Publisher launches Penguin 2.0 and embraces social media

December 8th, 2008

Avid iPhone literary users, including Stephen Fry, should be even happier mobilistas with the launch today of Penguin 2.0, a group of services from the esteemed publisher,  that embrace the Web 2.0 social media world by including aspects of customization, personalization, delivery to mobile phones, as well as eBooks and e-only content.

The Penguin 2.0 services (under the slogan “What’s next for text”) include Penguin Personalized, a way for customers to add personal dedication pages to digital books, and Penguin Mobile, which enables readers to receive text on iPhones and other mobile devices.

The publisher plans later phases of Penguin 2.0 that will offer community functionality and social networking. For example, next year, users will be able to create a Penguin book by putting together classic Penguin short stories, essays, and novellas. The Penguin US website will be the hub for the programme.

I wonder if we will now see other mobile-focussed publishers like HarperCollins, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Simon & Schuster expand their social media offerings on mobile platforms.

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