Pearson Education, the largest U.S. textbook publisher, is publishing (and selling) videos of academic lectures through Google (Here's one). Yes, it's a bad idea - after all, it costs, what, ten cents to produce one? Yes, other people can (and will) produce equivalent quality videos. Link, say, at VideoLectures (link via George Siemens). But no doubt Pearson (and Google, if they're actually partnering) will do everything they can to make sure nobody can find them. What's next, music theory from Idol Critic, ten dollars for high rez? Interestingly, the same site has a post about the collapse of CD sales, drawing the analogy with a concordant drop in textbook sales. "Textbook publishers, the oligarchs sitting in their comfy thrones atop the multi-billion dollar industry, are in much the same position as the RIAA or MPAA. Unlike the major film studios and music labels, however, there is little sign that they have woken up and smelled their fate." see also Scott Karp, who asks whether content is even a business.
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