What will the next chapter of publishing look like?

The future of publishing is about to explode. We've seen blogs take off and take a huge piece of the traditionally newspaper and magazine readership. We've seen ebooks offer a very competitive alternative to print books. But the future of publishing is way beyond just presenting writing in digital form instead of print. This week I'm looking at five places I think publishing will grow.

1. Google Glasses: You've heard of them, and maybe you've even seen the parody videos. But have you thought about how wearing a computer on your face will change the way you read? I'll look at a few of the near-future options that sound a little far-fetched but could actually be on the very next page.

2. Square: This hardware & software combo allows anyone to sell anything using their iPhone or iPad as a cash register. This opens a crazy amount of opportunities for selling books, or any other printed material. I'll look at how this could revolutionize author book sales and even bring back the book tour.

3. Online Education: A lot of authors are teachers as well, and because so much education is moving online or local and outside of traditional schools, people like authors who are good at presenting information have a lot of new opportunities, and the schedule to make it work. I'll look at how new services like Skillshare, Coursera, and online University classes are ideal for the kind of agile publishing that is growing in frequency.

4. Enhanced Ebooks:  Are they a fad or are they the new wave? I'll dig into what enhanced ebooks could mean for some of the biggest selling ebook genres like Sci-Fi, Romance, and Self-Help books.

5. Baby Boomers Retire: There are millions of people who came of age in the sixties who are starting to retire. These folks have put in decades of hard work and are ready for a break. They grew up with print books but have embraced ebooks. What do they want to read and how do they want to read it?

Image source: Eva Rinaldi via flickr