O'Reilly Network Weblogs: Doing Digital Media Right

Published on The O'Reilly Network (http://www.oreillynet.com/)
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/5487

Doing Digital Media Right

by Derrick Story
Aug. 25, 2004

Enthusiasm for all things digital media are on the upswing here at O'Reilly. For me, it started a few years ago with coauthoring iPhoto: The Missing Manual. As soon as we finished that, O'Reilly asked me to work on the Digital Photography Pocket Guide, which is now in its second edition and selling stronger than ever.

Since then, we've added lots of great authors to the catalog, including Deke McClelland and Ken Milburn. As these books began to roll off the presses, we realized that we didn't have anywhere to congergate as a community. Ken's articles landed on our Web DevCenter, mine on Mac DevCenter, and others wherever we thought they fit best.

We've now put an end to that nonsense and have launched our Digital Media site -- brand new and built from the ground up. I'll do my best to temper my excitement as I describe it to you, but it won't be easy.

The site will unfold in three phases. The first is digital photography, and that's live now. Soon we'll add the digital audio component (we're working on that as you read this), and the final phase will be graphic design. I'm also looking at digital video, but haven't quite got my arms around our approach to that yet. More to report later.

Site Highlights

The primary features of the digital media site now include:

Photographer of the Month -- An important function of this site is to give innovative photographers a place to display their work. Personally, I'm inspired by looking at pictures that go beyond what I would normally shoot. I hope these portfolios will have the same effect on you. Our first featured photographer is the incomparable Julian Cash.
Industry News -- Every day we'll post the latest in camera releases, new software, events, and other happenings in the world of digital photography. The News section is above the fold and easy to find.
Digital Media Services Directory -- Our production team has constructed a beautiful and functional directory for you to list your services and to find what other digital artists are doing. It only takes minutes to become a part of this directory, and I encourage you to do so today.
Feature Articles and Tutorials -- How do you leverage your tools to make your vision happen? Our featured articles and tutorials will help you become a better technician, and ultimately a more engaging artist.
Weblogs -- It wouldn't be a community without a place for us to post our late night discoveries. This site gives us the opportunity to add a new dimension to our blogging line up.

How to Contribute

The first place to start is to enter a listing in the Digital Media Services Directory. Then, you might want to contact us about writing articles, weblogs, or showing off your work as our featured photographer. Simply drop a line to and tell us what's on your mind.

Once you take a look at this site, I think you'll see why I'm so fired up about it. The design is absolutely beautiful, the content will be compelling, and you'll have the opportunity to meet new artists and technicians.

And if I've overlooked something, let me know. I want this site to reach its fullest potential.

Derrick Story is the author of The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers, The Digital Photography Companion, and Digital Photography Hacks, and coauthor of iPhoto: The Missing Manual, with David Pogue. You can follow him on Twitter or visit www.thedigitalstory.com.