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E-Book Sales Top Paperbacks For First Time

On April 15, 2011, CNN Money reported that sales of E-books outpaced those of paperbacks for the first time.

The growth of e-books is stunning; sales rose 202% from February 2010 to February 2011, and Amazon reported in January 2011 that its sales of e-books surpassed those of paperbacks.

Good news for trees, writers, and Amazon. Bad news for traditional book publishers and traditional book stores.

The PACE of the shift is what is so stunning to analysts. And this pace spells doom to bookstores who are unable to accept this new reality and make quick and nimble adjustments to their business model. The world has fundamentally changed.

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Welcome to WordPros

WORDPROS’ BLOG Celebrates Great Writing. It’s also filled with tips and tricks to help you improve your own writing skills. Whether you are a professional writer, a blogger, an Executive Secretary, or an English Major, a few basic tips can take your writing from bland to WOW.

OUR MOST BASIC ADVICE for the beginning writer?

Keep it simple, keep it active [voice, of course], and keep it real. And, if you want to be rich and famous– STUDY ACTING.

BEING A REAL WRITER is like having a term paper due every day of the week.

IF YOU CAN’T TAKE TIME PRESSURE, can’t meet a deadline, and you don’t just really LOVE to write, then remember these three words: “DON’T DO IT!”

You’ll find some great quotable quotes for your speechwriting projects & lots of web-based tips; check the categories on the sidebar for more info!

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City Structure vs. Mental Structure

“What is it about certain cities and places that fosters specific attitudes? Am I imagining that this is the case? To what extent does the infrastructure of cities shape the lives, work, and sensibilities of their inhabitants? Quite significantly, I suspect.”

Interesting thoughts on something we’ve all observed (but perhaps not fully registered) from Talking Heads’ David Byrne (who is also a wonderful writer and avid city bicyclist–check out his new book: Bicycle Diaries

Read more of this interesting piece here.

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Geek Out: Google Domestic Trend Charts

Here’s a cool resource for economic freelancers (or for anyone who is interested in real world charts and graphs): America’s past economic performance, as demonstrated by trends in Google searches, adjusted for search volume.

The first page shows a couple of fascinating charts: the first is the “Google Retail Index and Clothing Store Sales” and one called the “Auto Buyers Index.” Actual retail sales figures are added on the Retail Index chart–interesting trends here.

It’s also obvious from the Auto Buyers Index that Cash for Clunkers had a dramatic effect, as was widely reported by the news media.

You can generate all types of charts by clicking through the lists on the left sidebar. Google also invites you to download the data, search for trends, & report back your results. You can learn more about this resource here.

There’s even MORE info about this project on the Google Research Blog.

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Quickly Condense Web Pages for Easy Reading

Here’s an indispensable tool for prolific readers of web content: Readability.

Just download this handy app, easily add it to your browser’s toolbar, & with a single mouseclick you can escape all the web page clutter (ads, images, photos, rotating banners, Bing nag screens, etc.) and get to the heart of the web page: the article you’re trying to read.

I’ve found it indispensable for web research; I can quickly scan an article and move on to the next search result without enduring all the visual distractions inherent in the modern web.

See what you think; download this great experiment here.

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Google’s Webmaster Central Blog

Here’s an indispensable link for bloggers: Google’s Webmaster Central Blog.

This handy tool will keep you in the loop regarding Google’s spiders and their policies about site indexing for Google searches.

Help make the internet a better place by cleaning out any comment spam or other nuisances that might be costing your blog precious site ranking. Remember, “you can’t do what you don’t know”–educate yourself!

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A Flock of Seagulls: And I Ra-a-a-an…

Scientists at the University of Leeds say that humans flock like sheep and birds, subconsciously following a minority of individuals.

“Results from a study at the University of Leeds show that it takes a minority of just five per cent to influence a crowd’s direction – and that the other 95 per cent follow without realising it.”

I see that phenomenon at my local Walmart all the time….

Read more here.

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Print Calendars FREE

Here’s a favorite site I’ve been using for years for printing free calendars (hearkens back to the early days of the internet–lots of geeky, free things). Why buy a calendar when you’ve got printfree.com?

Click Here, newbie.