The Future of Information
“Writers who are smart have to be agnostic about the format.”
Gary Hoover
Ever wonder if Google, blogs and downloads will replace traditional books? Recently I spoke with Gary Hoover about the future of publishing. In the early 80s Gary founded BOOKSTOP—the first bookstore super chain—which was acquired by Barnes & Noble in 1989 for $41.5 million. A year later he founded Hoover’s, Inc. which became the world’s largest internet-based provider of information about companies. Hoover’s, Inc. sold in 2003 for $117 million.
I asked Gary what advice he had for today’s authors. “You have to look at your customer and think about what it is you’re offering and how you’re going to offer it,” He told me. “If someone says, ‘I work with the printed page and only the printed page.’ That’s not a good way to think.
“At Hoover’s, Inc. we became very agnostic,” Gary continued. “We didn’t care if customers wanted it as a book, CD-ROM, online, or a subscription. We even talked about creating three ring binders and mailing them each week.”
As information entrepreneurs we live in an opportune time. Never has it been easier to create and distribute our ideas. The publisher of tomorrow will seek out and take advantage of developing technology. Gary did this in the 90s with Hoover’s, Inc. What started out as a traditional print press grew into the internet’s most accessed site for business information. What opportunities will exist in the next 10 years that you can capitalize on?
Upload Experience: Publishing
Gary Hoover
Ever wonder if Google, blogs and downloads will replace traditional books? Recently I spoke with Gary Hoover about the future of publishing. In the early 80s Gary founded BOOKSTOP—the first bookstore super chain—which was acquired by Barnes & Noble in 1989 for $41.5 million. A year later he founded Hoover’s, Inc. which became the world’s largest internet-based provider of information about companies. Hoover’s, Inc. sold in 2003 for $117 million.
I asked Gary what advice he had for today’s authors. “You have to look at your customer and think about what it is you’re offering and how you’re going to offer it,” He told me. “If someone says, ‘I work with the printed page and only the printed page.’ That’s not a good way to think.
“At Hoover’s, Inc. we became very agnostic,” Gary continued. “We didn’t care if customers wanted it as a book, CD-ROM, online, or a subscription. We even talked about creating three ring binders and mailing them each week.”
As information entrepreneurs we live in an opportune time. Never has it been easier to create and distribute our ideas. The publisher of tomorrow will seek out and take advantage of developing technology. Gary did this in the 90s with Hoover’s, Inc. What started out as a traditional print press grew into the internet’s most accessed site for business information. What opportunities will exist in the next 10 years that you can capitalize on?
Upload Experience: Publishing
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Jason C. Steinle is the author of Upload Experience: Quarterlife Solutions for Teens and Twentysomethings. He is the host of The Steinle Show talk radio program and director of Health and Harmony Chiropractic. www.jasonsteinle.com
Jason C. Steinle is the author of Upload Experience: Quarterlife Solutions for Teens and Twentysomethings. He is the host of The Steinle Show talk radio program and director of Health and Harmony Chiropractic. www.jasonsteinle.com
posted by Jason C. Steinle at 7:27 AM
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