This is an experiment of sorts ... I don't think we've ever included audio or video on this blog before. Caroline recently spoke to Catherine Cioffi of CBS Newsradio 880 here in New York regarding Create-A-Cookbook from Allrecipes.com. The segment aired on Saturday. You can listen to it here:
Carolyn Jung of The Mercury News also included Create-A-Cookbook in her Holiday Gift Roundup for foodies today. You can see the column here, registration is required.
With the holiday season upon us, things have been really wild around here! We've launched a number of new on-demand book products that fall into the unique and affordable gift categories. And judging by recent activity, we're not the only ones that think so!
I give a lot of thought to why someone would want to create a book and which aspects of the process or the end product might appeal to many (it's part of my job). I usually try to keep my personal opinion to myself, but I was just thinking that it might be helpful to share some real-world examples from an individual perspective.
So... if you're reading this blog and related to me in some way, please STOP. Do not go any further. You may be at risk of ruining a memorable gift that you could receive at Christmas or in the near future!
1. Create-A-Cookbook for my sisters.
I would love to use Create-A-Cookbook to publish a collection of our mom's favorite recipes for my sisters, along with some of the memories (we always had "Arnold Palmer Chili" when we decorated our Christmas tree for example) and photographs from events that truly made the foods special.
On second thought, it might work even better to create an online cookbook making space and invite my sisters to contribute their own materials. We could then make individual books in the way we each prefer.
2. A personalized version of The Poky Little Puppy for my youngest niece.
To ensure that my youngest niece learns a valuable lesson and in the words of one of our writers, "makes it back under the fence in time for dessert," I would like to create a personalized version of The Poky Little Puppy for her. With just a few clicks, you can upload a photo, write a custom dedication and send the book into production specifically for an individual child. How cool is that?
3. A FanBook for my brother-in-law? Maybe next year!
A Kentucky FanBook would be THE PERFECT GIFT for my brother-in-law, but we're not working with them yet (rumor has it the KY sports site operates independently), and right now it doesn't look like this would be the best year to commemorate a season anyway! In the meantime, JumpTV FanBooks are available for Georgia (win or lose in the Sugar Bowl, what a fantastic season), James Madison and Penn.
And finally, I'm thinking online here and this may be a stretch, but perhaps I should start a Regent Seven Seas Cruises book and invite my fiance into the space? (hint ... hint ... )
These are just a few of the gift options we offer. If you would like to know more, please go to www.sharedbook.com.
Just in time for Thanksgiving and the holiday season, we're pleased to announce that in working with JumpTV Sports, Georgia, James Madison and Penn football fans can be the first to create personalized season record books from existing online content! Fans can now automatically flow information from their team's official site (such as player profiles, articles and professional photographs) into a structured FanBook product, and then add their own stories and photos from the season. Thank you to Kimberly Maul of The Book Standard, Dennis Bouchand of 901am and Dennis Hays of Photo News Today for helping us get the word out quickly.
Beginning today, high school sports fans in York and Adams counties in Pennsylvania can also create their own personalized PlayBooks. YAVarsity.comis a next generation high school sports Web site covering 22 schools and sporting events in the York and Adams County Interscholastic Athletic Association. Players and their fans can now easily flow the blog postings, scores and photographs that are relevant to them into a structured PlayBook product, where their own memories of the season can be added and preserved for years to come.
I should mention that SharedBook's Web-based application is fully collaborative, meaning that individuals can always invite others into their personal book making space to contribute additional information if they choose. Anyone invited into the space can also make their own book if they like.
A couple of weeks ago we introduced Create-A-Cookbook with Allrecipes.com. We owe a very belated thank you to several individuals who took a first look: Kimberly Maul of The Book Standard, Allen Stern of CenterNetworks, Ron Hogan of GalleyCat, Jim Lyons of Jim Lyons Observations, Andy Angelos of Mashable, Nancy Stohs of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Minic Rivera of 901am, Michael Cairns of PersonaNonData here and here, Dennis Hays of Photo News Today, Edmund Jenks of Symblogogy and Dory Devlin of Yahoo! Tech.
We sure have a lot to be thankful for ... Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
