Publishers must embrace big data, it really is as simple as that. The strongest indicator yet appeared last week, when Amazon revealed that since the start of 2012, for every 100 hardback and paperback book sold on its site, customers downloaded 114 ebooks. Amazon says the figures include sales of printed books which did not have Kindle editions, but excluded downloads of free ebooks.

It's a watershed moment for the publishing industry. With the real acceptance of digital e-reading and downloadable content, publishers have been handed a unique opportunity. As the sales figures and data pour in publishers can get to know their readers like never before.

Unlike the traditional retail process for physical books -- which offers publishers only a marginal measure of the success of a book in terms of numbers of books bought and a rough sense of its reception gauged through reviews -- ebook publishing opens up the possibility of gaining a real and evolving picture of a book's reception, readership, and the reading (and spending habits) of consumers.

Ebooks and e-readers transform booklovers into a measurable demographic. They record how many times a book is opened, how many pages are read at one time, how long a book takes to finish, how far readers get into books before quitting (if they dislike it), what consumers read before and what they read next. Crucially, when sifting through this data (however time consuming and challenging that might be) publishers can gain an insight into consumer engagement with the product. And it couldn't come a moment too soon; the publishing industry is decidedly backward when it comes to measuring consumer habits. Unlike the rounds of beta testing, focus groups, pilot runs, software updates and post production editing that the rest of the entertainment industry is relentlessly subjected too, publishers have historically relied on post-purchase information, through which they can guess sequel success or increase print runs, but cannot future-gaze with any real security.

Economically speaking, utilizing big data is a commercial imperative, if only to keep up with the competition. Apple, Amazon, and Google are all exploring and exploiting big data, and publishers will need to follow suit to maintain their level of consumer insight. Offered the chance to increase their engagement in different digital distribution channels - web, apps and smartphones - publishers will only keep up by finding ways and means of tracking as many individual interactions between their consumers and their content as possible.

As with anything financially lucrative and technologically challenging, publishers need to embrace big data sooner rather than later in order to avoid being elbowed out of the market. Digital software services are cashing in, building increasingly sophisticated reader tracking software, with ever-expanding premium price tags attached. Publishers must also engage wholeheartedly in order to remain vigilantly secure of copyright and data protection laws which are increasingly an issue within this sector. Without an active commitment to security, publishers are putting their relationships with investors and consumers at risk.

As technologically baffling as big data sounds, it also opens up the possibility of some really creative thinking within the publishing sector. By understanding where the drop off points are in a book, publishers and editors can work to create better, more satisfying content, or by testing digital books before bringing out a print edition, publishers can make use of reader feedback. Similarly, some companies are working on formats that allow readers to customize game-adventure books and plot lines, a kind of reader-response writing. By analyzing the point where readers either commit or cast off a book, publishers can even consider the option of new pricing models based on trialling - downloading and reading the first twenty pages of a book for a nominal fee or even for free, and then paying the price of the ebook once they are hooked -more adequately replicating purchasing behaviour in physical book shops.

Yet, as Publishers Weekly observed only a few months ago, book publishers aren't generally on board, or don't know enough about big data to use it efficiently. Some are even scared that data-driven analytics will obstruct the creative risk-taking that nurtures truly great literature. It's an unlikely prospect given that this data will always be in the hands of capable professionals - a tool to provide possible assistance, disregarded or utilized at will. Running scared is running stupid, reader driven data creates a much-needed feedback loop. Increased knowledge means increased choice - for the author, publisher and reader. To meet the reader, his quirks and habits, is a tantalizing opportunity, and one that publishers cannot afford to miss.

("Ebook" courtesy of Shutterstock.)

Long before I was in the business of writing about digital content, I was a big fan of digital content. More specifically, I was a fan of Slate. Founded in 1996, the “daily magazine on the web” is practically the grandfather of digital publishing. Backed by The Washington Post Co., Slate has long incorporated the best of traditional journalism with more bloglike sensibilities. From long-form, investigative journalism to quick, breaking news blurbs to Dear Prudie—Slate’s answer to Dear Abby—the site seamlessly blends the more familiar aspects of your local newspaper with new media.

For quite some time now, it’s really embraced the podcast form—and more recently, video. From the Gabfests to the book club, to the digital manners podcast, Slate has its writers discussing a wide array of topics for all the world to hear. I love these podcasts. I often listen to the book club in my car and let the Slate writers explain Infinite Jest: A Novel to me. So I was confused—and even a little amused—when I stumbled across a reader comment that read, “Oh my god, Slate, STOP WITH THE PODCASTS ALREADY. Or at least step up the transcripts. This is a magazine, and yet there’s more and more material that can’t be read.”

Is this guy serious?

As much as we talk about using the web’s multimedia capabilities to engage users on all levels, there still seem to be some holdouts—those people who can’t accept that audio, video, and maybe even something as simple as great graphic content play a role in the newspapers and magazines of the digital age. This is baffling to me. Even if you don’t want to listen to the podcasts, is it really worth getting hot under the collar about?

For its part, Slate responded thoughtfully. Andy Bowers, the executive producer of Slate’s podcasts noted: “We’ve been producing the Audio Book Club for seven years. It’s as much a part of the magazine as anything else in Slate. The vast majority of Slate’s content is print, but we also have a loyal and large audience that likes being able to listen to our podcasts. I hope you’ll be willing to give the book club a try when it comes out, but if audio isn’t the medium for you, I hope you won’t begrudge others something they’ve enjoyed for many years. After all, it’s making use of multiple media that distinguishes an online magazine from its print counterparts.”

Somewhere, I’m sure this same Slate reader is lamenting the popularity of ebooks … and don’t even get him started on enhanced ebooks.

Part of me wonders why someone who seems to dislike podcasts is even reading an online magazine. I mean, who would want to read the transcript of a discussion (which is not exactly easy to follow) rather than just listen to the discussion? It’s sort of like reading a script instead of just watching the TV show.

But what struck me, even more than what seemed like misplaced crankiness, was just how long Slate had been in the business of being a digital-only publication. One with a pretty extensive stable of writers who (get this!) it pays. Its content runs the gamut from everything I’ve already mentioned here to serious stories about the Supreme Court and a fun how-to guide about lasagna. In other words, Slate has managed to be successful, not by serving a niche, but providing the breadth of content that offers a little something for everyone—just like the daily newspapers that show up every morning on doorsteps across the country.

Slate has benefited from the best of both worlds and has delivered the same to its readers. It benefits from the experience and backing of The Washington Post Co., while not being weighed down by the trappings of print media. So it delivers the quality reporting we expect, along with live chats and videos from Dear Prudie. Some 16 years on, I think it’s safe to say Slate has found a formula that works.

If you’re going to take anything away from this column, let it be from that last sentence in Bowers’ reply to his disgruntled reader. In many ways, he invoked the golden rule of digital publishing—which is basically that it is your duty to use all the tools that the web puts at your disposal. Because while you’ll always have your traditionalists who just can’t bear the sound of a podcast, to grab the audience of the future you’re going to need more than just words on a screen.

Ever since Twitter announced impending changes to it API, it seems to be getting crankier and crankier. Most recently, Tumblr announced that users can no longer search Twitter for friends who also use Tumblr.

Twitter cut off access on Wednesday, no doubt annoying hordes of Tumblr users. Meanwhile, those ticked off users can still search Facebook and Google for friends. (This may just be a boon for Google+.)

(www.twitter.com)

By now news about governments shutting down the internet or limiting access to social media to try and stave off political unrest are practically a dime a dozen. But the latest tale comes from India, and has some people wondering if the government has "lost its sense of humor."

Yes there was legitimate and lethal political unrest, but the government isn't reacting to the fomenting of revolution. It's angry about parody accounts of the prime minister, and it pressured Twitter into blocking the accounts. Also on the government to-do list, is a two week limit of five text messages per day. (Indian teenagers are no doubt in an uproar.)

(www.twitter.com)

Twitter is all over the map lately. Changes to its API have spurred a series of controversial moves, including a split from Tumblr. But now the micro-blogging site is joining the Linux Foundation, and is expected to announce it next week.

According to PCWorld, Chris Aniszczyk, manager of open source for Twitter said, "By joining the Linux Foundation we can support an organization that is important to us and collaborate with a community that is advancing Linux as fast as we are improving Twitter."

Despite Twitter's recent reputation for not playing nice with others, the free service is made possible by a variety of open source products, including Linux.

(www.twitter.com)

Is there a better fit for digital media than the punk scene with its DIY ethic? Probably not. So BUZZMEDIA's acquisition of several punk rock publications which it will roll together to form AbsoluteVoices.

Joining BUZZMEDIA's own AbsolutePunk is Under the Gun Review, Alter the Press, Property of Zack, and PunkNews. The publisher says AbsolutePunk will serve as a central hub for AbsoluteVoices publishing group bringing a wider variety of perspectives and in-depth music coverage to its extensive reader base and fan community.

(www.buzz-media.com)

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Apparently, Facebook is not totally welcome in Germany. The federation of German Consumer Organizations has sent Facebook a cease and desist letter that accuses the company of breaching German Privacy law. The consumer protection group has given Facebook until September 4 to stop automatically sharing user information with third party applications without explicit permission.

That’s not the only thing about Facebook that’s got the Germans riled up. Earlier this month, Hamburg’s privacy czar began probing into Facebook’s controversial face recognition technology and in March a court ordered Facebook to stop using user photos for ads.

(www.facebook.com)

Amazon.com says its catalog of exclusive Kindle books have been purchased, downloaded, or borrowed from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library more than 100 million times. Nearly all of these exclusive books are available for Kindle owners with a Prime membership to borrow for free, as frequently as once a month, with no due dates.

Authors have the option of making their titles exclusive to Kindle by joining KDP Select. So far in August, KDP Select books that enrolled in July earned 77% more royalties from paid sales than the three months before they were enrolled in the program, according to Amazon. This figure only includes books that were available via KDP for the entire three months prior to enrolling in KDP Select.

Meanwhile, Amazon's scheduled September 6 event has the media speculating about what the company will announce. Most seem to think a new Kindle Fire tablet is on the way, but others have suggested that multiple Kindle devices may be getting makeovers-or that a brand new offering might even be on the way.

(http://www.amazon.com/kindleownerslendinglibrary, http://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/KDPSelect)

Kathy Savitt, a former VP of strategic communications, content and initiatives at Amazon, is joining Yahoo as CMO. Savitt is also the founder of Lockerz and former EVP and CMO of American Eagle Outfitters.