It was inescapable. This was the week that Google+ took off on its way to becoming the planet’s fastest growing social network. It’s worth taking note then of 5 Things Small Businesses Must Know About it, even if you’re still asking yourself, Should publishers care about social media?

It looks like they care about it down at The Strand, as Penguin Waddles Into a Social Media Experiment With Peer Index, and over at Publishing Talk you can even find out How to Use Twitter to Find a Publishing Job. Still dubious about the value of social media? This Children’s Book Uses iPad Interactivity to Teach Open Mindedness.

Open minded or not, Jane Austen’s $1.6-million manuscript is baffling.

Less surprising  is the launch of The first Google eBooks-integrated e-reader.

BookWrap will leave you this fine Friday with A Novel Approach to Supporting an Indie bookstore. Great stuff.