SharedBook: On Demand

SharedDoc In The News

We got a nice mention today in The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur.  If you haven't read Mike Michalowicz's blog on all things entrepreneurial, you're missing good tips, like the one we suggested on how businesses can reduce their big fat carbon footprints.  Check it out: http://tinyurl.com/2d54ss2 and you too can swap paper for online with SharedDoc.

One more thing - items like these don't magically appear, so a well deserved shout-out to Catherine and her crew at Shift Communications...

Blog2Print is having one heckuva Casting Call...

You may know of our love of mommy-bloggers.  If you don't, here's a newsflash:  we LOVE mommy-bloggers!  Many of them have found Blog2Print to be their provider of choice - we're quick, and easy, and even if we do say so ourselves, 100% reliable.

So, naturally, we love motherhood, too.  In fact, we love moms-to-be - one day, they'll be mommy-bloggers too, and we hope they'll use Blog2Print to preserve and share their journey.  So, in celebration of motherhood, and of mommy-bloggers, and in preparation for our first-ever consumer ad, we've got something very special that you just have to see...

Collaboration, SharedBook style

I'm always amazed at how words with distinct meanings can develop a host of different connotations. One of those words is collaboration.

The dictionary defines the term as working together, especially in an intellectual pursuit. But in the Internet world, the word has come to predominantly mean the sharing of documents, as in access to a repository.

At SharedBook, we'd like to return the word to its origin, especially in describing our SharedDoc product, a truly collaborative application that allows communities large and small to provide feedback on a document up to 900 pages long.

One of the valuable attributes of SharedDoc (www.shareddoc.com) is that the host maintains control of the document so the content cannot be changed. In addition, comments are added as footnotes within the document so it can be fluidly read by all.

We're spending a lot of time adding features to SharedDoc, as we believe that the distributed workforce requires new tools for working closely together; i.e. collaborating.

Check out www.SharedDoc.com and let us know what features you'd like to see us add.

Blog2Print Update - New Covers!

If you're not a Blog2Print fan on Facebook, well, why not?  You're missing out on good stuff - like your chance to vote for your favorites among our selection of new cover choices.

Our first venture into an engaging social media promotion can now be pronounced a success, as we've answered our customers' #1 request and come up with a way to get our B2P community involved too.  Check it out on Facebook.  And while you're there, scroll down, and see some of the nice things customers say about us.  We're on a roll...

More Press!

This annotation thing...seems to be getting us quite a bit of pub, as they say.   We'll take it! 

Read all about us in Business Week.  More to come, no doubt...

Transparency Update

Word is spreading quickly on Congressman Culberson's effort to generate comment on the Healthcare Bill.  After several pickups yesterday (Washington Times, The Hill) there is a comprehensive piece today at Information Week.

Making Transparency a Reality

The promise of transparency seems to be on the lips of politicians and government officials of all stripes, and with good reason – we need it in a democracy!  But while there’s little argument over the value of transparency, there is one nagging problem: How do we actually achieve it?

The profusion of websites established by city, state, and federal government agencies certainly do a wonderful job of disseminating information.  But true transparency requires more.  It requires give and take, back and forth; in short, an open discourse between and among the government and the governed.  The citizens must be able to voice opinions, concerns, and support, and be both heard and responded to.

This week SharedBook is doing its part.  Our annotation platform is being used by Representative John Culberson of Texas to allow his congressional district in Houston to review H.R 3200, also known as the Majority Healthcare Bill.  It’s the most controversial and important legislation we’ve had in years, and it can affect all of the Congressman’s constituents.  We’re delighted to have been chosen to provide the enabling technology for this important issue.  You can have a look here.

It’s great to be part of the larger effort to use the social media opportunities and the full interactive power of Web 2.0 to allow transparency to be realized.  Let’s hope this is just one small step of many towards achieving that goal.

For more information, take a look at the press release we’ve sent today.

We have lots of Fans!

We're not rivaling any of the top ten, mind you - it will take a while to catch up to President Obama, among others - but our Blog2Print Facebook page has a following now, and it's growing every day.  Take a look - and don't miss out on the special offer that awaits there.

We're on Twitter too, as you might have guessed...

And there's more social media news just around the corner, so stay tuned!

Clear Skies for Custom Publishing in Chicago

 I left the sweltering heat of an Alabama July in search of cool lake breezes in Chicago to attend the American Library Association’s annual meeting last week. What I found was bright sunshine, unseasonably warm temperatures, cabs without air conditioning (what are they thinking?), and a library community ready to brave the heat of new technology that can provide services their patrons need.

Although I’ve visited Chicago and McCormick Place often for BEA, this was my first visit to ALA, which runs from Thursday to Tuesday, incorporating recepetions, dinners, presentations, and panels, in addition to the exhibits. When not being feted at the Art Institute or one of Chicago's award-winning restaurants, librarians learned to improve their processes and discovered new products for their patrons in public, academic, and corporate settings. Although the libraries represented are quite disparate in size, resources, and audience, what was universal among librarians is their determination to harness technology and make libraries viable and integral to the modern reader. 

                                                                                                                    

In the interest of accessing and sharing information as widely as possible, librarians are at the forefront of incorporating digital distribution to the physical book world. SharedBook was at the show to talk with librarians, their vendors, and publishers about using our proprietary platform to create a technology bridge between digital repositories and the digital download or physical book. We combine the aggregation and customization tools of SharedBook with database content, allowing any editor or front-end user to pull from the millions of digitized pages in library and publisher archives, and download or print just the content that is of value.   

 

The show was particularly exciting for SharedBook. Our publisher-partner Encyclopaedia Britannica used our Smart Button™  to aggregate Chicago-related content from their extensive archive and create a guide to Chicago’s geography, history, people and politics. The entire process of selecting content to creating the print-ready file was complete in less than thirty minutes. On the show floor, the Espresso Book Machine pumped out a new 86-page, paperback book in less than three minutes, and they provided over 100 free copies to show attendees. You can see a flip book of the finished product here.

So despite lugging a trench coat all the way to Chicago that never made it out of my bag, I'd have to say the trip was a success.  The storm clouds of an economic recession may have tempered travel budgets and industry upheaval in the book world may be cause for long term concern, but after a few days with some remarkably resolute and sensibly shod librarians, things are looking brighter for SharedBook, its partners, and a library industry ready to face the challenges of its future.

Happy Birthday to...

Us!

We're Five.  And yes, we do act like it sometimes.  But forgive us for blowing our own horn when we say that, since we're up 70% over last year (in an economy where flat is the new up) we're feeling all's well.  For now.

Tomorrow is another story.

Meanwhile, to check out all the facts, and read about our new deal with Thomas Nelson, and updates to our platform, and MUCH, MUCH MORE...