports from actual users, there are roving bands of "bullies" on the site, some of them actual moderators approved by Goodreads, who seek out titles to destroy with artificially low rankings and ratings. How is it artificial? Because some of the books haven't even been published yet, and ARCs were not sent out.