Book spammer or pioneering educator?
December 26th 2008 11:24
Philip Parker has more than 100,000 books listed under his name on amazon.com, and claims to have published more than 200,000 in total.
Parker is a marketing professor at the INSEAD business school in France. He uses patented computer algorithms to copy information online and compile it into "studies" on niche subjects.
Subjects of his books have included the econometric outlook for bath mats in India and thesauruses for eight indigenous Australian languages.
Professor Parker, who has undergraduate degrees in mathematics, biology and economics and a PhD in business economics, and who is dyslexic, is both admired and criticised for his publishing feats. He has been labelled a book spammer and a pioneering educator.
All I want to know is, can I use his method to get my novel finished?
Parker is a marketing professor at the INSEAD business school in France. He uses patented computer algorithms to copy information online and compile it into "studies" on niche subjects.
Subjects of his books have included the econometric outlook for bath mats in India and thesauruses for eight indigenous Australian languages.
Professor Parker, who has undergraduate degrees in mathematics, biology and economics and a PhD in business economics, and who is dyslexic, is both admired and criticised for his publishing feats. He has been labelled a book spammer and a pioneering educator.
All I want to know is, can I use his method to get my novel finished?
www.theage.com.au, en.wikipedia.org
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Comment by Janet Collins
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By the way, what is your novel, Chris?
Comment by Chris Champion
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I gather he writes them non-stop with a fancy computer program which crawls around the web, gathers information, collates it and publishes it. Whether it's revolution, evolution or high-tech plagiarism is not clear.
My novel is an idea which has been bouncing around in my head for 10 years or so. I've written a beginning and an end, so as soon as I fill in the 95% in between I'll be done!
Comment by Paul
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Comment by Chris Champion
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He apparently published a series of translation dictionaries, English to indigenous Australian languages, and was then accused of both plagiarism and insensitivity (I've forgotten the reason for the latter). As you say, he reacted quickly and ethically, withdrawing the books and saying something like he was "mortified to think I offended anyone".
The man is principally an academic with mathematical training who happens as a sideline to have developed a way of researching and publishing books pretty much remotely. He probably publishes half a dozen books each night while he's asleep.
Thanks for your excellent comment.
Chris