Evo Terra's Blog, page 18
December 13, 2013
Will automation put book converters out of a job?
Yes.
Today the web is buzzing about Vellum (http...
Will automation put book converters out of a job?
Yes.
Today the web is buzzing about Vellum (http://goo.gl/4KvhHd), a new tool that promises to automatically take your crappily-formatted Word manuscript, break it up in to chapters, and create beautifully formatted ebooks that are automatically uploaded to store fronts. And it probably works mostly as described.
Pressbooks (http://goo.gl/BvOMC) does something similar, but uses Wordpress as the starting point. I've used it, and can promise that it works almost exactly as promised.
Last night, I used Leanpub (http://goo.gl/Z4JJ1) for the very first time. It works with markdown, but has several import options and is superslick. I'm hooked.
And at no point with any of these did I ever have to worry about book conversion. I didn't do it myself, and I didn't have anyone do it for me. I don't worry about conversion any more than I worry about how the signal from my keyboard tells my computer to write a letter. Conversion is now down to the machine level, and it's there to stay.
I wonder what we'll automate next?
Creative Commons license found on Flickr: http://flic.kr/p/2zfcKd
Yes.
Today the web is buzzing about Vellum (http://goo.gl/4KvhHd), a new tool that promises to automatically take your crappily-formatted Word manuscript, break it up in to chapters, and create beautifully formatted ebooks that are automatically uploaded to store fronts. And it probably works mostly as described.
Pressbooks (http://goo.gl/BvOMC) does something similar, but uses Wordpress as the starting point. I've used it, and can promise that it works almost exactly as promised.
Last night, I used Leanpub (http://goo.gl/Z4JJ1) for the very first time. It works with markdown, but has several import options and is superslick. I'm hooked.
And at no point with any of these did I ever have to worry about book conversion. I didn't do it myself, and I didn't have anyone do it for me. I don't worry about conversion any more than I worry about how the signal from my keyboard tells my computer to write a letter. Conversion is now down to the machine level, and it's there to stay.
I wonder what we'll automate next?
Creative Commons license found on Flickr: http://flic.kr/p/2zfcKd
Possibly inspired by my Xmas Tunes That Don't Suck playlist on Spotify, +Songza has curated a pretty...
Possibly inspired by my Xmas Tunes That Don't Suck playlist on Spotify, +Songza has curated a pretty rockin' set list.
December 12, 2013
The fountain at Fountain Hills is autoawesome!
I took +Sheila Dee to see the fountain yesterday. She...
The fountain at Fountain Hills is autoawesome!
I took +Sheila Dee to see the fountain yesterday. She took some likely fantastic shots with her grown-up camera. I nabbed these with my phone and Google+ did the rest!
I took +Sheila Dee to see the fountain yesterday. She took some likely fantastic shots with her grown-up camera. I nabbed these with my phone and Google+ did the rest!
Twerking space junk?
Finally! A good use for radio broadcasts! Apologies to +Shannon Hernandez and ...
Twerking space junk?
Finally! A good use for radio broadcasts! Apologies to +Shannon Hernandez and my other broadcast brethren. But kudos to enterprising Ozzie scientists!
And if you do nothing else, scroll down and watch the video to see the enormity of the space junk problem. Yikes!
Finally! A good use for radio broadcasts! Apologies to +Shannon Hernandez and my other broadcast brethren. But kudos to enterprising Ozzie scientists!
And if you do nothing else, scroll down and watch the video to see the enormity of the space junk problem. Yikes!
As marketers, we're always on the lookout for ways to do things more effectively. There's no doubt that...
As marketers, we're always on the lookout for ways to do things more effectively. There's no doubt that automation enables us to spend more time on things that really require human interaction, while letting the machines take care of the repetitive tasks.
But does cold-calling or customer service fall into that category?
Check out these two sound clips from ah honest-to-goodness robot doing it's best to sound human. And largely succeeding and failing at the same time. Uncanny valley, anyone?
But does cold-calling or customer service fall into that category?
Check out these two sound clips from ah honest-to-goodness robot doing it's best to sound human. And largely succeeding and failing at the same time. Uncanny valley, anyone?
Got any Xmas tunes that don't suck?
Make suggestions to add them to my playlist. Fair warning: these...
Got any Xmas tunes that don't suck?
Make suggestions to add them to my playlist. Fair warning: these aren't your typical Xmas songs. But traditions are what you make of them, and this is on loop at my house for the next few weeks.
Make suggestions to add them to my playlist. Fair warning: these aren't your typical Xmas songs. But traditions are what you make of them, and this is on loop at my house for the next few weeks.
If brand marketers re-invigorated Santa as a brand.
At the risk of offending content and creative strategists...
If brand marketers re-invigorated Santa as a brand.
At the risk of offending content and creative strategists who create good and useful brand books, I offer this tongue-in-stocking look at the re-imagining of Santa.
▶ Read it: http://www.quietroom.co.uk/santa_brandbook/one
I literally laughed out loud on just about every page.
At the risk of offending content and creative strategists who create good and useful brand books, I offer this tongue-in-stocking look at the re-imagining of Santa.
▶ Read it: http://www.quietroom.co.uk/santa_brandbook/one
I literally laughed out loud on just about every page.
Will automation put book converters out of a job?
Yes.
Today the web is buzzing about Vellum (http...
Will automation put book converters out of a job?
Yes.
Today the web is buzzing about Vellum (http://goo.gl/4KvhHd), a new tool that promises to automatically take your crappily-formatted Word manuscript, break it up in to chapters, and create beautifully formatted ebooks that are automatically uploaded to store fronts. And it probably works mostly as described.
Pressbooks (http://goo.gl/BvOMC) does something similar, but uses Wordpress as the starting point. I've used it, and can promise that it works almost exactly as promised.
Last night, I used Leanpub (http://goo.gl/Z4JJ1) for the very first time. It works with markdown, but has several import options and is superslick. I'm hooked.
And at no point with any of these did I ever have to worry about book conversion. I didn't do it myself, and I didn't have anyone do it for me. I don't worry about conversion any more than I worry about how the signal from my keyboard tells my computer to write a letter. Conversion is now down to the machine level, and it's there to stay.
I wonder what we'll automate next?
Yes.
Today the web is buzzing about Vellum (http://goo.gl/4KvhHd), a new tool that promises to automatically take your crappily-formatted Word manuscript, break it up in to chapters, and create beautifully formatted ebooks that are automatically uploaded to store fronts. And it probably works mostly as described.
Pressbooks (http://goo.gl/BvOMC) does something similar, but uses Wordpress as the starting point. I've used it, and can promise that it works almost exactly as promised.
Last night, I used Leanpub (http://goo.gl/Z4JJ1) for the very first time. It works with markdown, but has several import options and is superslick. I'm hooked.
And at no point with any of these did I ever have to worry about book conversion. I didn't do it myself, and I didn't have anyone do it for me. I don't worry about conversion any more than I worry about how the signal from my keyboard tells my computer to write a letter. Conversion is now down to the machine level, and it's there to stay.
I wonder what we'll automate next?
I'm a sucker for chorizo. I'll try this over the weekend, but I'll substitute Mexican choirzo for the...
I'm a sucker for chorizo. I'll try this over the weekend, but I'll substitute Mexican choirzo for the Spanish, and I may do several types of cheeses to see which one balances out the best.
Direct messages come to Instagram.
Just like a DM on Twitter, personal message on Facebook, or private...
Direct messages come to Instagram.
Just like a DM on Twitter, personal message on Facebook, or private posts on Google+, Instragrammers (is that what they are called?) can now send their photos or videos directly to other users.
I predict lots of inappropriate sharing in three ... two ...
There's little doubt that direct communication is growing with a multitude of new services appearing almost everyday. What Instagram offers is a native audience. So I also predict the abandonment and death of many of those other platforms in the next few months if they can't find new value to bring to their much smaller audiences.
Just like a DM on Twitter, personal message on Facebook, or private posts on Google+, Instragrammers (is that what they are called?) can now send their photos or videos directly to other users.
I predict lots of inappropriate sharing in three ... two ...
There's little doubt that direct communication is growing with a multitude of new services appearing almost everyday. What Instagram offers is a native audience. So I also predict the abandonment and death of many of those other platforms in the next few months if they can't find new value to bring to their much smaller audiences.
