#subcompact publishing

[theverge]

What is a book in the age of the iPad? An interview with Craig Mod

Craig Mod is a writer and designer who splits his time between Japan and the US. Formerly of Flipboard, much of his writing is concerned with ebooks and digital publishing — the pitfalls the industry falls into, and how best to avoid them. His most recent essay, Subcompact Publishing, sparked a lot of online chatter last November over its vision for a minimal, service-oriented publishing future. Sam Byford sat down with him in December during his latest stopover in Tokyo to talk about these ideas, Japan, and more.

[sixestate]

Find out why digital magazines have a great future ahead of them and the technology that will help make it happen. Click for details at the 6E blog!

[sixestate]

“Subcompact Publishing” — a 2013 Trend | SixEstate

[premuda]

i've been thinking a lot about subcompact publishing. tons to think about. medium, nextdraft, the magazine, snow fall and svbtle have all been favorites of mine recently. it becomes a perfect storm of digital publishing when you combine a quick, clear platform (as mod describes and kottke highlights) with epic storytelling. 

the simplest thought exercise is to make additions. It’s the easiest way to make an Old Thing feel like a New Thing. The more difficult exercise is to reconsider the product in the context of now. A now which may be very different from the then

it's an interesting model to use email, an app or apple newstand to send content to subscribers -- there's even people building tools to make this type of publishing easier. i wonder if this is a flash in the pan or if it's sustainable. as the awl says, 

the great joy of a web magazine is that it comes to you.

[newsfastforward]

Publishing incumbents have been faced with disruption for years. But a curious, natural thing is happening: another, increasingly difficult to dismiss publishing ecosystem — disconnected from and unbeholden to legacy — is emerging. Bubbling up.5 A few years back, ‘publishing’ startups6 were usually launched by one of two types of individuals: Technologists disconnected from traditional content ecosystems Incumbents of traditional content ecosystems disconnected from technologists What publishing startups really needed during that narrow window of time was both: Technologists who got infrastructure and product, coupled with the stewards of the content of the incumbents. What they needed — and often lacked — was a mutual empathy. Now, it’s not so clear. The content of the incumbents becomes less important as new content creators emerge. And emerging they are.

A very thoughtful and concise explanation by Craig Mod of why Marco Arment's The Magazine is a simple-yet-glorious triumph, while weaving in the application of Christensen's theory of disruptive innovation and what this means for legacy publishers.

Suddenly, I want to dive in to the "subcompact publishing" business.

[aramzs]

A quick roundup of posts about 'subcompact publishing'

A discussion, centering on the term subcompact publishing, is emerging about using simpler publishing and reading tools for the web and mobile devices.

More specifically, it's about shrugging off the previous modes of thought that came with the publishing business and approaching the whole concept in a new way. 

The beginning: Craig Mod's post 'Subcompact Publishing: Simple tools and systems for digital publishing.'

The Magazine app that inspired it all.

Additional details on The Magazine.

Coverage on Boing Boing.

A quick note, a brief interview, and video of Craig Mod's presentation on Subcompact Publishing, from O'Reilly.

Nieman Journalism Lab's coverage of 29th Street Publishing, a tool to allow small publishers to create lightweight magazines available on iPad.

Kottke's Trend Alert on Subcompact Publishing and a brief list on platforms and publications that fall into that category. 

37signals post about the need for a simple app-focused publishing tool.

Good stuff to think about, but the one that everyone should implement right away? Get rid of pagination, like Mod says, move to scroll only. The popularization of page turning on screens is one of the most backwards-facing things Apple did with the iPad.