It’s heeeeere! And I’ve got a big smile on my face!

A little background for you: many years ago - in reality, just one year ago - I read books on my Treo. In fact the first book I read as an ebook was the DaVinci Code.

It was a perfect book for reading on the little screen. First, I was likely to read it only once. While I never throw away books, I do call some books “throw aways.” You know, those trashy murder mysteries they sell in the airports? I’ve been known to buy one every now and then; and leave it in the seat pocket when I get off the plane.

Second, the story moved so quickly, that reading in “gulps” was perfect! I could pull my Treo out of my pocket, whip through a few pages and tuck it away for another opportunity. It was almost like guilty sips!

So why not buy a Kindle? After all, a neighbor - and Amazon employee - brought his over for a test drive one Sunday afternoon not so long ago. Nice toy, but no color; and besides, do I really need another hand held to put in a bag somewhere?

One note: With the Kindle, you can download books with “one click,” with the eReader it’s a two step process. First you buy the book online and it gets moved to your “bookcase.” Then you use the iPhone to move it from the bookcase to the phone. Not a quick and easy, but certainly  not difficult. It’s a similar process to the Treo.

So how big is the screen? About this big:

Now I’m a happy camper! With the new 2.0 software for my 1.0 iPhone, I can now read books on my favorite tool again! And I didn’t even have to buy a new one!!

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Kids in college are hit with a double whammy: textbooks that cost hundreds of dollars for each class and a backpack that causes spinal deformities resulting from carrying those expensive books from class to class.

Amazon’s Kindle to the rescue! (Read the article)

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The Institute for the Future of the Book is a fascinating group who are “investigating the evolution of intellectual discourse as it shifts from printed pages to networked screens.” In the group’s blog if:book, topics focus on the future of reading and writing.

A recent post by Sebastian Mary, titled “virtual pop-up book in papervision,” asked this very pertinent question:

Will the children of the future only experience pop-up books in animated form, onscreen? Or would the pop-up book conceit only have resonance for those raised on the paper versions?

To put it another way, would an animated ‘book’ enchant or simply baffle an adult raised since infancy on screen-based reading? If so, the many well-meaning attempts to transpose codex-like qualities into the digital realm ultimately serve only to comfort those dwindling generations for whom in early years print took precedence over digital text.

The Eco Zoo website is an odd combination of digital imagery and audio with a 3D presentation of a traditional pop-up book… I’m not sure I really get the point.

However I do wonder about the future… if all books are digital, how does one represent a pop-up book? Or will there be new and different technology that will supersede it?

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Remind me again how far it is from London?

Looks like it’s just under 4800 miles as the crow flies…

I ordered my itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny MOO cards on May 30 - just 10 days ago - and today (!) the letter carrier smooshed the package through the letter slot. The box that came inside is about the size of one of those 25-piece packages of chewing gum.

What I like about Moo:

• Their lightheartedness! I love the site, but the shipping notification tells the whole story, “Remember, I’m just a bit of software. So, if you have any questions regarding your order please first read our Frequently Asked Questions and if you’re still not sure, contact customer services (who are real people)… Little MOO, Print Robot”
• I especially like the sentiment printed on the “belly band” that is wrapped around the box. Folks here are indeed thinking about their environmental impact! Click on the image to the right to read what they had to say.
• The print quality is terrific!

I’m sure I’ll come up with lots and lots of uses for their products and - some day when I have time - I’ll create some of my own designs.

In the meantime, take a look at this fun company at www.moo.com.

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After Steve Jobs told us that no one reads anymore, who tells us - once again that print is dead? None other than Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer, in the Washington Post, June 5.

While Steve starts out with the term “media,” he really means “print media,” and he believes that in the foreseeable future it will be gone. Here are the pertinent segments of the interview:

WaPo: What is your outlook for the future of media?

In the next 10 years, the whole world of media, communications and advertising are going to be turned upside down — my opinion.

Here are the premises I have. Number one, there will be no media consumption left in 10 years that is not delivered over an IP network. There will be no newspapers, no magazines that are delivered in paper form (my emphasis - DGNK). Everything gets delivered in an electronic form.

WaPo: 10 years?

Yeah. If it’s 14 or if it’s 8, it’s immaterial to my fundamental point. . . . If we want TV to be more interactive, you’ll deliver it over an IP network. I mean, it’s sort of funny today. My son will stay up all night basically playing Xbox Live with friends that are in various parts of the world, and yet I can’t sit there in front of the TV and have the same kind of a social interaction around my favorite basketball game or golf match. It’s just because one of these things is delivered over an IP network and the other is not. . . .

Also in the world of 10 years from now, there are going to be far more producers of content than exist today. We’ve already started to see that certainly in the online world, but we’ve just scratched the surface.

. . . I always take my favorite case: I grew up in Detroit. I went to a place called Detroit Country Day School. They’ve got a great basketball team. Why can’t I sit in front of my television and watch the Country Day basketball game when I know darn well it’s being video-recorded at all times? It’s there. It’s just not easy to navigate to.

You can also view the video segment from which this clip was taken on this link>> by waiting until the video “Ballmer on Microsoft’s Mission” starts. Pause it, then select “Ballmer on the Future of Advertising” from the right side menu.

Time to get on the wagon and start looking at the many flavors of “cross media marketing!”

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It’s great to discover new and unusual approaches to the ordinary - and MOO.com is fun company doing something different.

I think I may have tested dozens of “web to print” solutions over the years, some pretty cool and some pretty awful. Here are a few of the things that MOO does right:

• You won’t see a standard business card anywhere! There are about a million companies selling “design online” business cards, who needs to try to compete in that space. These folks have designed - and made popular - a new size card: 1″ x 2 1/2″
• This is definitely NOT your mother’s “photo card” site, either. These folks figured out fast that by developing relationships with sites like Flickr, Myspace and FaceBook, they could reach the younger market and avoid competing with traditional (read: boring) online print services.
• Like most design online applications you can upload your own designs, but you have to see the selection of “ready made” designs available. Some of the best I’ve seen to choose from!
• You get a lot for a little! A sturdy plastic box of 100 mini cards or a packet of 20 postcards costs $19.95 and a packet of 10 greeting cards plus envelopes or 16 note cards plus envelopes is $24.95.
• Shipping is reasonable! For these products, the first item is $6.99 and $3.99 for each one after. Not bad from London!

I thought this selection of minicards looked interesting. It’s called “Skies and Sunsets” and 100 different images are included in the packet. There are dozens of categories to choose from and you can upload your own photos or designs. Nifty!

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