SharedBook: On Demand

The Marketer's Apprentice

One quick note, and then it’s back to the grind:  The sale of Photobucket is certainly interesting, in that it’s yet one more example of Big Money playing in the space. 

Not exactly our space.  But it sure is the space next door.  Hmm...

Finding Mr./Ms. Right

I often reflect on my decision making criteria when it comes to considering new hires just to keep myself in check. There are the obvious qualifications that one may posess when it comes to a specific job function; however I tend to put a premium on those qualities that make an individual successful beyond their initial six months. For me, time has proven that it’s not just about following directions. It is being able to work in the context of real ambiguity, where only the outcome is a known quantity and the specific directions to get there are the real uncharted territory. Give me that person who can navigate the obstacles, weigh the risks and chart the course – a bright, independent thinker of sorts with good decision making skills - and with the right coaching, I’ll show you a superstar.

The other thing I try to keep in mind is that hiring the right candidate means hiring a human being and as such infers we make mistakes from time to time. Aknowledging this fact means we must not only reward success but also failure. This is what ultimately makes calculating risk takers give 100%. They stretch not only themselves but the organization as a whole.

These are the self-organizers that really know how to get things done!

You can check out Seth Godin's Blog for some variations on this theme.

In the News

Judging by the Google Alerts I received over the holiday weekend, it doesn't seem like news slowed down much! We haven't posted a list of links here yet and today seems like a good day to start. Here are a few stories that I think may be of interest:

Antony Bruno, Reuters, Concerts seek Second Life with 3-pronged approach -- in person, streamed over the Internet and in Second Life simultaneously!

David Kirkpatrick, Fortune Magazine, Exclusive: Facebook’s New Face

Fred Wilson, A VC Blogs, Point Counterpoint (pros and cons of Facebook’s strategy per Josh Kopelman and Scott Heiferman)

Michael Cairns, PersonaNonData, HP’s E-Reader Concept Book

Joe Lichtenberg, iMedia Connection, Use Web 2.0 Tools to Drive Loyalty

Social Networking Redact

Don't you hate it when news completly obliterates an opinion taken on a previous post?   I, like everyone else, feel compelled to post about the latest Facebook announcements.  As astute readers will note, in previous posts, I thought the old school social netorking sites would play out, in favor of more vertical based sites.  Facebook has essentially leapfrogged that position by offering itself as the Internet's "social-networking platform."  Any site can take on this functionality.  This, I get!  Also by allowing a more open, yet controlled platform, its users have more power to create their own experience through partnerships and mashups.  These guys are pretty amazing. I vow today to bow down to the Zuckerburg Gods. But again I ask....won't these users want to keep some of this amazing content offline?   

The New Improved Technorati

I'm filling in for Mor today, who is off on vacation and hopefully having a wonderful time!

So... there I was plowing through the usual “news” sources yesterday morning when I noticed that Technorati had introduced an upgrade. I immediately went to the site to check it out -- the last time I used Technorati, I received repeated error messages for some very routine searches.

As soon as I hit the home page, I noticed the obvious difference, but imagine my surprise when I searched on SharedBook and within seconds (wow, what a major improvement) the usual blog listings popped up, as well as pictures, wait… PICTURES? From our recent karaoke excursion and a bowling party nonetheless. Harmless pictures, I should say, but much to my surprise, there stood/sat Andrew, Ben, Gokce, Jim, Bridget, Rick, Thea and just about everyone else in our New York office it seemed. It wasn’t long before I realized that the photos were stored in flickr photostreams (both of which were marked public -- the bowling party photographer has since marked his as private, and I suspect the karaoke pictures will disappear soon).

With some 14 billion pages of content available online today and growing (one of our favorite statistics from a Forbes article), I'm impressed with Technorati’s new search capabilities, and in awe of what can be pulled together so quickly for all to see. And to think, this is just the beginning...

Two Continents, One Team, and One Tired Soldier

Down below you read of our R&D chief’s visit to the states, and with us.  Last week I reciprocated, with my first trip to Israel.

Hate to sound so saccharin, but it again pointed out the difference between electronic communication and good ol’ fashioned human interaction.  Because, even though I’ve worked with my Israeli colleagues for well over a year, my understanding of their issues and challenges finally came into sharp focus after just a few hours of face to face conversation.  I now approach our joint issues with a new perspective, and I’m sure we’ll all be the better for it.

I keep threatening my staff with the initiation of “e-mail free days” on which the only forms of communication permitted at the office are the telephone or the meeting.  One day I’ll do it, too.  Sometimes, there’s no substitute for the real thing.

(A note for all you travelers: Jet Lag is no joke.  Wish yesterday's item from The New York Times had been published before I flew…)

We Want Your Input

We're in the process of introducing the next work on The People's Annotated, a site where individuals can share and exchange ideas on a variety of topics through annotation and collaboration, two components of SharedBook's Reverse Publishing Platform. Genesis, the first book of both the Christian and the Hebrew Bibles, is now live and I would like to invite you to take a look and let us know what you think. We're just starting to build the community and would love to have your input.

A quick (free) registration is all that's required to participate on the site, where you can highlight any letter, word or phrase and post a comment. Genesis is organized by chapters along with the relevant comments -- just click on "next page" in the upper right of the screen to move forward. There is an option to participate in the global community, or set up a private community, which we think will be good for bible study groups, classroom settings, other types of church groups, family and friends, etc.

Take a look and let us know what you think. If you like what you see, please feel free to pass the information along to anyone you think might be interested.

Testing Open API -- Boldly Going Where No One Has Gone Before

I mentioned last week that we face two major challenges in SharedBook QA. The second is testing an "open" application.  Some parts of our application are based on data integration from third party sites in addition to our new open API.

When testing those parts, we are required to test unfamiliar and sometimes non-existent material. In our data integration projects, a variety of content will enter the SharedBook application that could cause miscellaneous conflicts and failures.

SharedBook's open API enables programmers from all over the Web to interface with our software, using almost any kind of programming language or environment. The development task here is to make sure SharedBook remains as tolerable, adjusted and "open" as possible. The QA task is to locate in advance all those places where the system fails to meet these requirements.

Simulating the real world in the lab is always hard, and when the real world is diversified and unpredictable it is twice as difficult. Our way of dealing with this, in the data integration projects, is to try and conduct as many integration tests as possible prior to launch. We try to test the application with many different potential content types, before we open the application to the public.

Nevertheless, as always, the best tests are done when a mass of users begin to use the system.  As soon as “real” users start to encounter “real” problems, our main goal is to locate those problems and fix them as soon as we can, sometimes even before the users notice them.

I'll discuss the ways we do that in my next entry when I talk about our Tech Support.

Thanks and well done!

We received a nice e-mail from Mark Hinkle, the Zenoss VP of Community, for my post last week on Enterprise System Management. I’m happy to give Mark some public recognition for not only reaching out, but for delivering a great product and continuing to grow an organic movement around it. This is what the Internet is all about: unconstrained delivery, reach and participation. More companies should take advantage of the medium in this way. Well done Mark!

BTW, I’m still on the edge of my seat waiting for Zenoss 2.0. It should be coming soon.

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!