He went on to explain that passion blogging was dying to short “content thin” marketing messages on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.

“I’m not real pleased with that development because I feel like there’s a lack of depth in a lot of areas that still need critical examination,” he said.

According to Pearson, this trend is happening since so many decisions are based on money. Going forward, he believes that marketers need to worry about what people want to read instead of money and produce quality content as a result.

Do you agree with Pearson that the publishing industry is suffering from a case of too much marketing? Let us know.

After experiencing this personally with his book Attention! This Book Will Make You Money, Jim Kukral realized that he could do it just as easily himself. He even came up with an idea that uses crowdsourcing to pre-fund a series of books, which has raised over $20,000 up to this point.

Kukral told us that, while books and newspapers would always exist, self-publishing created opportunities for more people to get published.

How do you see self-publishing methods impacting the overall publishing industry?

WebProNews is partnering with BlogWorld and New Media Expo, the world’s first and largest new media conference, in an effort to broadcast how new media can grow your business, brand, and audience. BlogWorld takes place November 3-5 in Los Angeles and includes speakers such as Jim Kukral. Stay tuned to WebProNews for much more exclusive coverage.

The company has provided analytics and audience tools for publishers since 2006, but this year, launched a component that allows users to monetize their site. Because transactions on this advertising platform have grown more than 70 percent since Q4 2010, Lijit believes its service is a valid alternative to Google’s AdSense.

It plans on using this recent round of funding to not only meet publisher needs, but to also better contend against Google.

In spite of these issues, the fact is that publishing is evolving and publishers need to know how to approach the changes. For these reasons, respected novelist and publishing executive Jeff Rivera and several others saw the importance of creating a new social community geared toward this very topic.

The Gatekeepers Post consists of a group book publishing leaders which includes agents, editors, new media influencers, authors, and more that blog about what is happening in the publishing industry. It is said to be a cross between The Huffington Post and Publisher’s Weekly but will bring current competitors together under one roof to exchange ideas.

“It’s going to certainly change everything in terms of being able to really create a conversation that will really bring ideas that work,” said Rivera.

With the continuing changes in the publishing industry, he went on to say that publishers have to redefine who they are and establish a brand for themselves. However, this means that the “little guys” can compete with the “big guys.”

The Gatekeepers Post plans to address both of these areas of publishing in order to help everyone succeed. In addition, Rivera pointed out that it hopes to redefine what a gatekeeper actually is.

The site will officially launch tonight, February 1, at midnight.

Blurb is among this breed of new publisher. Yet, unlike tradional publishers, Blurb doesn’t sign contracts with authors or otherwise chase talent… they open their doors to everyone. By simply downloading a desktop application (for Windows or Mac), prospective authors and artists can follow simple templates and publish a real book, dust jacket and all.

CEO and founder, Eileen Gittins implies that technology is ripe for such advancements. “If I were starting this business five years ago, it would have been daunting… starting this business now, in 2006… we’re able to leverage a lot of technologies that have come before. We’re like the grandchild of desktop publishing.”