Victor Curran's Blog (5)

In 1910 a French cartoonist named Villemard predicted how book content would be repurposed in the year 2000. When he drew this picture, radio had been in use for over a decade, but apparently M. Villemard couldn't imagine textbooks being transmitted wirelessly. Or maybe he just thought it looked funnier with wires. The headsets would have looked right at home in a high-school language lab, circa 1970. I love how the students have no pencils or paper, as if they're downloading their lesson… Continue

On Thursday nights in the 1980s, as 9:00 approached, folks reminded each other, "It's time for Cheers." In a ritual institutionalized by three decades of hit TV shows, families gathered around the screen to find out how Sam and Diane (or Sam and Rebecca) were getting along. Up in the high-numbered channels, someone was undermining that ritual. "You'll never look at music the same way again" was their battle cry, but what… Continue

Since his beginnings at the Mergenthaler type foundry, Frank Romano has been the standard bearer for each new wave of innovation in the graphic arts. Industry people have come to regard his utterances with a reverence usually reserved for the Pope, or Seth Godin. There are many who attend lecture after lecture of his. Jimmy Buffett has his Parrotheads, and Frank has his--what should we call ourselves?… Continue

[Emerson College has a great Publishing program. This is your chance to help launch the next generation of publishing innovators. Post from the Emerson College web site.--VC] Faculty Position Detail Department of Writing, Literature and Publishing Electronic Publishing Description: The Department of Writing, Literature and Publishing (WLP) seeks a one-year, renewable Term (non-tenure track) faculty member to teach digital and on-line publishing on both the undergraduate and graduate le… Continue

In a Guy Fawkes Day interview with The 26th Story, Seth Godin counsels publishers, "the market [doesn't] care if you make money . . . and the humility that comes from approaching the market that way matters. It's not 'how can the market make me money,' it's 'how can I do things… Continue