YouTube and streaming media are not the same thing. Streaming media is a term which refers mostly to a delivery method of information over telecommunication networks. The media is being constantly sent (by the distributor) and received (by the consumer), therefore a continuous stream. This is opposed to non-streaming, where the file is broken into packets, sent to a location and re-assembled there. While the packets are on-route the user must wait. What YouTube did was took the idea of streaming media, and gave anyone with a video camera, computer and Internet connection the ability to do it themselves. And it's all free. The Americana Exchange has used YouTube to host book-related videos such interviews with dealers and bookfair recaps.
Blogs are one of the easiest ways to get published today. Getting people to read what you publish is a different story. Most blog software is free; both
Blogger and
LiveJournal are. As a dealer, if you have a website, embedding a blog within it is a relatively simple process, and from there could lead to a richer website experience for your customers. Blogs allow people to get to know the writer, and if you decide to allow comments, may even lead to a dialogue. Collectors should blog (in my opinion)!
Smartphones are cellular phones with advanced capabilities. While there is no industry-wide standard, I consider smartphones today to be phones that emulate computer-functionality. They are in effect miniature computers. They are an integral part of today's Internet. One reason Twitter has become so huge is that it uses people's cell phone text messaging system (smartphone not required, though it makes it easier). People are always with their phones, so they're always able to twitter. For major smartphones, like Research In Motion's Blackberries, or Apple's iPhones, there are native apps for Facebook and Myspace as well.
This list is by no means comprehensive. The entire Attention Age as a whole is a new concept, and its definition is evolving constantly. For people who don't spend hours and hours geeking out, though, this is a start to get you familiarized and aware of some of what's going on today on the Internet. I recommend following the embedded links in the article to the various sites I've mentioned and taking them for a whirl!
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
