Barnes and Noble -- Nook Lessons not yet learned.

Last fall, prior to the commercial availability of Nook, I went on-line and put in my order.  I was happy to learn that it had a strong technology underpinning and I was appreciative of the fact that it was software based and not hardware dependant; making upgrades and adding functionality easier.

I was also pleased to know that Adobe was the major force behind the operating system and that a vast array of PDF files would be at my disposal.   My library would reflect my needs and tastes and I imagined the experience would be like entering a virtual giant bookstore.

Sadly, my experience, thus far, with the B&N Nook has been less than stellar.

Mr. William Lynch, CEO of B&N, should read up on the Beta – VHS duel of the 80’s - just a reminder of the bottom line.   It was not technology that decided the winner; it was the availability of content.  CONTENT rules.  I understand that my tastes should not drive the content acquisition strategy of B&N, but their acquisitions should be broad enough to include my tastes.

Two months ago, after listening to a Charles Rose program, I asked B&N about the possibility of getting a book from Jim Collins “How the Mighty Fail”.   I was told by their crack customer service person that I should to contact, and hound, the publisher of that book for the digital rights.  I did and a few weeks later I was told by a member of Jim Collins’ staff, that he just signed the contract for the digital rights for this book… I am still waiting…

Michael Lewis’  “The Big Short”, currently on the NYT best seller list, cannot be downloaded to the Nook (I checked and it is available for the Kindle).   My intellectual quest is to better understand the process by which companies and the market fail to meet their goals.  In the process, build a framework that I can use in my professional life.

Mr. Lynch better understand that his competition (Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs) are icons and are not likely to give up easily. The iPad and Jobs’ marketing genius make it is obvious that Mr.  Lynch’s lunch is in serious jeopardy.  I am sure that Jeff Bezos understands that Amazon has far greater competition from in his core business (from the iPad – not the Nook) and will aggressively move to adjust and compete.

Mr. Lynch, here are some unsolicited bits of advice: One-aggressively advertise in a wider range of venues – Take a page from Amazon and the NYT book section.  Two-have a tighter correlation of your bonus structure to the acquisition of content.  

Here’s my 2 cents – people who buy electronic readers are people who enjoy future technology, get energized by new and exciting things and people who are going forward.  They want to read the new and exciting offerings like those listed on the NYT best seller list.  Get on board B&N!