Life as a beta geek

Some further notes from the Booksellers Association conference — same format as yesterday, same caveats.

Andrew Marsden, Britvic

• Innovation is a process not an end result.
• Most great innovations solve an existing consumer problem, and have a simple solution.
• Essential prerequisite for innovation is developing an intimate understanding of consumers and channels, enabling one to see what others do not, and take advantage of it.
• Most people should be encouraged to think inside the box — in known markets, with existing capabilities, resources, people and brands. This avoids unfocused thinking and dramatically increases chance of success.
• Innovation must be sponsored from the top — few areas of business where senior management buy-in is more crucial.
• Takes time, effort and consistent support.

Mark Harrison, Creative Director for Arts, BBC Television

• ABC of the digital future.
• A for Audience — which controls everything. Strong consumer demand and simple digital distribution have opened a Pandora’s box for media. Demand for access to BBC programming in perpetuity, rather than on a broadcast model — how to cope with this?
• B is for Brand — broadcasters used to be these; consumers defined themselves as Channel 4, or BBC2 viewers. Nowadays, people don’t — gave the example of Lost, where few in the audience could identify which network made it.
• C is for Creativity — increased personalisation by users, such as new BBC homepage.
• Traditional media has to compete with new players such as last.fm.
• In digital worlds, people spend time where ideas and products are perfect — but there are many more such places.
• Shifting power in media: Grand Theft Auto IV made more in week one than Pirates of the Caribbean.

Charles Leadbeater, author of We Think

• The most important thing to bear in mind is what people use technology for, not the technology itself.
• Change in consumer behaviour:
  • 1950s: I need
  • 1960s-1980s: I want
  • 1990s-: I can
• Consumers are no longer passive. They want to be involved and they want recognition.
• Leads to more decentralised organisational models — e.g. Wikipedia.
• Example of I Love Bees viral for Halo — 600k visitors and 4k strong core of players.
• So there will be new forms of storage and distribution, but they won’t entirely displace existing models.
• There will be more of everything: more authors, works, channels, and ways to read, write and connect.
• Boom in self-publishing, with more and better tools and lower barriers.
• Existing stakeholders need to find new ways to add value.
• Civil war in some media organisations such as the BBC between traditionalists and modernisers.
• We won’t prosper without addressing these fundamental questions — music wouldn’t do so, and look where they are.
• The book trade is just an interface between creator and consumer, and we must accept that other interfaces will appear.
• How will authors be rewarded for their work — problem if only the already prosperous can afford to make a living writing.

David Edgerton, Hans Rausing Professor at Imperial College, London

• Disputed futurists’ visions of digital developments.
• Asked why websites don’t have the same impact as books — and why those predicting the rise of digital publish printed books.
• Said that all of the good bits of Wikipedia are taken from printed books.
• Argued that established systems and established industries are the future, not digital developments: shipping is more important to world trade than the Internet, and apparently mainframe computers are making a comeback.
• Posited a divide between free, poor quality digital information and paid-for, high quality old media.
• Quality must be paid for — and books sell in ever larger numbers.

A discussion escalating into a dispute then ensued between Leadbeater and Edgerton on the roles of new and old media in education in the developing world.

The chairman concluded the segment with Leadbeater and Edgerton by observing that they had been “refreshingly pragmatic” in not talking about technology, which is “boring”.

The final session that I attended was four people pitching “the next big thing”. Emma Barnes from Snowbooks introduced a new website called Bookbackers. David Kohn, former Commercial Director of Borders, make the case for a trade-wide CSR initiative. Mark Rusher from Orion talked about matters digital. Finally, Kieron Smith from Retail8 made a presentation about rediscovering reading. To be honest, this session didn’t lend itself to notes, but if you’re interested, Emma has posted her presentation here, and Kieron has written about his here.

And with that, I went to get changed for the Nibbies — big w00t to the four winners from the Hachette Livre group.