Quote:
Originally Posted by TGS
For what it's worth I think it's an interesting idea but I wonder whether I would turn to a book - even an ebook - for this sort of information. A few years ago I needed to find out about search engine optimisation and turned to books. It seems that most of them are full of so much padding in order to bulk up their content to justify their cover price. Even more years ago - before even Google - I used to run training sessions on meeting ones information needs on the internet and, as I remember it, it was really about establishing some general principles. So, I wonder whether the topic isn't more appropriate for a web site or a blog.
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That's a fair point. One of the reasons I'm considering an e-book for it is that I could charge 99 cents and
not feel like I had to pad it out to 200 pages. This would be a very slim volume, if I did it. It would be an elaborate form of Google's cheatsheet, with general searching techniques and principles added. The syntax of a Google search, you could basically relate in a page, but there's a lot more to it than that.
I think a blog has other issues. First, I think the content is too long for a blog. Second, I think the way I'd organize the information is different. And finally, a blog is more something I see as an
ongoing thing. This would be more appropriate for a blog
post, but it would be a gargantuan post, to say the least.
One of the things I would try to use as a selling point is that this
wouldn't be padded. You'd get the reference you want, right at your fingertips, get some suggestions, and get out. There are a few other books that do this, but they're much more expensive, they're only in paper, and, as you said, they're padded with extra crap (programming, the mechanics of how Google works) that people don't need and don't want to know.
I don't know if the market is there, but I know that I haven't seen a blog or Web site (even Google's) that really handles the topic correctly.