SharedBook: On Demand

The Year of the Snake

Recently the TIOBE Programming Community index declared Python the programming language of 2007. The TIOBE site writes "There is no clear reason why Python made this huge jump in 2007..." Indeed at first this news looked surprising but after some thought it made sense. We in the Java community were hearing a lot about the growing popularity of dynamic programming languages. The most vocal were the Ruby-on-Rails followers that declared that Java is dead and the future is Ruby and RoR. Even Sun followed the hype and scurried to support Ruby on the Java Virtual Machine ignoring the Python implementation (i.e. Jython) which was already running for several years but stagnated until recently.

We began using Python for application development extensively about a year ago to develop cool applications such as Blog2Print that use our Open API. Dynamic programming languages are advocated as being very productive and indeed after a short while Python delivered on this promise.

Our experience showed us that unlike other dynamic languages such as Perl or Ruby, Python's clean and explicit syntax was easy to learn and even a newcomer to the language could quickly become productive. Bruce Eckel said in an interview that Python "has a very even learning curve. Maybe it's not even a curve, it's kind of a straight line." Python's ease of use doesn't come at the expense of power, as you continue to learn and use the language you discover more powerful ways and concepts that help you achieve your goals faster and in a more elegant way. Another reason to choose Python is its matureness and track record in production system. Python has been around for many years and it is used in a lot of high profile companies such as Google, YouTube and Industrial Light & Magic.

Python's popularity in the past year may have been influenced by the Ruby-on-Rails hype that caused developers to re-discover Python after finding out that Ruby and Ruby-on-Rails was not their cup of tea. Using Django gave them the flexibility they wanted (according to TIOBE Ruby's popularity went down this year).  Moreover, last year the development of the new and revolutionary Python 3000 has finally started.

So, don't wait - download Python today and enjoy being productive.

CarePages Keepsake Book

We thought Maura Welch of the The Boston Globe Business Filter might be interested in hearing about the CarePages Keepsake Book, and were thrilled that she mentioned it last week.

CarePages are free Web pages that anyone can start to communicate with family and friends when someone is hospitalized or receiving care. Their #1 member request has been the ability to capture the content contained on an individual's CarePage in a more lasting, tangible form.

Using SharedBook's Reverse Publishing Platform, CarePages.com members can now automatically flow the content contained on a patient's site -- message board comments, updates regarding care and prognosis and photographs -- into a unique, personalized CarePages Keepsake Book that can be purchased immediately, or edited further.

More information is available here.

Monetizing Content in the Web 2.0 World

Following the trends in today’s marketplace for where corporations are directing their acquisitions, leads one to conclude that there has been a gradual but steady paradigm shift towards user-generated content and social networking. Over the past few years, some major acquisitions have taken place: Google acquired YouTube and News Corp. acquired MySpace at tremendous valuations reminiscent of the late 1990s.

But the numbers don’t lie, and many social networks have built tremendous user bases with countless amounts of content such as pictures, video, blogs, etc. to share with the public. It’s debatable as to what is the best method for how content get’s consumed, should it be free based on an advertising model, or should it be charged through a subscription model. All that is highly debatable, but one thing is for sure, the user ultimately is in control.

User-generated content and social networking on the Web also have other implications; the old method of content distribution has changed forever. For example, the music industry no longer has the control it once had over artists and retail. They are scrambling how to figure out how to best sell content now that digital distribution is growing and physical distribution through retail has basically shrunk to only a few outlets. Plus, peer-to-peer file sharing is as strong as ever. Who would have thought the mighty Tower Records would close their flagship store in NYC? The fastest growing segment of the music business is the independent community. But this is only a snapshot of what is happening in other digital content marketplaces such as publishing and television.

People are clearly interested in user-generated content and old distribution models are changing fast, so how can companies that have digital content best address the online marketplace and monetize their assets?

I am admittedly biased, but perhaps it’s best to utilize a platform such as SharedBook's that enables on-demand distribution, allows the user to select the content that is important to them and provides a certain level of customization and personalization. The faster organizations address the changing content distribution marketplace and invest or partner with companies that can enable them to engage their customers, the sooner they will see returns. 

Not Even Web 1.5

Quick post today: I have been spending lots of my free time helping my husband launch a new venture – decidedly non tech in nature. I have been everything from secretary to chief marketing officer. I must say I am continually amazed by how many smart business people there are that have no clue how to really capitalize on technology. I am not even talking Web 2.0 stuff, more like Web 1.3. When small businesses and small organizations of all kinds begin to understand how technology makes business smarter, faster and more profitable... then this little Web thing is going to be big!

SharedBook CEO on ScobleShow

We participated in our first live Internet interview during last month's Web 2.0 Expo. Talk about pressure! Caroline sat down with Robert Scoble to discuss our Reverse Publishing Platform for the ScobleShow. The footage was streamed live over Ustream.tv and is now posted on PodTech.

Take a look if you're interested -- Robert asked a lot of great questions and it will give you an overview of how we work with companies like CarePages.com (testing now, launching soon), Legacy.com and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, to leverage their online assets in viral flipbook or professionally-printed book formats. We appreciate Robert's help in spreading the word, and for easing the pressure of speaking live to an unknown audience!

Talking to Ourselves

One of the real dangers in running a high tech company is making decisions and setting priorities based on our own, very warped perspective of the world. Yes, we may know about the latest and the coolest, but how many of these products ever make it to the mainstream? We can banter with all the acronyms of Web 2.0, but how many folks at the mall have ever heard of RSS?

As Anick Jesdanun reported for the Associated Press, a recent Pew study found 31 percent of Americans to be elite technology users, 20 percent moderate users and the rest to have little or no usage of the Internet or cell phones.

For those online, the Web changes the way many mundane tasks are done but it doesn’t fundamentally change basic human behavior.

While SharedBook focuses on the print medium, and believes wholeheartedly that it is here to stay, albeit in a revised, more personalized way, I am reminded of Joe Wikert’s blog comment about watching video on the computer. He wrote: “What is it about my attention span that causes it to shrink when I'm in front of a computer? I'd probably have no problem watching those same videos in their entirety on my TV, but I can't watch them all the way through on my computer.”

I agree. I can’t see commuters on the Lexington IRT subway line (4, 5, 6) reading their computers instead of a book or newspaper. Or reading my son Jack his good night story from a computer. But perhaps I’m just old-fashioned and slow to change?

SharedBook in the News

It probably comes as no surprise that we’re all fans of SharedBook here and dedicated to our mission of freeing the Web. For a change of pace, we thought it might be nice to see what some others have had to say recently.

Yesterday’s write-up on Ajaxian.com provides a great peak into some of the development behind SharedBook’s Reverse Publishing Platform. For a more general overview, you can go to NEO Binaries.com.

Additional information regarding the platform and our open API is available via Mashable.com and Programmable Web.

We appreciate everyone's help in spreading the word!

Age of Transparency

One of the few formal procedures in place for this blog is that we have a rotating schedule to ensure that at least one member of our management team posts here daily. We had a late in the day change up today, and it seems like a good opportunity to cover a timely topic. Everywhere I turn these days, it seems like there’s another mention of the importance of being open, honest and transparent when communicating with your customers. In fact, I just did a quick Google search and pulled up an article that was posted today by Matthew Creamer of Advertising Age. After reading this, I can honestly (in keeping with the theme) state that I am thrilled to be working for a young company where the greatest challenge is not in the what (thankfully, no restrictive layers of messaging) but in the how to best communicate those messages. Which is a challenge that I believe all companies face in this time of authentic communication.

Riding with the Snake and the Jazz Player

Three weeks ago we launched our Open API (in beta) and together with it two example programs, one in Java and one in Python. Here at SharedBook we have written most of our server-side code in Java. We also decided to include a Python example because of the rising popularity of dynamic languages and since we already use the Python programming language internally both for operations and some production code.

As we all know, Java is immensely successful especially in the enterprise realm. Despite that success (and maybe because of it), in the last couple of years a group of Java "gurus" started to move into using Ruby-on-Rails while scrutinizing the complexity of Java (mainly the server side programming). These "gurus" were soon followed by parts of the Java community. Sun also followed the hype and chose to hire the JRuby guys in order to further develop a version of Ruby that will run on the Java Virtual Machine.

After learning and using Python for a while I came to the conclusion that despite the fact that Python and Java are very distinct languages and environments, Python is quite in tune with the Java culture (more than Ruby for instance):

1. Readability and explicitness - both Java and Python endorse clean readable code that explicitly states what is being done. Ruby for example, reminds me of Perl - a "write only" language. A language that might be very fun to write but might be very hard to maintain.
2. Maturity - Python and Java are of almost the same age. They are mature languages that have proved themselves again and again in production systems. A key principal in the evolution of these two languages/environments is backward compatibility since so much production code is at stake.
3. Vibrant community - both platforms have a devoted community and community process.
4. Lots of good open source libraries - both platforms have a lot of libraries and frameworks available (a result of points 2 and 3).

I "fell in love" with Python.

Our Open API enabled me to experience the rapid development that many are talking about when using Python (and other dynamic languages). As a start, I have written the simple "Hello World" example program in Python. This program invokes our Open API and creates a simple "Hello World" book (in fact it does a little more: it creates a book with your choice of article and title).

Lately, I've started to create some interesting mash-ups of our API with others. For this task I am using Django. Django is the leading Python Web framework which is said to be Python's Web counterpart to Ruby-on-Rails (some say that it is even more productive).

So far, it has been a hell of a ride, and this is just the beginning...

Answering the Door

Last week, was one of those weeks we love in business development.  I was down in DC exploring a new potential application of our technology (early indicators say it looks promising by the way!).  In the interim, I did some research on my fellow exhibitors at Web 2.0 to target potential opportunities.  Neither of these activities was time spent on our core targets.  Of course, in that time, we were also trying to wrap up a few deals that fall into our key areas of focus. 

All this activity makes me analyze my time closer.   It's a constant balance between focus and opportunity. There seem to be two schools of thought about business development in a start-up world.  Opportunistic vs. Singular Focus.   My philosophy has always been that any organization, not just a start-up, needs to be able to stay nimble and outward looking to hear opportunity knocking.   

There are acquisitions, timely current events, new information gained (even people you meet on a plane, right Dave? ), which any good business should be able to act upon in real time.  I think a team should devote up to 20% of their time researching, exploring and responding to new ideas.  If the 80% left does not allow enough time to execute your core plan, then the core plan is too broad and you should narrow your focus to allow you to answer the door when opportunity knocks.