A very special mouse escapes from a lab to find his missing family in this charming story of survival, determination, and the power of friendship. What makes Isaiah so unique? First, his fur is as blue as the sky—which until recently was something he'd never seen, but had read all about. That's right: Isaiah can read and write. He can also talk to humans . . . if any of them are willing to listen! After a dramatic escape from a mysterious laboratory, Isaiah is separated from his "mischief" (which is the word for a mouse family) and has to survive in the dangerous outdoors, and hopefully find his missing family. But in a world of cruel cats, hungry owls, and terrified people, it's hard for a young, lone mouse to make it alone. When he meets an equally unusual and lonely human girl named Hailey, the two soon learn that true friendship can transcend all barriers.

At the vanguard of the Internet revolution are two computer scientists from Minnesota who are pioneers of Collaborative Filtering (CF). CF is a technology that enables companies to understand their customers and in turn sell products, goods, and services with remarkable success. To test CF, John Riedl and Joseph Konstan built two Internet sites, MovieLens and GroupLens, that allowed users to customize their preferences for movies and news. The results were astounding -- MovieLens demonstrated amazing accuracy, almost ensuring that the recommendation would prove enjoyable. In "Word of Mouse," the authors analyze dozens of companies from Best Buy to Amazon to TiVo -- and show what these companies are doing right -- and what they are doing wrong. Riedl and Konstan map out a broad range of strategies that companies can employ to raise revenue, customer loyalty, and satisfaction.

The New York Times bestselling author of Get Rich Click! “demystifies and simplifies all things tech…For any overwhelmed, overloaded, or intimidated consumers or marketers, this book is a helpful, entertaining, and motivating resource” (Publishers Weekly). Technology changes so fast that it’s easy to be intimidated by it. Our personal choices and business decisions are increasingly driven by digital “word of mouse”—and it’s essential to our success and satisfaction to take control of the gadgets, apps, and trends that are shaping our world. Covering diverse topics from how the Internet affects our health to how we can become bargain-hunting pros, Marc Ostrofsky’s book could come at no better time. In Word of Mouse, Ostrofsky reveals the ways that new technologies implant themselves in our daily lives and how we can easily take advantage of them to live, learn, buy, sell, work, play, communicate, and socialize better. This book gives readers the tools they need to dig out from under the information overload. A brilliantly thought-out assimilation of trends, case studies, forecasts, and tips for getting “plugged in,” Word of Mouse puts you in the driver’s seat of the world’s most powerful disruptive force to date and shows you how to get the most out of the web.

The True Story of a Mouse Who Never Asked for It is a visually striking, deeply feminist, contemporary retelling of a Spanish folk tale, rediscovered and brought to new life by author Ana Cristina Herreros and illustrator Violeta Lopiz. In Herreros and Lopiz's version--which sharply diverges from the most mainstream and popularized telling of the story--a mouse is approached by many suitors, rejecting all but one: a cat, whose gentle meow assures her that he won't bring her harm. But one must remember that a kitten always grows up to be a cat...and thusly, will devour the mouse.

The New York Times bestselling author of Get Rich Click! delivers cutting-edge advice for consumers and marketers on how to get the most from today’s technology. Gain a competitive edge— get the most from today’s technology! Technology changes so fast that it’s easy to be intimidated by it. Our personal choices and business decisions are increasingly driven by digital “word of mouse”— and it’s essential to our success and satisfaction to take control of the gadgets, apps, and trends that are shaping our world. Bestselling author and trend watcher Marc Ostrofsky is here to help. In this groundbreaking new book, Ostrofsky reveals the ways that new technologies implant themselves in our daily lives and how we can easily take advantage of them to live, learn, buy, sell, work, play, communicate, and socialize better. Covering diverse topics from how the Internet affects our health to how we can become bargain-hunting pros, Ostrofsky’s book could come at no better time. The Internet’s presence is only growing, and new technologies are sprouting up every day. We must learn how to cultivate these new tools so that we can remain competitive and live happier, healthier lives. Word of Mouse gives you the tools you need to conquer information overload—and puts you in the driver’s seat of the world’s most potent technologies.

An essential guide to how the rapid convergence of media and digital technology will unfold over the coming years, and how our conceptions of “programming” and “consumers” will be transformed by the increasing primacy of networked media. Jim Banister provides cogent analyses of how and why certain high-profile “internet” companies have become models; outlines what different kinds of businesses need to do in order to harness the still largely untapped potential of networked media; and shows why the entertainment industry’s efforts to resist the changes in consumer behavior are misguided at best, and doomed at worst. This is a must-read for everyone from business and media professionals to regular consumers.

26 Ways To Screw-Up in Business and How Not To is a humorous, yet serious, business book. During a span of 50 years, the author discovered that there are 26 business commandments that you should never violate and if you do, its at your own risk. For example, Commandment # 4: Thou Shall Not Fish For Tunas in a Lake (never put probability before profitability). Commandment #8: Thou Shall Not Sell Texaco-Milk (problem with line-extensions). Commandment #18: Thou Shall Not Look Through a Keyhole With a Glass Eye (test, not guess). For nearly five decades Bill Fawcett has worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs and small-business owners. He is convinced that 96% of business mistakes are a result of breaking one or more of the 26 commandants set forth in this guide-to-success. This book is not about managing people; its about managing oneself. The number one determinant of your success is you! Youre the quarterback who gets all the glory when you win and all the blame when you lose. What if you could reduce the number of turnovers and interceptions? Wouldnt you want to know what mistakes you must avoid? Of course you would! This guide-to-success not only identifies what you must avoid; it offers prescriptions for doing it right.

'Winners Take All' is about building a product and a company into a winner. Written by Tony Seba, a high tech entrepreneur and Stanford University lecturer, this book is an easy-to-read guide to the strategies, tools, templates, and step-by-step implementation frameworks that recent Silicon Valley winners have used to achieve market leadership. Seba, who teaches entrepreneurship and strategic marketing looked at recent winners like Google, Symantec, Netflix, Apple, Craigslist, Salesforce, and compared them to the competition (Yahoo, McAfee, Sony) in order to learn what differentiated these companies He found 9 really simple rules that winning companies can follow. To test the 9 Rules's predictive power, the author published two portfolios. 18 months later the results were compelling: 80% of the '9 Rules' companies beat the market and the portfolio had a 57% return (details: www.tonyseba.com). Winners Take All is refreshingly free of buzzwords and consultant-speak.

The emergence of 'new media' and social media is widely discussed in contemporary society. However, media and public communication are mostly analyzed within particular theoretical frameworks and within specific disciplinary fields. Such approaches have created polarized views on media and communication, and fail to create an understanding of the interdependencies between these fields. This book expertly synthesizes competing theories and disciplinary viewpoints, integrates scholarly and cutting edge research, and examines international data from fast-growing markets including China, to provide a comprehensive, holistic view of the twenty-first century (r)evolution in media and public communication. The book identifies how the changes are located in practices rather than technologies and that these practices are emergent in highly significant ways. Engaging and accessible, the book is essential reading for media scholars and communication professionals, and a valuable text for courses in media studies, journalism, advertising, public relations, and organisational and political communication.

Whether you’re seeking movie gifts or something for the history buffs in your life, this comprehensive guide to animation and cartoons has it all. In this one-of-a-kind definitive history of American animated cartoons, renowned film critic and historian Leonard Maltin presents the most extensive filmography on cartoons ever compiled. In this revised and updated edition of Of Mice and Magic, Leonard Maltin not only recreates this whole glorious era from the silent days through the Hollywood golden age to Spielberg’s An American Tail, he traces the evolution of the art of animation and vividly portrays the key creative talents and their studios. This definitive history of American animated cartoons also brings Maltin’s many fans up to date on the work being done today at the Walt Disney and Warner Bros. studios, and other developments in the world of animation. Drawing on colorful interviews with many of the American cartoon industry’s principals, Maltin has come up with a gold mine of anecdotes and film history. Behind the scenes were genius animators and entrepreneurs such as Walt Disney, Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, Mel Blanc, and a legion of others. In all, Maltin has put together a glorious celebration of a universally loved segment of Americana.