Quamut Cometh

Yesterday, bookseller Barnes & Noble officially launched its new online "how-to" site called Quamut (which means, cleverly, "how to"). Basically, it's a bunch of free online guides to doing just about anything you ever wanted to learn how to do. Quamut's topics are grouped under five headings:

• House & Home
• Hobbies & Leisure
• Money & Business
• Computers & Tech
• Mind & Body

Yep, that about covers it all. In addition to the guides, you can download PDF e-books or buy laminated charts that summarize the information.

Apparently the publishing industry has known about Quamut for a while. Late last year, PublishingTrends.com mentioned it, saying that the industry isn't all that upset about it. Why not? Because the site also promotes other publishers' books alongside the info, so this will presumably boost sales on those books.

I'm taking a wait-and-see stance. They are promoting several of our titles alongside the resume how-to topic. It will be interesting to see whether it has an effect either way.