From an article in Inside Higher Ed. Here’s a snippet, a lot more in the article:
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The proliferation of GPS-enabled mobile devices and community-based social media applications and the rise of companies such as Groupon, LivingSocial, Yelp, and Urbanspoon have demonstrated that these new technologies can strengthen regional as well as global ties. And as university presses adapt to the changing publishing landscape, some are already looking beyond e-books to bonus features and location-based apps that lend themselves to a different kind of reading — and, in some cases, a different kind of reader.
The Minnesota Historical Society Press is among those leading the large. The press recently published an area travel guide called Dad’s Eye View: 52 Family Vacations in the Twin Cities, in paperback. But instead of publishing an e-book that merely mimicked the print version for e-readers, the press commissioned an iPhone app.
With the Dad’s Eye View app, readers can find a trip idea among the various outings described in the book by searching by season, venue, or price. They can rate the outings or share them with friends. While academic press books have historically been written and curated by experts, user-generated data — a hallmark of new-media publishing — could play a role in how this new type of work evolves, says Pamela McClanahan, director of the Minnesota press. To wit, the Minnesota press is planning to update Dad’s Eye View in the fall. “If it can be a crowdsourced second edition, how fantastic,” says McClanahan.
Thanks to Michael von Glahn for the tip.
