We have been working on integrating this blog more closely with our website, www.PacktPub.com, and now have a blog set up there, complete with links to the rest of the site. Visit it at blog.PacktPub.com.
As such, we will slowly be shutting down this blog, though it has served us well. As of now, we are closing off the ability to write comments on here, and all new posts will be going up at blog.PacktPub.com. We’ll see you there!
With Open Source and Enterprise taken care of, this leaves behind a bunch of Packt’s most interesting titles: the misfits, the outliers, and the breakout Packt titles of the future. We know that there are plenty of places for Packt to make its presence felt in Open Source and Enterprise. But where else? There’s a big world out there. A world of opportunity. A world that needs Packt books.
Packt will continue to publish a wide range of titles on interesting tech topics of all kinds. While each book will be as focused and sharp as a harpoon, we’ll cast our net wide and look all over the place for topic areas and book ideas that fit Packt’s core values:
1. Relentlessly practical
2. A clear goal and purpose
3. A tightly defined target audience
4. Professional or “serious amateur” users
5. Areas that need depth of coverage. Areas where one catch-all book is not enough.
6. Areas that welcome awkward mixed metaphors about nets and harpoons
If you know of technical topic areas that need Packt, or better yet you want to write a technical book that doesn’t fit into Open Source or Enterprise, then contact David Barnes on davidb@packtpub.com. He’s looking after every Packt area besides Open Source and Enterprise.
Already we are developing books for game developers, .NET programmers, Flash developers, and more. We aim to discover what’s going to be the next big thing for Packt and the world of IT professionals. We want you to be part of our future.
Join us!
This post was written by David Barnes, Packt Enterprise marketing executive. For more information on David, and all other post authors, look here.
We have finally released information on the branding of Packt Enterprise and Packt Open Source. You can see the first books to be published into these new brands, Microsoft Silverlight 4 Data and Services Cookbook, and Moodle 1.9 Theme Design: Beginner’s Guide complete with their new branding and covers at our website, http://www.PacktPub.com.
As you can see from our new logos, these brands are remaining under the Packt umbrella. The covers, too, are very “Packt” in style, with changes to colouring portraying the new brands. Bear in mind that these covers still reflect the series of books in their colouring (green for Cookbooks and blue for Beginner’s Guides), so keep your eyes peeled for other newly branded series.
We would be interested in hearing any thoughts you have on the above.
This post was written by Mark Nichols, Packt Enterprise marketing executive. For more information on Mark, and all other post authors, look here.
You have seen from James’s post below the benefits of launching the Enterprise brand from a publisher’s point of view. It will allow us to specialize more greatly on certain enterprise technologies, to dig more deeply into their makeup, and to write more relevant books. Yet it may still look like there is something missing here. Julian has shown us what Packt Open Source will be doing with the community, broadening the Open Source Royalty Scheme and continuing the CMS Award. What can Packt Enterprise do along similar lines?
The brand launch will free up Packt in this regard. Specialization in Enterprise and Open Source areas will give Packt relevance directly to these communities, not only in terms of its publications, but also in terms of its marketing. Packt Enterprise will be able to exist as a fully Enterprise focussed brand in Enterprise communities, and Packt Open Source will be able to do likewise for its communities.
We will be looking to get more involved with enterprise communities, both on the web and in person, than ever before, and are due to attend Microsoft Tech Ed and Oracle Open World this year. We will be looking to build on our work with user groups, and to create highly specific enterprise articles and content. As a start to this drive into the enterprise community, we would love to hear your thoughts on any of this information, and please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’re part of a user group.
This post was written by Mark Nichols, Packt Enterprise marketing executive. For more information on Mark, and all other post authors, look here.
I’m sure the question which many of you are asking is ‘what about the Open Source Projects?’ That’s an excellent question. As many of you may know, since Packt formed in 2004, we have ensured that we give back to the Open Source projects. For each book sold that is written on an Open Source project, we pay a royalty directly to that project.
This will not change. We will continue to support Open Source projects with royalties from the books we publish and, to add to this, we are offering further options including book donations, documentation rewrites, and event sponsorships.
Another mainstay going forward is the Packt Open Source CMS Award which was launched in July 2006. The Award is designed to encourage, support, recognize and reward Open Source Content Management Systems that have been selected by a panel of judges and visitors to the website. There are big plans in place for the 2010 Award that will advance the scheme to reflect Packt’s dedication to supporting, recognizing and rewarding Open Source projects.
Packt will remain dedicated to the Open Source community as a whole, and will continue to work towards the growth of Open Source.
We would be interested in receiving your thoughts or feelings on this.
This post was written by Julian Copes, Packt’s public relations executive. For more information on Julian, and all other post authors, look here.
Packt Publishing 
You must be logged in to post a comment.