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Adam Blades, a Publishing Media student at Oxford Brookes writes about his experience running a series of digital publishing masterclasses for his fellow undergraduates.

This winter I was confronted with the challenge of occupying a class of Publishing Media undergraduates at Oxford Brookes University for 4 hours on the topic of digital publishing.

It may be cold outside, but things are really hotting up in the world of Digital Publishing. We've handpicked a selection of conferences, masterclasses and summits that cover everything from mobile advertising to consumer engagement, and a lot more in between.

Ad blocking has been a hot topic in the publishing industry following the launch of some popular online blocking tools on mobiles, and Apple's decision to allow blockers on Safari.

A recent study by Reuters has found that 2 in 5 people currently use ad-blocking tools, and this is set to rise as more people become wise to the personal benefits.

Chrome will include ad blocking by default, platforms will overtake publisher’s websites for reaching audiences and print will only exist as a luxury item, were some of the predictions delivered to 70 publishers and editors by Drum MD Diane Young and Dennis CTO Paul Lomax last week.

Young started the debate, “2025 Visions for the Future of Publishing”, which included a panel of ‘Millennials’ to test ‘old publishing’ thinking, by warning publishers about the dangers of trying to maintain the status quo.

What is the future for publishers when social media platforms deliver your content and Facebook knows your audience better than you? 

More than 70 publishers and editors joined Page Lizard's 2025: Visions for the Future of Publishing event last night to face some of the challenges the next ten years brings. The threats identified ranged from the accelerating speed of change, to ad blockers, the rise of Facebook as a publisher and the challenge of converting the millennial generation to be paying consumers.