It looks as though one of the main, if not THE main function of Bookish will be a recommendation platform. The site is said to be “designed to answer the question ‘what should I read next.’” The site will be editorially independent and will provide unique content specialized for readers of all different types of genres.

This quote from Bookish’s CEO Paulo Lemgruber sure makes it sound like it’s possible that an entire social network devoted to books could spring out of the fairly modest “recommendation engine” an content distribution concept that it currently advertises:

Bookish enjoys the support of significant, established players in the publishing and online space. Nobody is more intimately familiar with the multitude of elements that make a book appealing than its publisher. In addition to working with Hachette Book Group, Penguin Group (USA) and Simon & Schuster, we look forward to working with the entire publishing and book-selling community to make Bookish an exciting destination that will delight readers. We are also thrilled to work closely with AOL Huffington Post Media Group to tap into its groundbreaking ability to start real-time conversations around content and partnering with AOL on our advertising sales effort.

“Real time conversations around content,” huh? Book nerds rejoice! The release makes sure to mention how authors could play into the mix as well, making me think that the site may have some sort of author-contacting-direct-fan-page type deal built in. It may not exactly turn into a Facebook for authors and book nerds, but who knows? I’m just spitballing here.

Then again, there’s this:

Bookish will feature exclusive content covering a wide selection of titles and formats.  It will also offer readers the convenience of purchasing print and digital books directly or through other retailers.  Bookish is dedicated to working closely with book retailers, and in the coming weeks will reach out to explore ways to complement the retailers’ efforts and enhance all reader experiences.

So will it look more like an Amazon competitor? It would surely be tough to compete in that realm.

Or as paidcontent points out, it might take the shape of a hulu for books with industry competitors teaming up in a money-making venture.

Or all of the above. The only thing we know is that Bookish will arrive this summer. All that’s on the site right now is a sign up for email notifications of the launch and a prompt. It asks what book I remember most from my childhood. The answer would be The Phantom Tollbooth, thank you very much.

Among consumers surveyed, 90 percent use search engines, 48 percent use Internet Yellow Pages, 24 percent use vertical sites, and 42 percent use comparison shopping sites.

"The Internet has indeed become an integral part of consumers’ local commercial activity," said Steve Marshall, director of research, BIA/Kelsey.

"The data suggest we’re at an inflection point where the balance of power in local shopping is shifting to online."

The study found on average, consumers are using 7.9 different media sources when shopping for products or services locally, up from 6.5 sources in 2009 and 5.8 in 2008, indicating an increase in audience fragmentation.

Additional finding include:

   * 58 percent of respondents report using an online coupon when shopping for products or services in their local area in the past year.
   

 * 19 percent of respondents made an appointment online in the past six months for a service besides a restaurant reservation (e.g., business appointment, health-care appointment, auto service or personal service).

"The increase in audience fragmentation presents challenges for advertisers looking to connect with local consumers," said Peter Krasilovsky, vice president and program director, Marketplaces, BIA/Kelsey.

"These challenges may be outweighed by the targeting opportunities available with tools like coupon promotions and appointment scheduling, the latter being among the best lead sources possible, since you know where people are actually going."

Before getting to that point, Robin Goad did have some other things to say.  He wrote, "UK Internet traffic to Twitter, the ‘micro-blogging’ service and social network, has increased 22-fold over the last 12 months."  And what’s more, "The noticeable thing about Twitter’s growth is that the vast majority of it – 93% in fact – has occurred during 2009."

A breakdown of where Twitter visitors went after swinging by the site returns us to the stuff that business owners will find less encouraging, though.  Apparently, 55.9 percent of the visitors head off to things like social networks, blogs, and news and entertainment sites.  Just 9.5 percent of them go to sites where it’s possible to spend money.

Photo Credit: Hitwise

Google UK, Facebook, and Hotmail are all more helpful in that respect.  So while Twitter may benefit blog owners and other content creators, it isn’t likely to figure directly into many revenue streams.

Unless the site grows another 2,200 percent in the next year, anyway, in which case all bets are probably off.

The second sentence of an official press release, for example, states, “Terms were not disclosed and the transaction will not have a material financial effect on Meredith.”

(Meredith, by the way, reaches “more than 75 million American women on a monthly basis through our publishing, broadcasting and online media brands and services,” which include “American Baby” and “Ladies’ Home Journal.”  We’re talkin’ deep pockets and/or purses, here.)

Want to know something else that’s going to stay the same?  The very last sentence of the press release discloses that Healia “will remain in the Seattle area.”  Um . . . right.

To be fair, however, some changes are in store, and the acquisition is a piece of a pattern on Meredith’s part.  AdvertisingAge’s Nat Ives reports, “The buy follows the purchase of three online agencies since last year – Genex, New Media Strategies and O’Grady Meyers – part of Meredith’s bid to extend its custom publishing, direct mail and ad sales further into the digital realm.”

Sounds like this powerful girls’ club is growing even more influential.  It’ll be interesting to see if Healia grows more female-centric in the coming months – that may have been what the “no big changes” fuss was all about.  Yet Meredith is, according to its own home page, “the leading media and marketing company focused on women,” so don’t be too surprised if Healia throws a spotlight on women’s health.