SharedBook: On Demand

Building Something that Matters

A few days ago Ann drew my attention to a great column: Software by Rob, The Human Side of Software Development, written by Rob Walling.

One of the most popular articles there is Nine Things Developers Want More Than Money, and I enjoyed reading it very much. Basically this article tries to answer the following, “... assuming comparable pay, what is it that makes some companies attract and retain developers while others churn through them like toilet paper?”

I have mentioned the low turnover we have here in R&D before, and reading through this article helped me to better realize our core values, and some of the factors contributing to the low rate.

One of the most prominent factors is building something that matters. Specifically Rob says, “Even though we're not medics in Bosnia or food carriers in Sudan, most people want to feel like we're somehow doing our part to make the world a better place, both technologically and socially.”

This is one sentence that you get to hear from our software developers again and again, “We are doing something meaningful, making the world a better place in some way.” Whether it is helping people cope with the loss of their loved ones, or commemorating their triumph over illness, it matters. Enabling the Commemorative Guest Book for Legacy.com and the CarePages Keepsake Book are two examples.

And at the end of the day, it makes a difference for us!

Lessons from OpenOffice.org Conference 2007

Startups today are leveraging open source software to reduce their operating costs and provide more efficient workflows for their employees. No Web company would consider building their flagship application on a server other than Apache, or a platform other than Linux and probably the entire LAMP stack.

But that's not news! Cutting edge users today are implementing FOSS on the desktop and replacing discreet document workflows with wikis and open source enterprise CMS tools like Alfresco.

Last week, I was in Barcelona, Spain, at the annual OpenOffice.org Conference, learning how OOo can be the bridge between document-centric workflows and page-centric, online workflows. In fact, one developer has built an OpenOffice.org Extension tying it to Alfresco with this precise purpose in mind.

Internet-based products are a new paradigm, requiring customers to shift the way they think about interacting with media, purchasing products, and communicating with friends and family. In the same way, the producers of these new products create them in different ways -- less tangible but faster and more flexible -- than those that have been used before.

SharedBook's internal work processes move ever closer to this online ideal. We use TWiki as our intranet collaboration tool to manage internal communications, software specifications, and business processes. We have numerous Mac and desktop Linux users among our design and tech people, and we are heavily  dependent on open source desktop applications including Firefox, Thunderbird, OpenOffice.org, Aptana, GIMP, Pidgin and many others. In short, SharedBook relies on open source software to operate. Without the innovative new workflow opportunities FOSS has given us, we couldn't operate as quickly or as nimbly in the highly competitive marketplace in which we compete. It's a fact of life that, in the tech world, you need to leverage open source to keep up with your competitors that already do.

Notes from Abroad

I spent this past week visiting our R&D department in Herzlia, Israel. This represented several firsts for me both personal (first time in the Middle East) and professional (meeting the other half of our small company).

I can report back one of the most positive experiences one could hope for. The hospitality was first rate. Everyone spent considerable effort seeing to it that I was made to feel at home.  I was well fed (perhaps too well) and delivered back to my hotel each night.

But of course, the purpose of the trip was to discuss our Product Development. And discuss we did - from the moment we arrived in the morning to around 8:00 each night.

What struck me was the enormous enthusiasm. Not only did everyone participate in lively discussions on all of the scheduled topics, but everyone wanted more. Several times each day there was a request that I stop by this person's desk or meet that person at the coffee machine to discuss a new idea or view a working prototype proof-of-concept. This, for a Product Manager, is the equivalent of a trip to Willy Wonka's factory!

I can tell you that the R&D department of SharedBook has been very busy working on some exciting new features.  And by year-end many will be available to our ever expanding client list.

How to Create a Market 101

The take up on Google’s non-Internet advertising efforts has been a slow go at best. Their strategy as a whole (from a Google or Google shareholder perspective) makes complete sense. However, the traditional media outlets and agencies are not quite ready to embrace it yet. Media companies want the revenue but don’t want another middleman between them and their advertisers.

What’s a company to do …? If you’re Google, I guess you go out and buy a media outlet! Rumor has it that Google is eyeing Sirius Satellite Radio! Dave Utter on WebProNews has some coverage which apparently originated on ClickZ.com.

If this deal does come to fruition it just goes to show that if a willing market doesn’t yet exist, your own money can create one.

Blog2Print in Blogger & Podcaster Magazine

If you haven't seen the latest edition of Blogger & Podcaster magazine, check it out. We were excited to see that Blog2Print was included on page 11.

Forward Thinking Content Rich Web Sites Will Pay Off in the Long Run

One of the factors that consumer-facing Web sites should be considering is whether or not they think their content has value other than just being an assortment of static pages to be viewed or consumed online. They should also be open to trying to drive revenue through a variety of ways.

Clearly there are Web sites and online properties that provide compelling information or entertainment and charge a monthly or annual fee. But what if you have a Web site such as a sports or travel-oriented site that starts to get a tremendous amount of traffic? If your Web site’s business model is based only on advertising, you can slowly ramp-up your rate card as viewership increases. However, at some point you will reach a saturation point and revenue will start to flatten out.  Then what? You can install a shopping cart to sell items of interest or look to SEO companies to increase viewership and hits, but what about the content itself? Perhaps there is gold in the content you already have.

What I am driving at here, is that assuming the content has value, it should be thought of as an asset. With that in mind, Web sites that have images, articles or third party content should license the materials for multiple uses. For example, let’s say you run a soccer Web site. It started out as a hobby and has grown in size and viewership and you are now aggregating content from multiple sources. Perhaps it’s time to start licensing those images and articles of David Beckham or Mia Hamm for resale to your viewer base.  Not only will you start to develop multiple sources of revenue, but you will also monetize your existing online content.

SXSW Panel Picker Closes Tomorrow

We received a reminder early this morning that voting for the SXSW Panel Picker will close tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 21 at 11:59 p.m. CST). So this is our last chance to drum up support for the panel we submitted: Make More Money: Set Your Content Free.

Here's the description: If you're interested in new ways to monetize Web content, this is for you. Perhaps you have archived materials, database content, or user-generated content. How can you leverage these assets to generate new revenue streams? What technologies can extend your reach into the offline world? How can personally-relevant content become a branding tool for your site?

More specifically, we would like to explore several ways that you can monetize Web content by automatically flowing relevant information into a structured book product that can be purchased and personalized by the end user. We call it reverse publishing -- Web to print. If selected to present, we plan to discuss how several companies are already benefiting from the technology.

If the topic sounds interesting, please let the SXSW organizers know -- you can access our proposal here.

New On-demand Memory Book Products Available from Exposures

As Rick mentioned on Friday, we are in the process of launching a custom line of on-demand memory book products with Exposures, a division of Miles Kimball Company. Three themes are currently available on exposuresonline.com -- Baby, Celebration and Travel.

This is what is unique about these products. Unlike a traditional album that arrives with blank pages and space to insert photographs, the memory books can be personalized online before they are printed. After purchasing the theme of their choice, consumers will be directed to an online book making space where they can add the stories and photographs they would like to include. As with all of SharedBook's products, individuals can also invite family and friends to contribute additional information if they choose. The result is a one-of-a-kind, personalized keepsake that can be shared with family and friends for years to come.

The press release went out this morning. Thank you to Dennis Hayes of Photo News Today for being one of the first to pick it up.

Upcoming Events

We are in the process of putting together our travel schedules for the rest of the year and I just want to pass some information along in case anyone is interested in meeting in person.

Caroline has been invited to attend the Web 2.0 Summit (10/17 - 10/19, San Francisco) and Shouvik is planning to go to EyeforTravel's Travel Distribution Summit (10/9-10/10, Las Vegas) and PhoCusWright (11/12 - 11/15, Orlando). We'll also be exhibiting at BlogWorld & New Media Expo (11/8-11/9, Las Vegas). 

User Experience Matters

A couple of months ago I received a Nintento Wii as a birthday present. I'm not a gamer, but I have had my share of computer and console game playing from the early days of the first Atari up until recent computer games and consoles such as the PlayStation.

Playing console games today can be very complicated since you have to translate the movement or actions you want to perform into a sometimes complex combination of button pushing and joystick movements. This kind of control causes a slow learning curve and will lose the casual player that wants to rest a bit at the end of the day. The Wii experience is totally different, you move the motion sensitive control and it just happens. For example, playing tennis you actually do the forehand and backhand movements and your player reacts accordingly. The controller is sensitive to acceleration on all three axises, therefore it reacts according to the speed and direction that you move the controller. This results in a much more immersive experience then a "regular" console game such as the PlayStation or Xbox.

After experiencing the Wii, it comes as no surprise that it out sells the two big players - Sony and Microsoft, because by truly innovating in user experience it creates an exciting gaming experience which also enables a much broader audience to enjoy console games.