tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12673673.post6143747846335024224..comments2023-10-22T03:45:04.749-05:00Comments on the Constant Observer: Bookstores Not Obsolete, Just Repurposed for Social MediaTish Grierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657229618222899908noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12673673.post-44091737868803638212007-08-31T13:17:00.000-05:002007-08-31T13:17:00.000-05:00Hi Jeff...As you note, the two different kinds of ...Hi Jeff...<BR/><BR/>As you note, the two different kinds of bookstores could easily have different kinds of value to their communities.<BR/><BR/>From what I see of the big chains, they might make decent return in special orders, which includes getting books/dvds/cds from other stores (most of the time quicker than Amazon!), the purchases that result from all the events they host, and there's Tish Grierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15657229618222899908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12673673.post-31579251888922001232007-08-31T10:32:00.000-05:002007-08-31T10:32:00.000-05:00Shalom Tish,As I've seen the chain bookstores -- p...Shalom Tish,<BR/><BR/>As I've seen the chain bookstores -- particularly Buns & Noodles/Bounders -- become more social friendly, I've wondered how the business model works.<BR/><BR/>I've read my way through the Zits series of comics at a local Bounders when I was between students. I was not the kind of customer the chain wants, but as this social phenomenon increases, the chains need to figure outJeff Hesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11677908746808365739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12673673.post-27255115433061769822007-08-30T17:41:00.001-05:002007-08-30T17:41:00.001-05:00(I'm talking about the Barnes & Noble in "Inglesid...(I'm talking about the Barnes & Noble in "Ingleside" which is a section of Holyoke, MA.)Tish Grierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15657229618222899908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12673673.post-8191905822155388052007-08-30T17:41:00.000-05:002007-08-30T17:41:00.000-05:00Great point in your post, Mike--about private spac...Great point in your post, Mike--about private spaces becoming new public spaces (will be linking it in another post.) And that's an important point. I know that the mall where the Barnes and Noble is located is one of those malls that has replaced two gang-riddled downtown areas, so it's one of the kinds of private/public spaces you talk about. <BR/><BR/>I've always hated the mall-as-downtown Tish Grierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15657229618222899908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12673673.post-15005753431206224602007-08-30T14:28:00.000-05:002007-08-30T14:28:00.000-05:00The magazine "The Next American City" had a good w...The magazine "The Next American City" had a good write-up on how private spaces had become the new public spaces, since today's public spaces are often going to pot, left unmaintained by cash-strapped cities.<BR/><BR/>The article mentioned Starbucks, but bookstore-cafes would fall into that same category as well.<BR/><BR/>I riffed on this in <A HREF="http://www.belle-aurore.com/mike/comments.php?mike of concretehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11635352811207320452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12673673.post-19596527278363279442007-08-27T20:00:00.000-05:002007-08-27T20:00:00.000-05:00Hi Toby...the ones I see are often reading sports ...Hi Toby...the ones I see are often reading sports magazines, or on their blackberries. There's no free wifi, so it's rare to see anyone on a computer. <BR/><BR/>We've got so much coffee out here that the bookstore cafe is actually the cafe bookstore. Like Seattle, coffee's a real way of life :-)Tish Grierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15657229618222899908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12673673.post-2070565947015874102007-08-27T18:12:00.000-05:002007-08-27T18:12:00.000-05:00Tish - I see lots of guys in book store cafes (lov...Tish - I see lots of guys in book store cafes (love that phrase) perhaps they are twittering and don't notice the f2f socializing. Funny you should mention first dates in book stores cafe, some of my least memorable ones have been happened there(smile).Tobyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00040457020085852360noreply@blogger.com