Right on schedule, a round of disparaging tweets was launched today by the foppish members of the community, as the news was announced about the London hackathon. I’ll give it to you as a short scene among bewigged swells in Congreve. The quotes are actual, from Twitter.
Mister Pan-It-All: How many of these hacks lead to products or sustainable companies?
Sir Slick Software: That only happens when the code is created in a context where it will be maintained. So rarely.
Mister Pan-It-All: [I] assume everybody could see the acid dripping from my tweets.
Sir Slick Software: Hahahaha.
Nevertheless, Philip Jones is not only the editor of London’s magazine-of-record for publishing, The Bookseller. He’s also the man who created its sister entity, The FutureBook. And he and his colleague Alice Ryan have somehow persuaded some of the United Kingdom’s mightiest publishers not only to brave a hackathon but to also do it together.
Even as our usual wags gather to toss their darts at a promising new effort, the voice to listen to is Jones’: “Publishing needs to recognise that it has come through these early stages of the digital content revolution remarkably well. It is healthy, wealthy and wised-up. This is the moment to take advantage and help shape what comes next. The book business has a remarkable record in publishing innovation, and a terrible reputation for digital inertia.”
By Porter Anderson | @Porter_Anderson
Writing on the Ether: The FutureBook Hackathon: London’s Publishers Brave the Weird
Originally published by Thought Catalog at www.ThoughtCatalog.com
Find Your Footing on the Trad Show Floor: Join BEA’s uPublishU AUTHOR HUB
We’d love you to grab a space alongside our charter headliners in BookExpo America’s all-new uPublishU Author Hub for entrepreneurial authors: Bella Andre, Barbara Freethy, Hugh Howey, CJ Lyons and H.M. Ward.
Network with these writers and other publishing players on the trade show floor.
Basic membership ($599) includes your BEA badge, uPublishU Conference access, the New Title Showcase, BEA Show Planner, and Mobile App listings.
Premium membership ($1,200) gives you a dedicated meeting table and chairs in the Hub and a BEA Autograph Signing session.
For info and registration, contact Fred Evanko: 203-840-5965 or fevanko@reedexpo.com