SPONSOR MESSAGE: NXTbook Media - What Is a “Digital Edition”?

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As a way to kick off our sponsorship on Publishing 2.0, Scott suggested we write a “What is a digital edition?” post. Frankly, that’s a great idea because – like many new technology terms – definitions vary. In fact, every day at NXTbook we find ourselves clarifying our own definition.

Those familiar with the term “digital edition” may think it refers to a PDF, some other type of digital magazine or even the newly released Adobe Digital Editions. And to be fair, these are common examples. For the purposes of this post, we’ll label those examples as such:

A) Adobe PDF

B) Digital magazine products like Zinio.

C) Adobe Digital Editions

At NXTbook Media, we believe “digital editions” should be browser-based products which can also be saved offline for reading later. Sometimes A and B exist in browser formats, but not usually. .

NXTbook digital editions often contain audio, video and Flash animation, which is sometimes found in B and theoretically can be found in C, but not A.

Our products are indexed by search engines, similar to A, but not B or C (since they’re not typically hosted online).

However, we also offer page-specific permalinks, and give publishers multiple ways to monetize their content beyond what’s inside their content, unlike any of the above solutions. In addition, we give our publishers RSS feeds and very cool widgets to help promote their content. In short, our mission is to take a print magazine and give it not just some – but all of the benefits of being online.

We’ve been making digital editions since 2003. Each month, we work with dozens of B2B magazine publishers, and produce many visitors’ guides and catalogs, too. We’re based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and have resellers around the world.

Our website has samples of many of our customer projects, but a great way to see what you can do with our digital edition is by viewing The Best of NXTbook.

And one other thing: long before we were sponsors of Publishing 2.0, we were readers here. Like you, we’re excited about the future of new media and are thrilled to be contributing to the success of this venture.