Everyone knows Encyclopaedia Britannica, that endless shelf of volumes crammed with the sum of human knowledge. But did you know that it’s a sister brand to the great American dictionary, Merriam-Webster, both under the ownership of the Britannica Group? And did you know the tradition of the printed edition, which began in 1868, came to a close in 2012. Britannica now reaches a worldwide audience through digital channels.
Global CEO Karthik Krishnan keeps a facsimile of the original 1868 Britannica (three volumes only) on his desk. When Kim Davis sat down to record this podcast, Krishnan explained that the first sentence of the preface guides Britannica’s mission today: “Utility ought to be the principal intention of every publication.” One of the absolute pioneers of digital transformation, beginning in the 1980s, Britannica now offers knowledge as a utility on a stunning range of platforms and channels. Listen and learn.
