We have been disappointed in the usage of our new discussion forums at our Firebrandz community site, although many users in the community have been asking for this tool. Not too surprising really - discussion forums are chicken and egg equations. You need activity to generate more activity, and we simply haven't accelerated yet. We have been building the community nicely though - with 140 vetted, qualified members, but that hasn't translated into discussion forum activity yet. We have had a very good response for our webinars and have seven new webinars scheduled as listed at Firebrand Events.
To boost activity on the forums, we just added an RSS feed, so that members can subscribe and see new posts. This can be found at http://www.firebrandz.com/phpBB3/rss.php. We have also added a new email that we will promote as one-stop shopping for all of our users - AskBurnie@FirebrandTech.com. Burnie will be happy to answer any questions, and relevant topics will be posted on the Discussion Forums.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Opposite Ends of the Country (and beyond)
It has been a busy September at Firebrand. After a surprisingly busy two weeks in August performing demos and talking with potential customers, followed by a couple of weeks off with my family, September hit with several new additions to the Firebrand Community. Literally from opposite ends of the country and beyond.
Hailing from Oahu, we welcome Kamehameha Publishing, who has adopted our full Title Management software and Eloquence Metadata Solutions for Onix XML. Kamehameha Publishing is part of Kamehameha Schools, one of the largest private schools in the country - with thousands of students from Preschool to 12th grade. Publishing books on Hawaiian history and culture, Kamehameha sees opportunities to build their publishing program and broaden their reach. Title Management and Eloquence will become the foundation for this initiative. And do you think there was a bit of a struggle as to who would manage this project?
From the opposite end of the country, a bit closer to home hailing from Cape Cod, we welcome Paraclete Press to our Firebrand Community. Paraclete is an established publisher of Catholic books and has joined onto the ECPA Title Management Web program, to take advantage of Firebrand's Eloquence service. Paraclete was setup and trained rapidly on Eloquence - within a couple of days - and is now prepping their Spring 2009 list to be sent via Onix.
Finally, we are pleased to welcome the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, who has joined on for our Eloquence services. Based in the center of Athens(Greece, not Athens, NY or Athens, VT), the school will be sending Eloquence title information for their published works.
Welcome Firebrandz!
Hailing from Oahu, we welcome Kamehameha Publishing, who has adopted our full Title Management software and Eloquence Metadata Solutions for Onix XML. Kamehameha Publishing is part of Kamehameha Schools, one of the largest private schools in the country - with thousands of students from Preschool to 12th grade. Publishing books on Hawaiian history and culture, Kamehameha sees opportunities to build their publishing program and broaden their reach. Title Management and Eloquence will become the foundation for this initiative. And do you think there was a bit of a struggle as to who would manage this project?
From the opposite end of the country, a bit closer to home hailing from Cape Cod, we welcome Paraclete Press to our Firebrand Community. Paraclete is an established publisher of Catholic books and has joined onto the ECPA Title Management Web program, to take advantage of Firebrand's Eloquence service. Paraclete was setup and trained rapidly on Eloquence - within a couple of days - and is now prepping their Spring 2009 list to be sent via Onix.
Finally, we are pleased to welcome the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, who has joined on for our Eloquence services. Based in the center of Athens(Greece, not Athens, NY or Athens, VT), the school will be sending Eloquence title information for their published works.
Welcome Firebrandz!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Almost There! Title Management Version 7
Our major new Title Management Release 7 is just about ready..after months and months (and months) of work. In August, several of us on the Firebrand team met offsite to frame out the next several releases of the software, beyond 7.0. Due to the breadth of our functionality, migrating functions to the .Net browser based application is a huge task, and this version represents a major effort in that direction. Clients coming on board will be using the version 7 web applications almost exclusively - including the all new Production Scheduling with alerts, combined schedules across projects and titles and all the other stuff we have been demonstrating. Versions 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 then map out the migration of other key functions such as catalogs, publicity and more.
It is no easy feat performing a major architecture upgrade on so much software, while supporting backwards compatibility with existing clients. We are so committed to staying current on technology, that we are absorbing the pain (and excitement) of this migration. The last thing we want to be is a company with software on an 'old' platform.
Interestingly, this spirit is exactly what led me to leave a new career at Andersen Consulting to join Firebrand in December 1990. Fran, Susan and team at the time were developing Windows based business applications against relational SQL databases (Gupta SQLBase back then).
That was early...The now famous story is told over and over - while training new users at Simon & Schuster on our applications we first needed to teach users how to use a mouse - 'Please slide it on the desk, don't wave it in the air'.
It is no easy feat performing a major architecture upgrade on so much software, while supporting backwards compatibility with existing clients. We are so committed to staying current on technology, that we are absorbing the pain (and excitement) of this migration. The last thing we want to be is a company with software on an 'old' platform.
Interestingly, this spirit is exactly what led me to leave a new career at Andersen Consulting to join Firebrand in December 1990. Fran, Susan and team at the time were developing Windows based business applications against relational SQL databases (Gupta SQLBase back then).
That was early...The now famous story is told over and over - while training new users at Simon & Schuster on our applications we first needed to teach users how to use a mouse - 'Please slide it on the desk, don't wave it in the air'.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Building the Firebrandz Community
We certainly did make a few promises when we re-launched Quality Solutions as Firebrand Technologies in April at the Firebrand Community Conference. Building the Firebrandz Community website was one of the promises that we have been working on throughout the summer. As our company has evolved to include more and more publishers, our lack of available community based support became painfully evident. The old days of exclusively providing custom training documents and on-site support are gone. During a Community design session at the conference, overwhelmingly, our community members requested a robust Discussion Forum. So that was the first tool we have built. We now have well over 100 Community members at Firebrandz.com, but the activity in the forums is very light. It is clear that we need to continually seed the forums with new posts to build participation.
We have had a much higher level of participation with our new Webinar series, however, with dozens of users joining in each session. We recorded these videos for later viewing by Community members, although we had a couple of mis-steps on delivery of these.
We are also on our third pass at dialing in the sign-on and activation of new users on the site, and the latest round promises to provide a nicely integrated, single sign-on for all of the community tools - Discussion Forums, Wiki for training resources, Videos and the rest.
The first couple of months of the summer were quite hectic, with brisk activity in sales - talking with lots of publishers and demonstrating Title Management, working on the webinars, working with clients and going to conferences. I never quite attacked those summer projects which I was holding on for the 'quiet' time. But this week, I am getting that sense of aloneness - when you shout 'Hello??' into an empty building and the only response you get is an echo. So now I have been working on a few of those tasks which simply must be done - like better documentation of key functions, working on Flash objects for the community and so on.
Of course, this is just in time for my own vacation. If you shout 'Hello??' into my Loft next week, the only sound you will get back is that lonely echo.
We have had a much higher level of participation with our new Webinar series, however, with dozens of users joining in each session. We recorded these videos for later viewing by Community members, although we had a couple of mis-steps on delivery of these.
We are also on our third pass at dialing in the sign-on and activation of new users on the site, and the latest round promises to provide a nicely integrated, single sign-on for all of the community tools - Discussion Forums, Wiki for training resources, Videos and the rest.
The first couple of months of the summer were quite hectic, with brisk activity in sales - talking with lots of publishers and demonstrating Title Management, working on the webinars, working with clients and going to conferences. I never quite attacked those summer projects which I was holding on for the 'quiet' time. But this week, I am getting that sense of aloneness - when you shout 'Hello??' into an empty building and the only response you get is an echo. So now I have been working on a few of those tasks which simply must be done - like better documentation of key functions, working on Flash objects for the community and so on.
Of course, this is just in time for my own vacation. If you shout 'Hello??' into my Loft next week, the only sound you will get back is that lonely echo.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Creativity in book retail
I have come across two different, creative ways that companies have been invented to get books into the hands of readers.
I discovered the first while picking up a book at the Paradies Shops in my local airport Islip, Long Island. They have a Read and Return policy where you can buy the book, read it and return to any of their locations for a 50% refund (not store credit- I checked). They have about 60 locations in airports across the country. Since there is one conveniently located in my local airport, I may actually take advantage of this regularly. Of course, I have a tendency to hang on to books I like, but I am out of shelf space. Since I paid full retail, the 50% return refund would bring the book to me at a cost much lower than Amazon or B&N. The book in question, by the way, was Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell, the only survivor from a Navy Seal team on a mission gone wrong in Afghanistan. Excellent book, written in an authentic voice.
Lone Survivor
The second unique approach is BookSwim. This is a netflix-like approach to 'renting' books based on a monthly subscription, with the US Postal service as their delivery mechanism. They must face some unique challenges to bring this business model into equilibrium, such asthe cost of shipping a larger book compared to a dvd, the cost of producing a printed book compared to mass-copying a dvd, and the time it takes to read a book (many hours)compared to watching a DVD (2 hours) and therefore the number of times you could take advantage of the service in a month. This is a really interesting model that I am interested in learning more about in the coming months. Now, if you connect this service with an Ebook rental, for DVD rental prices (i.e. a few bucks), it could really make some tracks. Fascinating. By the way, I would come up with a different model than Itunes Video or on demand movie rentals where you only have 24 hours to watch the thing once you have started the movie - that really annoys me. I simply do not need added pressure. I have started and not finished several movies due to this restriction - seriously from the digital dark ages. (Rant is now complete)
Most importantly about these options is the unique approach they represent to compete with other media and ultimately vie for the dwindling consumer disposable time. It will be interesting to follow these programs to see how they evolve. Anyone out there see other interesting approaches to getting books into the hands of readers?
I discovered the first while picking up a book at the Paradies Shops in my local airport Islip, Long Island. They have a Read and Return policy where you can buy the book, read it and return to any of their locations for a 50% refund (not store credit- I checked). They have about 60 locations in airports across the country. Since there is one conveniently located in my local airport, I may actually take advantage of this regularly. Of course, I have a tendency to hang on to books I like, but I am out of shelf space. Since I paid full retail, the 50% return refund would bring the book to me at a cost much lower than Amazon or B&N. The book in question, by the way, was Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell, the only survivor from a Navy Seal team on a mission gone wrong in Afghanistan. Excellent book, written in an authentic voice.
Lone Survivor
The second unique approach is BookSwim. This is a netflix-like approach to 'renting' books based on a monthly subscription, with the US Postal service as their delivery mechanism. They must face some unique challenges to bring this business model into equilibrium, such asthe cost of shipping a larger book compared to a dvd, the cost of producing a printed book compared to mass-copying a dvd, and the time it takes to read a book (many hours)compared to watching a DVD (2 hours) and therefore the number of times you could take advantage of the service in a month. This is a really interesting model that I am interested in learning more about in the coming months. Now, if you connect this service with an Ebook rental, for DVD rental prices (i.e. a few bucks), it could really make some tracks. Fascinating. By the way, I would come up with a different model than Itunes Video or on demand movie rentals where you only have 24 hours to watch the thing once you have started the movie - that really annoys me. I simply do not need added pressure. I have started and not finished several movies due to this restriction - seriously from the digital dark ages. (Rant is now complete)
Most importantly about these options is the unique approach they represent to compete with other media and ultimately vie for the dwindling consumer disposable time. It will be interesting to follow these programs to see how they evolve. Anyone out there see other interesting approaches to getting books into the hands of readers?
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
ECPA Executive Summit
Well, I was away for the last two weeks in April having fun with my family, so I am behind on everything, including blogging. I am at the ECPA Executive Summit in Dallas and as always trying to absorb new knowledge from people smarter than me. I was fortunate to give a brief presentation about the ECPA Title Management Web program and best practices in Title Management from Acquision through launch, but unquestionably I have gained more than I have given.
There is one prevailing theme that keeps coming back at this conference, as well as at the Firebrand conference in April. Publishing, as both defense and offense against distraction,clutter and irrelevance in the consumer marketplace, should be about COLLABORATION, not strictly COMPETITION, amongst publishers. It takes enough critical mass in the marketplace, and resources to bring new delivery mechanisms online for published content.
Man, does this go against the grain of our American culture - we live to compete. But look at Safari Online, which is an online marketplace for technical books in digital format and is based on collaboration between several key competitors in that space, delivering content in the way that many consumers interested in that genre want it.
The Christian market is another area where collaboration is highly possible, and in fact is taking place through great organizations like the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.
We are honored to be working with this association and delivering a collaborative program into this community.
There is one prevailing theme that keeps coming back at this conference, as well as at the Firebrand conference in April. Publishing, as both defense and offense against distraction,clutter and irrelevance in the consumer marketplace, should be about COLLABORATION, not strictly COMPETITION, amongst publishers. It takes enough critical mass in the marketplace, and resources to bring new delivery mechanisms online for published content.
Man, does this go against the grain of our American culture - we live to compete. But look at Safari Online, which is an online marketplace for technical books in digital format and is based on collaboration between several key competitors in that space, delivering content in the way that many consumers interested in that genre want it.
The Christian market is another area where collaboration is highly possible, and in fact is taking place through great organizations like the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.
We are honored to be working with this association and delivering a collaborative program into this community.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Firebrand Technologies is Launched
At the Quality Solutions User Conference, our commander in chief Fran Toolan announced that the company was being re-launched as Firebrand Technologies.
We have been working on this since December, and it is a relief to have the announcement behind us - it was top secret, hush hush. Trust me, this is not a name change for the sake of changing the name. It is way too many late nights just for that. This is about changing attitudes and changing the publishing industry. It's about bringing together the various constituents of the Firebrand Community - 56 clients, 110 trading partners, great organizations like the ECPA and BISG, and well respected friends in the industry - plus the exponential number of community members that they serve. It's about taking convention and turning it on its head. It's about relevance for a company and an industry in a fractured society.
Fran had great fun knighting the 125 folks in the audience as Firebrands - in the best sense of the word.
There is plenty to talk about to convey the excitement we all shared at the newly dubbed 2008 Firebrand Community Conference. We have video, photos, presentations and lots of follow up - in fact, I should be getting the conference feedback survey out the door. Somehow we pulled off a Trifecta - User conference, Company Relaunch and unveiling a major (emphasize major) new release in Title Management 7.0.
But for the moment, it is just nice to be back up in the loft for a couple of days after weeks of long trips to Newburyport, late nights, early mornings, and time away from my girls.
I have to say, though, that I wouldn't trade this journey from Quality Solutions to Firebrand Technologies for anything at the moment. What a nice buzz.
We have been working on this since December, and it is a relief to have the announcement behind us - it was top secret, hush hush. Trust me, this is not a name change for the sake of changing the name. It is way too many late nights just for that. This is about changing attitudes and changing the publishing industry. It's about bringing together the various constituents of the Firebrand Community - 56 clients, 110 trading partners, great organizations like the ECPA and BISG, and well respected friends in the industry - plus the exponential number of community members that they serve. It's about taking convention and turning it on its head. It's about relevance for a company and an industry in a fractured society.
Fran had great fun knighting the 125 folks in the audience as Firebrands - in the best sense of the word.
There is plenty to talk about to convey the excitement we all shared at the newly dubbed 2008 Firebrand Community Conference. We have video, photos, presentations and lots of follow up - in fact, I should be getting the conference feedback survey out the door. Somehow we pulled off a Trifecta - User conference, Company Relaunch and unveiling a major (emphasize major) new release in Title Management 7.0.
But for the moment, it is just nice to be back up in the loft for a couple of days after weeks of long trips to Newburyport, late nights, early mornings, and time away from my girls.
I have to say, though, that I wouldn't trade this journey from Quality Solutions to Firebrand Technologies for anything at the moment. What a nice buzz.
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