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A few riffs on the 4th annual Tools of Change conference, which I attended last week in New York City for ForeWord Reviews magazine:

Self-expression is the new entertainment
So said keynote speaker Arianna Huffington at the fourth annual Tools of Change Conference in New York last week.  That statement – from the founder of the most popular political news web site in the blogosphere – drew some raised eyebrows and mild grumbling from conference attendees.  Huffington was making the argument that today users aren’t just idly sitting on the couch waiting to be entertained, they want to be involved in the entertainment.  They text, they blog, they tweet.  They attract fans, followers, audience.  They are entertainment.  She argued that publishers must embrace new media to help draw in these self-expressionist users, who create bits and bits of content themselves.  But not all self-expression has value, some would argue.  In fact, many would argue that most self-expression is crap.  Publishers will need to learn how to separate the weed from the chaff.

63% of something is better than 100% of nothing
The pricing model for eBooks is highly-charged with controversy.  When Google it’s Almighty Self reared their head at TOC, most of the questions laid at their feet came in two flavors: pricing and DRM.  The industry wants to know how large a slice of the revenue pie they’re going to have to share to be listed in Google Editions, and how much control they’ll maintain over their products.  The answers:  Google will take 37%.  Publishers and distributors will set the list price.  “We think the publisher is far more qualified to set prices on their products [than we are],” said Google’s Abe Murray.  While many publishers may bristle at the notion of sharing more than a third with Google, they ignore Google’s crowd-gathering skills at their own risk.  Worldwide, nearly 40% of all Internet traffic travels through Google, and more than 80% of all mobile traffic is Google-charged.  Of the top 25 most visited blogs, 45% of their traffic is referred by Google. Whatever Google Editions may look like, and however the pricing models and distribution channels work themselves out, if you have a product, you want it pumping through the Google pipeline.  Google seems to be saying to the traditional publishing world: “We’ve figured this ‘E-Thing’ out, come along with us, unless you think you can do it better yourself.”

Tablets to the rescue?
Yes, the January announcement of Apple’s iPad was exciting.  It remains to be seen if the device, set to hit the streets in March, will prove to be a smash hit or just an oversized iPod.  The tablet PC has been trotted out before, only to fail miserably in the marketplace, making little more than a novelty-sized dent on the industry.  Apple promises an online bookstore that will do for reading what iTunes did for listening to music.  But, as WWW founder Marc Andreesen points out in a recent interview with Fortune: “Businesses built on the written word… have to reinvent their whole businesses from top to bottom if they want to survive.”  If you’re a publisher and you think Steve Jobs has come to your rescue with his latest shiny gadget, you may be ignoring the fact that your business practices and content needs to evolve to keep pace with the new medium.

It’s the content, stupid
In a now famous memo by the same name, Bill Gates wrote back in 1996 that “Content is King.”  Yes, way back when Kindle wasn’t even a twig yet, Microsoft Bill was talking about the future of the Internet and web sites in general.  But the phrase has since taken on broader meaning as it applies to media in general.  However, it still appears that many of the folks who use ink and paper to deliver their content think they can just cram that content into a new device and survive.  It’s increasingly apparent that there’s a shift in the way end users consume information.  An eBook on Amazon’s Kindle is essentially a physical book displayed digitally on a handheld device.  With few exceptions, it fails to utilize the powerful tools that even a desktop PC offers.  We saw this sort of lazy transition back in the early days of television – another milestone in the evolution of content consumption – when networks relied on radio programming to fill their schedules (similarly early motion pictures were mostly filmed stage plays).  Consumers quickly demanded that TV utilize new technology, which resulted in live satellite news reports, the 30-minute sitcom, etc.  Content morphed to match the medium by which it was being delivered.  Oxford Media Group’s Kirk Biglione gets it:  “The customer expects to find their content quickly and easily, and in the format they want it in.”  Publishers need to realize that they’re publishers, not book creators.

Why can’t my eBook do this?
Kurt Vonnegut wrote that there were two requirements for any new invention: that it be simple to use and that it advance the cause of human happiness by taking into account the needs of people.  So far, digital books and publications are oh-for-two on Vonnegut’s criteria.  Sure, some eReaders are fairly easy to use – the Kindle is a megastar in these still early years of eBooks – but until a format is adopted as standard, getting eBooks onto the reading devices will continue to be a pain for most non-tech consumers.  The process of buying an eBook needs to be as easy as downloading and listening to music.  On Vonnegut’s second point, eBooks themselves have a long way to go.  Most of them are woefully impractical to search, nearly impossible to annotate, and difficult to recommend to friends through social media sites.  In contrast to other media such as film and even plain old web sites, eBooks have failed to push the envelope when it comes to functionality.  A pair of TOC presenters: Jeff Gomez and Peter Meyers, examined how eBooks of the future can “advance the cause of human happiness.”  In “Book Meets Tablet: 10 Ways to Enhance Your iPad Books,” Meyers, who once cut his teeth as the co-founder of Digital Learning Interactive, outlined specific features he’d like to see in eBooks.  Especially interesting were his ideas for a Notes & Highlights Browser that would enable the reader to organize and share his notes in a multitude of ways, a Visual Table of Contents (show me the chapters in order or Inspire Me), and Character Notes, where the reader gets to dig deeper into the back story of the main characters of the novel.  In “Storyworlds: The New Transmedia Business Paradigm,” Gomez shared how a handful of companies are telling stories using digital media in exciting ways.  If publishers listen to the likes of Gomez and Meyers and integrate just a few of the new features into their devices and content, eReading can be much more fun in the near future.

New Year’s Day is Hank Greenberg’s birthday. Greenberg was one of the greatest sluggers in baseball history, and also one of the most heroic athletes in American history. In the 1930s, in many ways, Hank faced the racism and adversity that Jackie Robinson later faced in the 1940s. I strongly recommend his autobiography, co-authored by Ira Berkow, Hank Greenberg: The Story of My Life. If you can find it anywhere, buy it. It’s an important book for any baseball fan.

Read an excerpt from my book, Ty Cobb: A Biography. This is taken from chapter three, titled Jealousy and Persecution

When Ty Cobb arrived in Royston, Georgia, on August 10, 1905, his father was dead from a shotgun blast and his mother was facing arrest for involuntary manslaughter. The small community was abuzz over the shocking death of their most influential and prominent figure, while Ty was in a state of shock at the loss of his father.

When Ty Cobb arrived in Royston, Georgia, on August 10, 1905, his father was dead from a shotgun blast and his mother was facing arrest for involuntary manslaughter. The small community was abuzz over the shocking death of their most influential and prominent figure, while Ty was in a state of shock at the loss of his father.

It soon became apparent what had happened the evening of August 8 at the Cobb residence. Contrary to Cobb’s description of a “shooting accident??? in his autobiography, there was more to the story. Suspicious that his young, attractive wife was having an affair, W. H. Cobb had set a trap. Telling his wife that he was going out to their farm for a few days, he hitched his horse to his buggy, left their home, and made a plan to catch his wife in the arms of her lover. That night, as he quietly made his way back to his home, W.H. Cobb was seen walking in Royston alone. Shortly after midnight, he climbed to the top of the roof above his porch and crept to their bedroom window, finding it locked. Amanda Cobb was awakened by the sound of footsteps on the roof and retrieved a shotgun which she kept within reach when she was left alone. According to the neighbors, two shots were fired, though not in quick succession. Amanda Cobb had shot her husband twice, once in the abdomen, and once in the head. Joe Cunningham, a neighbor and friend of Ty’s, heard the shots and made his way to the Cobb residence. When he arrived, he found Amanda Cobb kneeling over her husband, who was still holding on to life, despite massive bleeding from a large hole in his stomach and from the side of his head. Cunningham called it “the worst thing I ever saw.??? A doctor was summoned, but W.H. Cobb was pronounced dead at 1:30 AM.

Despite her explanation that she had mistaken W.H. Cobb for an intruder, from the beginning Amanda Cobb was suspected of having murdered her husband. The authorities found a revolver in his pocket, and the testimony of eyewitnesses in Royston who had seen Mr. Cobb walking toward his home, led them to speculate that the cause of death was a domestic squabble. On August 9, Amanda Cobb testified to a coroner’s jury as to what had occurred. On August 11, with Ty and her other children at home, a funeral was held at the Cobb residence for William Herschel Cobb. The following day, the sheriff arrested Amanda Cobb and set her bail at $7,000, a portion of which she was able to post to receive her release.

Ty spent a week at home with his mother and two siblings before returning to Augusta to join the team. The fact that he wasted little time in returning to his playing career is an indication that Cobb desired to be away from the gossip of Royston and the overwhelming anguish of his father’s death. Though he rarely spoke of his father’s death the remainder of his life, Cobb was greatly affected in many ways. The suspicious circumstances of the death cast a dark cloud over his family’s otherwise respectable name. It soon became evident that many people in Royston had suspected that Amanda Cobb was having an affair, and it may have even been brought to W.H. Cobb’s attention by a friend. At 33 years of age, Amanda Cobb was nearly 20 years younger than her husband, and she was described as “beautiful and radiant.??? 18-year old Ty, though he was not close to his mother, didn’t suspect her of wrongdoing, at least not outwardly. “This isn’t the kind of people Cobbs are,??? he said at the time.

Back with the Tourists, Cobb returned to the lineup on August 16, collecting two hits in the first game of a doubleheader against Charleston. Three days later, Charles D. Carr, the president of the Augusta club, informed Cobb that he his contract had been purchased by the Tigers and that he would be expected to report to Detroit by the end of the month. The 18-year old Cobb was excited by the news but weakened by the thought that his father would never know of his accomplishment. Cobb played the next week for Augusta and appeared in his final game at home on August 25, in front of a large crowd. In the bottom of the first inning, as he made his way to the plate, Cobb was intercepted by several well-wishers, including the mayor of Augusta, who presented him with a watch and a a bouquet of flowers. Cobb collected two hits in the game, stole a base, and recorded an assist from left field in his farewell to the Augusta faithful. His final average of .326 would stand up as the best mark in the league, and his 40 stolen bases ranked third. Though he was the youngest player on the Augusta team, Cobb would be the first to make it to the big leagues. Pitcher Eddie Cicotte would follow him a few days later, while Clyde Engle, Nap Rucker, and Ducky Holmes would make it in subsequent years.

After a brief stop back in Royston, Cobb was on his way north to Detroit. He had never been above the Mason-Dixon Line, and now he was on his way to a city larger than any he had ever seen. After a few missed connections, Cobb arrived in Detroit by train on August 29, and checked in to a hotel within walking distance of Bennett Park. Detroit’s Bennett Park was located on the corner of Michigan and Trumbull in the heart of the city in a section called “Corktown,??? because of the predominance of Irish immigrants living there. Cobb reported to the park on the August 30, just over three weeks after the death of his father. He was ready to start his big league career. The Detroit Free Press, writing of his arrival and his minor league batting success, speculated that the young Georgian “wouldn’t pile up anything like that in this league.???

Cobb saw action immediately with the Tigers, who were hosting the New York Highlanders in the second of a three-game series. Bennett Park was named for Charlie Bennett, a star for the National League’s Detroit Wolverines in the 1880s. A catcher, Bennett’s career was ended abruptly when he lost both of his legs in a terrible train accident in 1894. Bennett had been tremendously popular in Detroit, and in 1900, when the city earned a team in the Western League (later to become the American League), their ballpark was named in his honor.

The Highlanders, later to be known as the Yankees, started ace “Happy Jack??? Chesbro, a master of the spitball. The previous season, Chesbro had won an amazing 41 games and pitched more than 400 innings for the New York club. The Tigers, managed by Bill Armour, countered with “Big George??? Mullin, a fidgety right-hander from Wabash, Indiana. In front of an afternoon crowd of approximately 1,200 fans, Cobb hit fifth in the lineup, playing center field. Armour’s Tigers, due to injury, had a shortage in the outfield. In the bottom of the first inning, the Tigers hit Chesbro hard, putting together a double, single, and a sacrifice bunt to plate one run and move another runner to third. With one out, the left-handed hitting Cobb strolled to the plate for his first major league at-bat. Using the hands-apart grip that he’d perfected as a boy in Georgia, 18-year old Ty Cobb peered out at Jack Chesbro and tried to overcome the nerves that were causing his stomach to twist and turn. The first pitch he saw was a high fastball that he swung through and missed. The next offering from Chesbro was a spitter that fooled Cobb for strike two. Chesbro then returned to his fastball, sending a pitch into the heart of the strike zone that Cobb met with a flick of his bat. The ball soared into the left-center field gap where it was retrieved by New York left fielder Noodles Hahn, whose throw to second base was a split second too late to catch the sliding Georgian. “Pinky??? Lindsay, the Tigers’ runner on third, trotted home to make the score 2-0. Ty Cobb had his first hit, first run batted in, and first double in the big leagues, having victimized one of the best pitchers in the league. Ty walked against Chesbro his next time up, and with Sam Crawford in front of him on second base, Cobb was out on the backend of a double steal attempt, but it did little to dampen the day for the Tigers, as they vanquished the Highlanders, 5-3. In center field, Cobb handled two putouts without incident and his first big league game was under his belt.

To order the book, follow this link: Ty Cobb: A Biography

I’m often asked which baseball books I recommend. So I logged on to amazon.com and created a list of the 25 books every baseball fan should own. Why 25? Because that’s how many amazon let’s you add to a list. I hope it’s helpful and while you’re there, check out my book, Ty Cobb: A Biography.

I’ve read this book twice since I bought it back in January. I’ve since loaned it to my best friend, and I hope he reads it, because I think he could use the ideas in it to propel his businesses.

Friedman’s book changed my life in many ways, and I hope, when you read it, it will have a similar impact… Make sure you get the expanded and updated edition, which contains Friedman’s latest thoughts on new trends and political analysis.

This book is fabulous. Dewey and Acocella are two great detectives who have uncovered the fascinating details from the life of one of baseball’s most colorful – and misunderstood – characters. If you love baseball history, the deadball era, or are interested at all in characters from American history, I highly recommend this book.